Psalms 34:8

34:8 Taste ¹  and see that the Lord is good!

How blessed ²  is the one ³  who takes shelter in him! ⁴ 

Isaiah 2:3

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ⁵  he can teach us his requirements, ⁶ 

and ⁷  we can follow his standards.” ⁸ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ⁹ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 2:5

2:5 O descendants ¹¹  of Jacob,

come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light. ¹² 

Isaiah 48:16-18

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, ¹³  I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. ¹⁴ 

48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, ¹⁵  says,

the Holy One of Israel: ¹⁶ 

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you how to succeed,

who leads you in the way you should go.

48:18 If only you had obeyed my ¹⁷  commandments,

prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, ¹⁸ 

deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 50:5

50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;

they will turn their faces toward it.

They will come ²⁰  and bind themselves to the Lord

in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. ²¹ 

Micah 4:2

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple ²²  of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands ²³ 

and we can live by his laws.” ²⁴ 

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ²⁵ 

Zechariah 8:21-23

8:21 The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, “Let’s go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord who rules over all. Indeed, I’ll go with you.”’ 8:22 Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord who rules over all and to ask his favor. 8:23 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of – indeed, grab – the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” ²⁶ 

John 1:39-46

1:39 Jesus ²⁷  answered, ²⁸  “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ²⁹ 

Andrew’s Declaration

1:40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said ³⁰  and followed Jesus. ³¹  1:41 He first ³²  found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” ³³  (which is translated Christ). ³⁴  1:42 Andrew brought Simon ³⁵  to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. ³⁶  You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). ³⁷ 

The Calling of More Disciples

1:43 On the next day Jesus ³⁸  wanted to set out for Galilee. ³⁹  He ⁴⁰  found Philip and said ⁴¹  to him, “Follow me.” 1:44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, ⁴²  the town of ⁴³  Andrew and Peter.) 1:45 Philip found Nathanael ⁴⁴  and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also ⁴⁵  wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 1:46 Nathanael ⁴⁶  replied, ⁴⁷  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” ⁴⁸  Philip replied, ⁴⁹  “Come and see.”

John 4:29

4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, ⁵⁰  can he?” ⁵¹ 

John 4:1

Departure From Judea

4:1 Now when Jesus ⁵²  knew that the Pharisees ⁵³  had heard that he ⁵⁴  was winning ⁵⁵  and baptizing more disciples than John

John 1:5-8

1:5 And the light shines on ⁵⁶  in the darkness, ⁵⁷  but ⁵⁸  the darkness has not mastered it. ⁵⁹ 

1:6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. ⁶⁰  1:7 He came as a witness ⁶¹  to testify ⁶²  about the light, so that everyone ⁶³  might believe through him. 1:8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify ⁶⁴  about the light.

[34:8]  ¹ tn This verb is normally used of tasting or savoring food. The metaphor here appears to compare the Lord to a tasty meal.

[34:8]  ² tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[34:8]  ³ tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.”

[34:8]  ⁴ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[2:3]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house,” referring to the family line or descendants (likewise in v. 6).

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “let’s walk in the light of the Lord.” In this context, which speaks of the Lord’s instruction and commands, the “light of the Lord” refers to his moral standards by which he seeks to guide his people. One could paraphrase, “let’s obey the Lord’s commands.”

[48:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

[48:16]  ¹⁴ sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.

[48:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:17]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[48:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”

[48:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.

[48:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.

[50:5]  ²⁰ tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).

[50:5]  ²¹ sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.

[4:2]  ²² tn Heb “house.”

[4:2]  ²³ tn Heb “ways.”

[4:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”

[4:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[8:23]  ²⁶ sn This scene of universal and overwhelming attraction of the nations to Israel’s God finds initial fulfillment in the establishment of the church (Acts 2:5-11) but ultimate completion in the messianic age (Isa 45:14, 24; 60:14; Zech 14:16-21).

[1:39]  ²⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:39]  ²⁸ tn Grk “said to them.”

[1:39]  ²⁹ tn Grk “about the tenth hour.”

[1:40]  ³⁰ tn Grk “who heard from John.”

