John 1:18

1:18 No one has ever seen God. The only one, ¹  himself God, who is in closest fellowship with ²  the Father, has made God ³  known. ⁴ 

John 1:21

1:21 So they asked him, “Then who are you? ⁵  Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not!” ⁶  “Are you the Prophet?” ⁷  He answered, “No!”

John 4:11

4:11 “Sir,” ⁸  the woman ⁹  said to him, “you have no bucket and the well ¹⁰  is deep; where then do you get this ¹¹  living water? ¹² 

John 6:44

6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, ¹³  and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:63

6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! ¹⁴  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ¹⁵ 

John 6:65

6:65 So Jesus added, ¹⁶  “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.” ¹⁷ 

John 7:4

7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself ¹⁸  does anything in secret. ¹⁹  If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”

John 7:30

7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, ²⁰  but no one laid a hand on him, because his time ²¹  had not yet come.

John 7:41

7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ²²  But still others said, “No, ²³  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ²⁴ 

John 7:52

7:52 They replied, ²⁵  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ²⁶  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ²⁷  comes from Galilee!”

John 8:11

8:11 She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]] ²⁸ 

John 8:20

8:20 (Jesus ²⁹  spoke these words near the offering box ³⁰  while he was teaching in the temple courts. ³¹  No one seized him because his time ³²  had not yet come.) ³³ 

John 8:37

8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. ³⁴  But you want ³⁵  to kill me, because my teaching ³⁶  makes no progress among you. ³⁷ 

John 9:4

9:4 We must perform the deeds ³⁸  of the one who sent me ³⁹  as long as ⁴⁰  it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work.

John 9:9

9:9 Some people said, ⁴¹  “This is the man!” ⁴²  while others said, “No, but he looks like him.” ⁴³  The man himself ⁴⁴  kept insisting, “I am the one!” ⁴⁵ 

John 10:29

10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ⁴⁶  and no one can snatch ⁴⁷  them from my Father’s hand.

John 10:41

10:41 Many ⁴⁸  came to him and began to say, “John ⁴⁹  performed ⁵⁰  no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man ⁵¹  was true!”

John 13:8

13:8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” ⁵²  Jesus replied, ⁵³  “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁵⁴ 

John 14:6

14:6 Jesus replied, ⁵⁵  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ⁵⁶  No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:30

14:30 I will not speak with you much longer, ⁵⁷  for the ruler of this world is coming. ⁵⁸  He has no power over me, ⁵⁹ 

John 15:22

15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. ⁶⁰  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.

John 16:22

16:22 So also you have sorrow ⁶¹  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ⁶² 

John 19:9

19:9 and he went back into the governor’s residence ⁶³  and said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.

John 19:41

19:41 Now at the place where Jesus ⁶⁴  was crucified ⁶⁵  there was a garden, ⁶⁶  and in the garden ⁶⁷  was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. ⁶⁸ 

