Psalms 25:10

25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable ¹ 

to those who follow the demands of his covenant. ² 

Psalms 34:6

34:6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;

he saved him ³  from all his troubles.

Micah 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ⁴ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ⁵ 

in ancient times. ⁶ 

John 1:17

1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but ⁷  grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

John 3:16-17

3:16 For this is the way ⁸  God loved the world: He gave his one and only ⁹  Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish ¹⁰  but have eternal life. ¹¹  3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, ¹²  but that the world should be saved through him.

[25:10]  ¹ tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.

[25:10]  ² tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

[34:6]  ³ tn The pronoun refers back to “this oppressed man,” namely, the psalmist.

[7:20]  ⁴ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[1:17]  ⁷ tn “But” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the implied contrast between the Mosaic law and grace through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 seems to indicate clearly that the Old Covenant (Sinai) was being contrasted with the New. In Jewish sources the Law was regarded as a gift from God (Josephus, Ant. 3.8.10 [3.223]; Pirqe Avot 1.1; Sifre Deut 31:4 §305). Further information can be found in T. F. Glasson, Moses in the Fourth Gospel (SBT).

[3:16]  ⁸ tn Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (Joutws) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:133-34; D. A. Carson, John, 204) or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son (see R. H. Gundry and R. W. Howell, “The Sense and Syntax of John 3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of Οὕτως…ὥστε in John 3:16,” NovT 41 [1999]: 24-39). Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως), the following clause involving ὥστε (Jwste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God's love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna qeou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[3:16]  ¹⁰ tn In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.

[3:16]  ¹¹ sn The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.

[3:17]  ¹² sn That is, “to judge the world to be guilty and liable to punishment.”