Matthew 24:25

24:25 Remember, ¹  I have told you ahead of time.

Isaiah 44:8

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ² 

Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?

You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?

There is no other sheltering rock; ³  I know of none.

Isaiah 45:21

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ⁴ 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ⁵ 

there is none but me.

John 14:29

14:29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ⁶ 

John 16:4

16:4 But I have told you these things ⁷  so that when their time ⁸  comes, you will remember that I told you about them. ⁹ 

“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you. ¹⁰ 

[24:25]  ¹ tn Or “Pay attention!” Grk “Behold.”

[44:8]  ² tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[44:8]  ³ tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[45:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

[45:21]  ⁵ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

[14:29]  ⁶ sn Jesus tells the disciples that he has told them all these things before they happen, so that when they do happen the disciples may believe. This does not mean they had not believed prior to this time; over and over the author has affirmed that they have (cf. 2:11). But when they see these things happen, their level of trust in Jesus will increase and their concept of who he is will expand. The confession of Thomas in 20:28 is representative of this increased understanding of who Jesus is. Cf. John 13:19.

[16:4]  ⁷ tn The first half of v. 4 resumes the statement of 16:1, ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν (tauta lelalhka Jumin), in a somewhat more positive fashion, omitting the reference to the disciples being caused to stumble.

[16:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “their hour.”

[16:4]  ⁹ tn The words “about them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:4]  ¹⁰ sn This verse serves as a transition between the preceding discussion of the persecutions the disciples will face in the world after the departure of Jesus, and the following discussion concerning the departure of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit-Paraclete. Jesus had not told the disciples these things from the beginning because he was with them.