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¹ tc The textual problem μονογενὴς θεός (monogenh" qeo", “the only God”) versus ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός (Jo monogenh" Juio", “the only son”) is a notoriously difficult one. Only one letter would have differentiated the readings in the mss, since both words would have been contracted as nomina sacra: thus qMs or uMs. Externally, there are several variants, but they can be grouped essentially by whether they read θεός or υἱός. The majority of mss, especially the later ones (A C³ Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat), read ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός. Ì⁷⁵ א¹ 33 pc have ὁ μονογενὴς θεός, while the anarthrous μονογενὴς θεός is found in Ì⁶⁶ א* B C* L pc. The articular θεός is almost certainly a scribal emendation to the anarthrous θεός, for θεός without the article is a much harder reading. The external evidence thus strongly supports μονογενὴς θεός. Internally, although υἱός fits the immediate context more readily, θεός is much more difficult. As well, θεός also explains the origin of the other reading (υἱός), because it is difficult to see why a scribe who found υἱός in the text he was copying would alter it to θεός. Scribes would naturally change the wording to υἱός however, since μονογενὴς υἱός is a uniquely Johannine christological title (cf. John 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). But θεός as the older and more difficult reading is preferred. As for translation, it makes the most sense to see the word θεός as in apposition to μονογενής, and the participle ὁ ὤν (Jo wn) as in apposition to θεός, giving in effect three descriptions of Jesus rather than only two. (B. D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, 81, suggests that it is nearly impossible and completely unattested in the NT for an adjective followed immediately by a noun that agrees in gender, number, and case, to be a substantival adjective: “when is an adjective ever used substantivally when it immediately precedes a noun of the same inflection?” This, however, is an overstatement. First, as Ehrman admits, μονογενής in John 1:14 is substantival. And since it is an established usage for the adjective in this context, one might well expect that the author would continue to use the adjective substantivally four verses later. Indeed, μονογενής is already moving toward a crystallized substantival adjective in the NT [cf. Luke 9:38; Heb 11:17]; in patristic Greek, the process continued [cf. PGL 881 s.v. 7]. Second, there are several instances in the NT in which a substantival adjective is followed by a noun with which it has complete concord: cf., e.g., Rom 1:30; Gal 3:9; 1 Tim 1:9; 2 Pet 2:5.) The modern translations which best express this are the NEB (margin) and TEV. Several things should be noted: μονογενής alone, without υἱός, can mean “only son,” “unique son,” “unique one,” etc. (see 1:14). Furthermore, θεός is anarthrous. As such it carries qualitative force much like it does in 1:1c, where θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος (qeo" hn Jo logo") means “the Word was fully God” or “the Word was fully of the essence of deity.” Finally, ὁ ὤν occurs in Rev 1:4, 8; 4:8, 11:17; and 16:5, but even more significantly in the LXX of Exod 3:14. Putting all of this together leads to the translation given in the text.

tn Or “The unique one.” For the meaning of μονογενής (monogenh") see the note on “one and only” in 1:14.

² tn Grk “in the bosom of” (an idiom for closeness or nearness; cf. L&N 34.18; BDAG 556 s.v. κόλπος 1).

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ sn Has made God known. In this final verse of the prologue, the climactic and ultimate statement of the earthly career of the Logos, Jesus of Nazareth, is reached. The unique One (John 1:14), the One who has taken on human form and nature by becoming incarnate (became flesh, 1:14), who is himself fully God (the Word was God, 1:1c) and is to be identified with the ever-living One of the Old Testament revelation (Exod 3:14), who is in intimate relationship with the Father, this One and no other has fully revealed what God is like. As Jesus said to Philip in John 14:9, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”

⁵ tn Grk “What then?” (an idiom).

⁶ sn According to the 1st century rabbinic interpretation of 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah. How does one reconcile John the Baptist’s denial here (“I am not”) with Jesus’ statements in Matt 11:14 (see also Mark 9:13 and Matt 17:12) that John the Baptist was Elijah? Some have attempted to remove the difficulty by a reconstruction of the text in the Gospel of John which makes the Baptist say that he was Elijah. However, external support for such emendations is lacking. According to Gregory the Great, John was not Elijah, but exercised toward Jesus the function of Elijah by preparing his way. But this avoids the real difficulty, since in John’s Gospel the question of the Jewish authorities to the Baptist concerns precisely his function. It has also been suggested that the author of the Gospel here preserves a historically correct reminiscence – that John the Baptist did not think of himself as Elijah, although Jesus said otherwise. Mark 6:14-16 and Mark 8:28 indicate the people and Herod both distinguished between John and Elijah – probably because he did not see himself as Elijah. But Jesus’ remarks in Matt 11:14, Mark 9:13, and Matt 17:12 indicate that John did perform the function of Elijah – John did for Jesus what Elijah was to have done for the coming of the Lord. C. F. D. Moule pointed out that it is too simple to see a straight contradiction between John’s account and that of the synoptic gospels: “We have to ask by whom the identification is made, and by whom refused. The synoptic gospels represent Jesus as identifying, or comparing, the Baptist with Elijah, while John represents the Baptist as rejecting the identification when it is offered him by his interviewers. Now these two, so far from being incompatible, are psychologically complementary. The Baptist humbly rejects the exalted title, but Jesus, on the contrary, bestows it on him. Why should not the two both be correct?” (The Phenomenon of the New Testament [SBT], 70).

