John 8:27

8:27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.) ¹ 

John 16:3

16:3 They ²  will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. ³ 

John 7:26

7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, ⁴  and they are saying nothing to him. ⁵  Do the rulers really know that this man ⁶  is the Christ? ⁷ 

John 10:6

10:6 Jesus told them this parable, ⁸  but they ⁹  did not understand ¹⁰  what he was saying to them.

John 17:25

17:25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men ¹¹  know that you sent me.

John 12:16

12:16 (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, ¹²  but when Jesus was glorified, ¹³  then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened ¹⁴  to him.) ¹⁵ 

John 17:8

17:8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They ¹⁶  accepted ¹⁷  them ¹⁸  and really ¹⁹  understand ²⁰  that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

[8:27]  ¹ sn They did not understand…about his Father is a parenthetical note by the author. This type of comment, intended for the benefit of the reader, is typical of the “omniscient author” convention adopted by the author, who is writing from a postresurrection point of view. He writes with the benefit of later knowledge that those who originally heard Jesus’ words would not have had.

[16:3]  ² tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[16:3]  ³ sn Ignorance of Jesus and ignorance of the Father are also linked in 8:19; to know Jesus would be to know the Father also, but since the world does not know Jesus, neither does it know his Father. The world’s ignorance of the Father is also mentioned in 8:55, 15:21, and 17:25.

[7:26]  ³ tn Or “speaking openly.”

[7:26]  ⁴ sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.

[7:26]  ⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:26]  ⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[10:6]  ⁴ sn A parable is a fairly short narrative that has symbolic meaning. The Greek word παροιμίαν (paroimian) is used again in 16:25, 29. This term does not occur in the synoptic gospels, where παραβολή (parabolh) is used. Nevertheless it is similar, denoting a short narrative with figurative or symbolic meaning.

[10:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “these.”

[10:6]  ⁶ tn Or “comprehend.”

[17:25]  ⁵ tn The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more general term like “people” because the use of the aorist verb ἔγνωσαν (egnwsan) implies that Jesus is referring to the disciples present with him as he spoke these words (presumably all of them men in the historical context), rather than to those who are yet to believe because of their testimony (see John 17:20).

[12:16]  ⁶ tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”

[12:16]  ⁷ sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.

[12:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).

[12:16]  ⁹ sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).

[17:8]  ⁷ tn Grk And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:8]  ⁸ tn Or “received.”

[17:8]  ⁹ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[17:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “truly.”

[17:8]  ¹¹ tn Or have come to know.”