17:6 “I have revealed 6 your name to the men 7 you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, 8 and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed 9 your word.
1 tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”
2 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.
3 sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.
4 tn Or “if they kept.”
5 tn Or “they will keep.”
6 tn Or “made known,” “disclosed.”
7 tn Here “men” is retained as a translation for ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") rather than the more generic “people” because in context it specifically refers to the eleven men Jesus had chosen as apostles (Judas had already departed, John 13:30). If one understands the referent here to be the broader group of Jesus’ followers that included both men and women, a translation like “to the people” should be used here instead.
8 tn Grk “Yours they were.”
9 tn Or “have kept.”