⁷ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief. Acts 3:22 identifies Jesus as this prophet.

⁸ tn Or “Lord.” The Greek term κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage there is probably a gradual transition from one to the other as the woman’s respect for Jesus grows throughout the conversation (4:11, 15, 19).

⁹ tc ‡ Two early and important Greek mss along with two versional witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ B sy^s ac²) lack ἡ γυνή (Jh gunh, “the woman”) here; א* has ἐκείνη (ekeinh, “that one” or possibly “she”) instead of ἡ γυνή. It is possible that no explicit subject was in the original text and scribes added either ἡ γυνή or ἐκείνη to make the meaning clear. It is also possible that the archetype of Ì⁷⁵ א B expunged the subject because it was not altogether necessary, with the scribe of א later adding the pronoun. However, ἡ γυνή is not in doubt in any other introduction to the woman’s words in this chapter (cf. vv. 9, 15, 17, 19, 25), suggesting that intentional deletion was not the motive for the shorter reading in v. 11 (or else why would they delete the words only here?). Thus, the fact that virtually all witnesses (Ì⁶⁶ א² A C D L W^s Θ Ψ 050 083 086 Ë^1,13 Ï latt sy^c,p,h sa bo) have ἡ γυνή here may suggest that it is a motivated reading, conforming this verse to the rest of the pericope. Although a decision is difficult, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has ἡ γυνή in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity. For English stylistic reasons, the translation also includes “the woman” here.

¹⁰ tn The word for “well” has now shifted to φρέαρ (frear, “cistern”); earlier in the passage it was πηγή (phgh).

¹¹ tn The anaphoric article has been translated “this.”

¹² sn Where then do you get this living water? The woman’s reply is an example of the “misunderstood statement,” a technique appearing frequently in John’s Gospel. Jesus was speaking of living water which was spiritual (ultimately a Johannine figure for the Holy Spirit, see John 7:38-39), but the woman thought he was speaking of flowing (fresh drinkable) water. Her misunderstanding gave Jesus the opportunity to explain what he really meant.

¹³ tn Or “attracts him,” or “pulls him.” The word is used of pulling or dragging, often by force. It is even used once of magnetic attraction (A. Oepke, TDNT 2:503).

sn The Father who sent me draws him. The author never specifically explains what this “drawing” consists of. It is evidently some kind of attraction; whether it is binding and irresistible or not is not mentioned. But there does seem to be a parallel with 6:65, where Jesus says that no one is able to come to him unless the Father has allowed it. This apparently parallels the use of Isaiah by John to reflect the spiritual blindness of the Jewish leaders (see the quotations from Isaiah in John 9:41 and 12:39-40).

¹⁴ tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”

¹⁵ tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “And he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Grk “unless it has been permitted to him by the Father.”

¹⁸ tn Or “seeks to be well known.”

¹⁹ sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)

²⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn Here the response is on the part of the crowd, who tried to seize Jesus. This is apparently distinct from the attempted arrest by the authorities mentioned in 7:32.

²¹ tn Grk “his hour.”

²² tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

²³ tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

²⁴ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).

²⁵ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

²⁶ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

²⁷ tc At least one early and important ms (Ì^66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.

tn This claim by the leaders presents some difficulty, because Jonah had been from Gath Hepher, in Galilee (2 Kgs 14:25). Also the Babylonian Talmud later stated, “There was not a tribe in Israel from which there did not come prophets” (b. Sukkah 27b). Two explanations are possible: (1) In the heat of anger the members of the Sanhedrin overlooked the facts (this is perhaps the easiest explanation). (2) This anarthrous noun is to be understood as a reference to the prophet of Deut 18:15 (note the reading of Ì⁶⁶ which is articular), by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief. This would produce in the text of John’s Gospel a high sense of irony indeed, since the religious authorities by their insistence that “the Prophet” could not come from Galilee displayed their true ignorance of where Jesus came from on two levels at once (Bethlehem, his birthplace, the fulfillment of Mic 5:2, but also heaven, from which he was sent by the Father). The author does not even bother to refute the false attestation of Jesus’ place of birth as Galilee (presumably Christians knew all too well where Jesus came from).

