Luke 1:17

1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ¹  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ²  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

John 1:15

1:15 John ³  testified ⁴  about him and shouted out, ⁵  “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, ⁶  because he existed before me.’”

John 1:26-27

1:26 John answered them, ⁷  “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize, ⁸  1:27 who is coming after me. I am not worthy ⁹  to untie the strap ¹⁰  of his sandal!”

John 1:30

1:30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, ¹¹  because he existed before me.’

John 1:34

1:34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.” ¹² 

John 3:23-36

3:23 John ¹³  was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, ¹⁴  because water was plentiful there, and people were coming ¹⁵  to him ¹⁶  and being baptized. 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) ¹⁷ 

3:25 Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew ¹⁸  concerning ceremonial washing. ¹⁹  3:26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, ²⁰  about whom you testified – see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”

3:27 John replied, ²¹  “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ ²²  but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ 3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ²³  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ²⁴  3:30 He must become more important while I become less important.” ²⁵ 

3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. ²⁶  The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. ²⁷  The one who comes from heaven ²⁸  is superior to all. ²⁹  3:32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. ³⁰  3:34 For the one whom God has sent ³¹  speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. ³²  3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority. ³³  3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects ³⁴  the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath ³⁵  remains ³⁶  on him.

[1:17]  ¹ tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ² sn These two lines cover all relationships: Turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children points to horizontal relationships, while (turn) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just shows what God gives from above in a vertical manner.

[1:15]  ³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Or “bore witness.”

[1:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “and shouted out saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:15]  ⁶ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[1:26]  ⁷ tn Grk “answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:26]  ⁸ tn Or “know.”

[1:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[1:27]  ¹⁰ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

[1:30]  ¹¹ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[1:34]  ¹² tc ‡ What did John the Baptist declare about Jesus on this occasion? Did he say, “This is the Son of God” (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, |outo" estin Jo Juio" tou qeou), or “This is the Chosen One of God” (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐκλεκτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, outo" estin Jo eklekto" tou qeou)? The majority of the witnesses, impressive because of their diversity in age and locales, read “This is the Son of God” (so {Ì^66,75 A B C L Θ Ψ 0233^vid Ë^1,13 33 1241 aur c f l g bo as well as the majority of Byzantine minuscules and many others}). Most scholars take this to be sufficient evidence to regard the issue as settled without much of a need to reflect on internal evidence. On the other hand, one of the earliest mss for this verse, {Ì⁵} (3rd century), evidently read οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐκλεκτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. (There is a gap in the ms at the point of the disputed words; it is too large for υἱός especially if written, as it surely would have been, as a nomen sacrum [uMs]. The term ἐκλεκτός was not a nomen sacrum and would have therefore taken up much more space [eklektos]. Given these two variants, there is hardly any question as to what Ì⁵ read.) This papyrus has many affinities with א*, which here also has ὁ ἐκλεκτός. In addition to their combined testimony Ì^106vid b e ff^2* sy^s,c also support this reading. ̹⁰⁶ is particularly impressive, for it is a second third-century papyrus in support of ὁ ἐκλεκτός. A third reading combines these two: “the elect Son” (electus filius in ff^2c sa and a [with slight variation]). Although the evidence for ἐκλεκτός is not as impressive as that for υἱός, the reading is found in early Alexandrian and Western witnesses. Turning to the internal evidence, “the Chosen One” clearly comes out ahead. “Son of God” is a favorite expression of the author (cf. 1:49; 3:18; 5:25; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; 20:31); further, there are several other references to “his Son,” “the Son,” etc. Scribes would be naturally motivated to change ἐκλεκτός to υἱός since the latter is both a Johannine expression and is, on the surface, richer theologically in 1:34. On the other hand, there is not a sufficient reason for scribes to change υἱός to ἐκλεκτός. The term never occurs in John; even its verbal cognate (ἐκλέγω, eklegw) is never affirmed of Jesus in this Gospel. ἐκλεκτός clearly best explains the rise of υἱός. Further, the third reading (“Chosen Son of God”) is patently a conflation of the other two. It has all the earmarks of adding υἱός to ἐκλεκτός. Thus, ὁ υἱός τοῦ θεοῦ is almost certainly a motivated reading. As R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 1:57), “On the basis of theological tendency…it is difficult to imagine that Christian scribes would change ‘the Son of God’ to ‘God’s chosen one,’ while a change in the opposite direction would be quite plausible. Harmonization with the Synoptic accounts of the baptism (‘You are [This is] my beloved Son’) would also explain the introduction of ‘the Son of God’ into John; the same phenomenon occurs in vi 69. Despite the weaker textual evidence, therefore, it seems best – with Lagrange, Barrett, Boismard, and others – to accept ‘God’s chosen one’ as original.”

[3:23]  ¹³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[3:23]  ¹⁴ tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainwn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.

[3:23]  ¹⁵ tn Or “people were continually coming.”

[3:23]  ¹⁶ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[3:24]  ¹⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[3:25]  ¹⁸ tc Was this dispute between the Baptist’s disciples and an individual Judean (᾿Ιουδαίου, Ioudaiou) or representatives of the Jewish authorities (᾿Ιουδαίων, Ioudaiwn)? There is good external support for the plural ᾿Ιουδαίων (Ì⁶⁶ א* Θ Ë^1,13 565 al latt), but the external evidence for the singular ᾿Ιουδαίου is slightly stronger ({Ì⁷⁵ א² A B L Ψ 33 1241 the majority of Byzantine minuscules and others}).

[3:25]  ¹⁹ tn Or “ceremonial cleansing,” or “purification.”

[3:26]  ²⁰ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:27]  ²¹ tn Grk “answered and said.”

[3:28]  ²² tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[3:29]  ²³ tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).

[3:29]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”

[3:30]  ²⁵ sn Some interpreters extend the quotation of John the Baptist’s words through v. 36.

[3:31]  ²⁶ tn Or “is above all.”

[3:31]  ²⁷ tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”

[3:31]  ²⁸ sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.

[3:31]  ²⁹ tc Ì⁷⁵ א* D ˹ 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanw pantwn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (Ì^36vid,66 א² A B L W^s Θ Ψ 083 086 ˹³ 33 Ï lat sy^s,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.

[3:33]  ³⁰ tn Or “is true.”

[3:34]  ³¹ tn That is, Christ.

[3:34]  ³² tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.

[3:35]  ³³ tn Grk “has given all things into his hand” (an idiom).

[3:36]  ³⁴ tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”

[3:36]  ³⁵ tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”

[3:36]  ³⁶ tn Or “resides.”