Psalms 125:1-2

Psalm 125 ¹ 

A song of ascents. ² 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, ³ 

so the Lord surrounds his people,

now and forevermore.

Proverbs 10:25

10:25 When the storm ⁴  passes through, the wicked are swept away, ⁵ 

but the righteous are an everlasting foundation. ⁶ 

John 4:14

4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, ⁷  but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain ⁸  of water springing up ⁹  to eternal life.”

John 6:58

6:58 This ¹⁰  is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ¹¹  ate, but then later died. ¹²  The one who eats ¹³  this bread will live forever.”

John 10:28-30

10:28 I give ¹⁴  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ¹⁵  no one will snatch ¹⁶  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ¹⁷  and no one can snatch ¹⁸  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ¹⁹  are one.” ²⁰ 

John 10:1

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ²¹  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ²²  by the door, ²³  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

John 1:5

1:5 And the light shines on ²⁴  in the darkness, ²⁵  but ²⁶  the darkness has not mastered it. ²⁷ 

John 1:25

1:25 So they asked John, ²⁸  “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, ²⁹  nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

[125:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[125:2]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:25]  ⁴ sn The word for “storm wind” comes from the root סוּף (suf, “to come to an end; to cease”). The noun may then describe the kind of storm that makes an end of things, a “whirlwind” (so KJV, NASB; NLT “cyclone”). It is used in prophetic passages that describe swift judgment and destruction.

[10:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked are not”; ASV, NAB, NASB “is no more.”

[10:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “a foundation forever”; NLT “have a lasting foundation.”

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.

[4:14]  ⁸ tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (phgh) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.

[4:14]  ⁹ tn The verb ἁλλομένου (Jallomenou) is used of quick movement (like jumping) on the part of living beings. This is the only instance of its being applied to the action of water. However, in the LXX it is used to describe the “Spirit of God” as it falls on Samson and Saul. See Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kgdms 10:2, 10 LXX (= 1 Sam 10:6, 10 ET); and Isa 35:6 (note context).

[6:58]  ¹⁰ tn Or “This one.”

[6:58]  ¹¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:58]  ¹² tn Grk “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not just like your ancestors ate and died.” The cryptic Greek expression has been filled out in the translation for clarity.

[6:58]  ¹³ tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

[10:28]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And I give.”

[10:28]  ¹⁵ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

[10:28]  ¹⁶ tn Or “no one will seize.”

[10:29]  ¹⁷ tn Or “is superior to all.”

[10:29]  ¹⁸ tn Or “no one can seize.”

[10:30]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

[10:30]  ²⁰ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).

[10:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ²² sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ²³ tn Or “entrance.”

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn To this point the author has used past tenses (imperfects, aorists); now he switches to a present. The light continually shines (thus the translation, “shines on”). Even as the author writes, it is shining. The present here most likely has gnomic force (though it is possible to take it as a historical present); it expresses the timeless truth that the light of the world (cf. 8:12, 9:5, 12:46) never ceases to shine.

[1:5]  ²⁵ sn The author now introduces what will become a major theme of John’s Gospel: the opposition of light and darkness. The antithesis is a natural one, widespread in antiquity. Gen 1 gives considerable emphasis to it in the account of the creation, and so do the writings of Qumran. It is the major theme of one of the most important extra-biblical documents found at Qumran, the so-called War Scroll, properly titled The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness. Connections between John and Qumran are still an area of scholarly debate and a consensus has not yet emerged. See T. A. Hoffman, “1 John and the Qumran Scrolls,” BTB 8 (1978): 117-25.

[1:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and,” but the context clearly indicates a contrast, so this has been translated as an adversative use of καί (kai).

[1:5]  ²⁷ tn Or “comprehended it,” or “overcome it.” The verb κατέλαβεν (katelaben) is not easy to translate. “To seize” or “to grasp” is possible, but this also permits “to grasp with the mind” in the sense of “to comprehend” (esp. in the middle voice). This is probably another Johannine double meaning – one does not usually think of darkness as trying to “understand” light. For it to mean this, “darkness” must be understood as meaning “certain people,” or perhaps “humanity” at large, darkened in understanding. But in John’s usage, darkness is not normally used of people or a group of people. Rather it usually signifies the evil environment or ‘sphere’ in which people find themselves: “They loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). Those who follow Jesus do not walk in darkness (8:12). They are to walk while they have light, lest the darkness “overtake/overcome” them (12:35, same verb as here). For John, with his set of symbols and imagery, darkness is not something which seeks to “understand (comprehend)” the light, but represents the forces of evil which seek to “overcome (conquer)” it. The English verb “to master” may be used in both sorts of contexts, as “he mastered his lesson” and “he mastered his opponent.”

[1:25]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And they asked him, and said to him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the phrase has been simplified in the translation to “So they asked John.”

[1:25]  ²⁹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).