Mark 4:5-6

4:5 Other seed fell on rocky ground ¹  where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. ²  4:6 When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, ³  it withered.

Job 19:28

19:28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him,

since the root of the trouble is found in him!’ ⁴ 

Job 27:8-10

27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, ⁵ 

when God takes away his life? ⁶ 

27:9 Does God listen to his cry

when distress overtakes him?

27:10 Will he find delight ⁷  in the Almighty?

Will he call out to God at all times?

Matthew 12:31

12:31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, ⁸  but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Luke 12:10

12:10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit ⁹  will not be forgiven. ¹⁰ 

John 8:31

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans ¹¹  who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, ¹²  you are really ¹³  my disciples

John 15:2-7

15:2 He takes away ¹⁴  every branch that does not bear ¹⁵  fruit in me. He ¹⁶  prunes ¹⁷  every branch that bears ¹⁸  fruit so that it will bear more fruit. 15:3 You are clean already ¹⁹  because of the word that I have spoken to you. 15:4 Remain ²⁰  in me, and I will remain in you. ²¹  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, ²²  unless it remains ²³  in ²⁴  the vine, so neither can you unless you remain ²⁵  in me.

15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains ²⁶  in me – and I in him – bears ²⁷  much fruit, ²⁸  because apart from me you can accomplish ²⁹  nothing. 15:6 If anyone does not remain ³⁰  in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, ³¹  and are burned up. ³²  15:7 If you remain ³³  in me and my words remain ³⁴  in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. ³⁵ 

John 15:2

15:2 He takes away ³⁶  every branch that does not bear ³⁷  fruit in me. He ³⁸  prunes ³⁹  every branch that bears ⁴⁰  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

John 1:15

1:15 John ⁴¹  testified ⁴²  about him and shouted out, ⁴³  “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, ⁴⁴  because he existed before me.’”

John 2:17-18

2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal ⁴⁵  for your house will devour me.” ⁴⁶ 

2:18 So then the Jewish leaders ⁴⁷  responded, ⁴⁸  “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” ⁴⁹ 

John 4:10

4:10 Jesus answered ⁵⁰  her, “If you had known ⁵¹  the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water ⁵²  to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ⁵³ 

John 4:1

Departure From Judea

4:1 Now when Jesus ⁵⁴  knew that the Pharisees ⁵⁵  had heard that he ⁵⁶  was winning ⁵⁷  and baptizing more disciples than John

John 2:19

2:19 Jesus replied, ⁵⁸  “Destroy ⁵⁹  this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.”

[4:5]  ¹ sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.

[4:5]  ² tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”

[4:6]  ³ tn Grk “it did not have root.”

[19:28]  ⁴ tc The MT reads “in me.” If that is retained, then the question would be in the first colon, and the reasoning of the second colon would be Job’s. But over 100 mss have “in him,” and so this reading is accepted by most editors. The verse is a little difficult, but it seems to form a warning by Job that God’s appearance which will vindicate Job will bring judgment on those who persecute him and charge him falsely.

[27:8]  ⁵ tn The verb יִבְצָע (yivtsa’) means “to cut off.” It could be translated transitively or intransitively – the latter is better here (“when he is cut off”). Since the next line speaks of prayer, some have thought this verse should be about prayer. Mandelkern, in his concordance (p. 228b), suggested the verb should be “when he prays” (reading יִפְגַּע [yifga’] in place of יִבְצָע [yivtsa’]).

[27:8]  ⁶ tn The verb יֵשֶׁל (yeshel) is found only here. It has been related spoils [or sheaves]”); שָׁאַל (sha’al, “to ask”); נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up” [i.e., pray]); and a host of others.

[27:10]  ⁷ tn See the note on 22:26 where the same verb is employed.

[12:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.”