[1:40]  ³¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:41]  ³² tc Most witnesses (א* L W^s Ï) read πρῶτος (prwtos) here instead of πρῶτον (prwton). The former reading would be a predicate adjective and suggest that Andrew “was the first” person to proselytize another regarding Jesus. The reading preferred, however, is the neuter πρῶτον, used as an adverb (BDAG 893 s.v. πρῶτος 1.a.β.), and it suggests that the first thing that Andrew did was to proselytize Peter. The evidence for this reading is early and weighty: Ì^66,75 א² A B Θ Ψ 083 Ë^1,13 892 al lat.

[1:41]  ³³ sn Naturally part of Andrew’s concept of the Messiah would have been learned from John the Baptist (v. 40). However, there were a number of different messianic expectations in 1st century Palestine (see the note on “Who are you?” in v. 19), and it would be wrong to assume that what Andrew meant here is the same thing the author means in the purpose statement at the end of the Fourth Gospel, 20:31. The issue here is not whether the disciples’ initial faith in Jesus as Messiah was genuine or not, but whether their concept of who Jesus was grew and developed progressively as they spent time following him, until finally after his resurrection it is affirmed in the climactic statement of John’s Gospel, the affirmation of Thomas in 20:28.

[1:41]  ³⁴ tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”

[1:42]  ³⁵ tn Grk “He brought him”; both referents (Andrew, Simon) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:42]  ³⁶ tc The reading “Simon, son of John” is well attested in Ì^66,75,106 א B* L 33 pc it co. The majority of mss (A B² Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï) read “Simon, the son of Jonah” here instead, but that is perhaps an assimilation to Matt 16:17.

[1:42]  ³⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The change of name from Simon to Cephas is indicative of the future role he will play. Only John among the gospel writers gives the Greek transliteration (Κηφᾶς, Khfas) of Simon’s new name, Qéphâ (which is Galilean Aramaic). Neither Πέτρος (Petros) in Greek nor Qéphâ in Aramaic is a normal proper name; it is more like a nickname.

[1:43]  ³⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Jesus is best taken as the subject of εὑρίσκει (Jeuriskei), since Peter would scarcely have wanted to go to Galilee.

[1:43]  ³⁹ sn No explanation is given for why Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee, but probably he wanted to go to the wedding at Cana (about a two day trip).

[1:43]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:43]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and Jesus said.”

[1:44]  ⁴² sn Although the author thought of the town as in Galilee (12:21), Bethsaida technically was in Gaulanitis (Philip the Tetrarch’s territory) across from Herod’s Galilee. There may have been two places called Bethsaida, or this may merely reflect popular imprecision – locally it was considered part of Galilee, even though it was just east of the Jordan river. This territory was heavily Gentile (which may explain why Andrew and Philip both have Gentile names).

[1:44]  ⁴³ tn Probably ἀπό (apo) indicates “originally from” in the sense of birthplace rather than current residence; Mark 1:21, 29 seems to locate the home of Andrew and Peter at Capernaum. The entire remark (v. 44) amounts to a parenthetical comment by the author.

[1:45]  ⁴⁴ sn Nathanael is traditionally identified with Bartholomew (although John never describes him as such). He appears here after Philip, while in all lists of the twelve except in Acts 1:13, Bartholomew follows Philip. Also, the Aramaic Bar-tolmai means “son of Tolmai,” the surname; the man almost certainly had another name.

[1:45]  ⁴⁵ tn “Also” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[1:46]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “And Nathanael.”

[1:46]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “said to him.”

[1:46]  ⁴⁸ sn Can anything good come out of Nazareth? may be a local proverb expressing jealousy among the towns.

[1:46]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “And Philip said to him.”

[4:29]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.

[4:29]  ⁵¹ tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.

[4:1]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[4:1]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “was making.”

[1:5]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “and,” but the context clearly indicates a contrast, so this has been translated as an adversative use of καί (kai).

[1:5]  ⁵⁹ 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.”

[1:6]  ⁶⁰ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:7]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “came for a testimony.”

[1:7]  ⁶² tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:7]  ⁶³ tn Grk “all.”

[1:8]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “to bear witness.”