John 8:13-14

8:13 So the Pharisees ¹  objected, ²  “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” ³  8:14 Jesus answered, ⁴  “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people ⁵  do not know where I came from or where I am going. ⁶ 

John 8:54

8:54 Jesus replied, ⁷  “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. ⁸  The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people ⁹  say, ‘He is our God.’

Proverbs 27:2

27:2 Let another ¹⁰  praise you, and not your own mouth; ¹¹ 

someone else, ¹²  and not your own lips.

Revelation 3:14

To the Church in Laodicea

3:14 “To ¹³  the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: ¹⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹⁵  the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator ¹⁶  of God’s creation:

[8:13]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:13]  ² tn Grk “Then the Pharisees said to him.”

[8:13]  ³ sn Compare the charge You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true! to Jesus’ own statement about his testimony in 5:31.

[8:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[8:14]  ⁵ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun (“you”) and verb (“do not know”) in Greek are plural.

[8:14]  ⁶ sn You people do not know where I came from or where I am going. The ignorance of the religious authorities regarding Jesus’ origin works on two levels at once: First, they thought Jesus came from Galilee (although he really came from Bethlehem in Judea) and second, they did not know that he came from heaven (from the Father), and this is where he would return. See further John 7:52.

[8:54]  ⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[8:54]  ⁸ tn Grk “is nothing.”

[8:54]  ⁹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[27:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a stranger.” This does not necessarily refer to a non-Israelite, as has been demonstrated before in the book of Proverbs, but these are people outside the familiar and accepted circles. The point is that such a person would be objective in speaking about your abilities and accomplishments.

[27:2]  ¹¹ sn “Mouth” and “lips” are metonymies of cause; they mean “what is said.” People should try to avoid praising themselves. Self praise can easily become a form of pride, even if it begins with trivial things. It does not establish a reputation; reputation comes from what others think about you.

[27:2]  ¹² tn “a foreigner”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “a stranger.”

[3:14]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:14]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the beginning of God’s creation”; or “the ruler of God’s creation.” From a linguistic standpoint all three meanings for ἀρχή (arch) are possible. The term is well attested in both LXX (Gen 40:13, 21; 41:13) and intertestamental Jewish literature (2 Macc 4:10, 50) as meaning “ruler, authority” (BDAG 138 s.v. 6). Some have connected this passage to Paul’s statements in Col 1:15, 18 which describe Christ as ἀρχή and πρωτότοκος (prwtotoko"; e.g., see R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 124) but the term ἀρχή has been understood as either “beginning” or “ruler” in that passage as well. The most compelling connection is to be found in the prologue to John’s Gospel (1:2-4) where the λόγος (logos) is said to be “in the beginning (ἀρχή) with God,” a temporal reference connected with creation, and then v. 3 states that “all things were made through him.” The connection with the original creation suggests the meaning “originator” for ἀρχή here. BDAG 138 s.v. 3 gives the meaning “the first cause” for the word in Rev 3:14, a term that is too philosophical for the general reader, so the translation “originator” was used instead. BDAG also notes, “but the mng. beginning = ‘first created’ is linguistically probable (s. above 1b and Job 40:19; also CBurney, Christ as the ᾿Αρχή of Creation: JTS 27, 1926, 160-77).” Such a meaning is unlikely here, however, since the connections described above are much more probable.