John 8:3

8:3 The experts in the law ¹  and the Pharisees ²  brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them

John 10:17

10:17 This is why the Father loves me ³  – because I lay down my life, ⁴  so that I may take it back again.

John 12:7

12:7 So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. ⁵ 

[8:3]  ¹ tn Or “The scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[8:3]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[10:17]  ³ tn Grk “Because of this the Father loves me.”

[10:17]  ⁴ tn Or “die willingly.”

[12:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “Leave her alone, that for the day of my burial she may keep it.” The construction with ἵνα (Jina) is somewhat ambiguous. The simplest way to read it would be, “Leave her alone, that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” This would imply that Mary was going to use the perfumed oil on that day, while vv. 3 and 5 seem to indicate clearly that she had already used it up. Some understand the statement as elliptical: “Leave her alone; (she did this) in order to keep it for the day of my burial.” Another alternative would be an imperatival use of ἵνα with the meaning: “Leave her alone; let her keep it.” The reading of the Byzantine text, which omits the ἵνα and substitutes a perfect tense τετήρηκεν (tethrhken), while not likely to be original, probably comes close to the meaning of the text, and that has been followed in this translation.