[12:10]  ⁹ sn Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit probably refers to a total rejection of the testimony that the Spirit gives to Jesus and the plan of God. This is not so much a sin of the moment as of one’s entire life, an obstinate rejection of God’s message and testimony. Cf. Matt 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-30.

[12:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “it will not be forgiven the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.”

[8:31]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).

[8:31]  ¹² tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ¹³ tn Or “truly.”

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “that yields.”

[15:3]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase you are clean already occurs elsewhere in the Gospel of John only at the washing of the disciples’ feet in 13:10, where Jesus had used it of the disciples being cleansed from sin. This further confirms the proposed understanding of John 15:2 and 15:6 since Judas was specifically excluded from this statement (but not all of you).

[15:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “Reside.”

[15:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “and I in you.” The verb has been repeated for clarity and to conform to contemporary English style, which typically allows fewer ellipses (omitted or understood words) than Greek.

[15:4]  ²² sn The branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains connected to the vine, from which its life and sustenance flows. As far as the disciples were concerned, they would produce no fruit from themselves if they did not remain in their relationship to Jesus, because the eternal life which a disciple must possess in order to bear fruit originates with Jesus; he is the source of all life and productivity for the disciple.

[15:4]  ²³ tn Or “resides.”

[15:4]  ²⁴ tn While it would be more natural to say “on the vine” (so NAB), the English preposition “in” has been retained here to emphasize the parallelism with the following clause “unless you remain in me.” To speak of remaining “in” a person is not natural English either, but is nevertheless a biblical concept (cf. “in Christ” in Eph 1:3, 4, 6, 7, 11).

[15:4]  ²⁵ tn Or “you reside.”

[15:5]  ²⁶ tn Or “resides.”

[15:5]  ²⁷ tn Or “yields.”

[15:5]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in him, this one bears much fruit.” The pronoun “this one” has been omitted from the translation because it is redundant according to contemporary English style.

[15:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “do.”

[15:6]  ³⁰ tn Or “reside.”

[15:6]  ³¹ sn Such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire. The author does not tell who it is who does the gathering and throwing into the fire. Although some claim that realized eschatology is so prevalent in the Fourth Gospel that no references to final eschatology appear at all, the fate of these branches seems to point to the opposite. The imagery is almost certainly that of eschatological judgment, and recalls some of the OT vine imagery which involves divine rejection and judgment of disobedient Israel (Ezek 15:4-6, 19:12).

[15:6]  ³² tn Grk “they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

[15:7]  ³³ tn Or “reside.”

[15:7]  ³⁴ tn Or “reside.”

[15:7]  ³⁵ sn Once again Jesus promises the disciples ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. This recalls 14:13-14, where the disciples were promised that if they asked anything in Jesus’ name it would be done for them. The two thoughts are really quite similar, since here it is conditioned on the disciples’ remaining in Jesus and his words remaining in them. The first phrase relates to the genuineness of their relationship with Jesus. The second phrase relates to their obedience. When both of these qualifications are met, the disciples would in fact be asking in Jesus’ name and therefore according to his will.

[15:2]  ³⁶ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ³⁷ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ³⁹ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “that yields.”

[1:15]  ⁴¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:15]  ⁴² tn Or “bore witness.”

[1:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “and shouted out saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “Fervent devotion to your house.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 69:9.

[2:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[2:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[2:18]  ⁴⁹ sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).

[4:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

[4:10]  ⁵¹ tn Or “if you knew.”

[4:10]  ⁵² tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:10]  ⁵³ tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.

[4:1]  ⁵⁴ tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì^66c,75 A B C L W^s Ψ 083 ˹³ 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì^66* א D Θ 086 ˹ 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.

[4:1]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[4:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.

[4:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “was making.”

[2:19]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[2:19]  ⁵⁹ tn The imperative here is really more than a simple conditional imperative (= “if you destroy”); its semantic force here is more like the ironical imperative found in the prophets (Amos 4:4, Isa 8:9) = “Go ahead and do this and see what happens.”