²⁸ tc The earliest and best mss do not contain 7:53–8:11 (see note on 7:53).

²⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁰ tn The term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion) can be translated “treasury” or “treasure room” in this context. BDAG 186 s.v. 1 notes, “It can be taken in this sense J 8:20 (sing.) in (or at) the treasury.” BDAG 186 s.v. 2 argues that the occurrences of this word in the synoptic gospels also refer to the treasury: “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

sn The offering box probably refers to the receptacles in the temple forecourt by the Court of Women used to collect freewill offerings. These are mentioned by Josephus, J. W. 5.5.2 (5.200), 6.5.2 (6.282); Ant. 19.6.1 (19.294); and in 1 Macc 14:49 and 2 Macc 3:6, 24, 28, 40 (see also Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1).

³¹ tn Grk “the temple.”

³² tn Grk “his hour.”

³³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

³⁴ tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

³⁵ tn Grk “you are seeking.”

³⁶ tn Grk “my word.”

³⁷ tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.

³⁸ tn Grk “We must work the works.”

³⁹ tn Or “of him who sent me” (God).

⁴⁰ tn Or “while.”

⁴¹ tn Grk “Others were saying.”

⁴² tn Grk “This is the one.”

⁴³ tn Grk “No, but he is like him.”

⁴⁴ tn Grk “That one”; the referent (the man himself) is specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁵ tn Grk “I am he.”

⁴⁶ tn Or “is superior to all.”

⁴⁷ tn Or “no one can seize.”

⁴⁸ tn Grk “And many.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

⁴⁹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

⁵⁰ tn Grk “did.”

⁵¹ tn Grk “this one.”

⁵² tn Grk “You will never wash my feet forever.” The negation is emphatic in Greek but somewhat awkward in English. Emphasis is conveyed in the translation by the use of an exclamation point.

⁵³ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

⁵⁴ tn Or “you have no part in me.”

⁵⁵ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

⁵⁶ tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”

⁵⁷ tn Grk “I will no longer speak many things with you.”

⁵⁸ sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.

⁵⁹ tn Grk “in me he has nothing.”

⁶⁰ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

sn Jesus now describes the guilt of the world. He came to these people with both words (15:22) and sign-miracles (15:24), yet they remained obstinate in their unbelief, and this sin of unbelief was without excuse. Jesus was not saying that if he had not come and spoken to these people they would be sinless; rather he was saying that if he had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of the sin of rejecting him and the Father he came to reveal. Rejecting Jesus is the one ultimate sin for which there can be no forgiveness, because the one who has committed this sin has at the same time rejected the only cure that exists. Jesus spoke similarly to the Pharisees in 9:41: “If you were blind, you would have no sin (same phrase as here), but now you say ‘We see’ your sin remains.”

⁶¹ tn Or “distress.”

⁶² sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but he will be indignant toward his enemies.” The change from “you will see [me]” to I will see you places more emphasis on Jesus as the one who reinitiates the relationship with the disciples after his resurrection, but v. 16 (you will see me) is more like Isa 66:14. Further support for seeing this allusion as intentional is found in Isa 66:7, which uses the same imagery of the woman giving birth found in John 16:21. In the context of Isa 66 the passages refer to the institution of the messianic kingdom, and in fact the last clause of 66:14 along with the following verses (15-17) have yet to be fulfilled. This is part of the tension of present and future eschatological fulfillment that runs throughout the NT, by virtue of the fact that there are two advents. Some prophecies are fulfilled or partially fulfilled at the first advent, while other prophecies or parts of prophecies await fulfillment at the second.

⁶³ tn Grk “into the praetorium.”

⁶⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶⁵ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

⁶⁶ tn Or “an orchard.”

⁶⁷ tn Or “orchard.”

⁶⁸ tn Grk “been placed.”