3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. 5 The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. 6 The one who comes from heaven 7 is superior to all. 8
1 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to show the contrast present in the context.
3 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the translation to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than Nicodemus alone).
4 sn Note the remarkable similarity of Jesus’ testimony to the later testimony of the Apostle John himself in 1 John 1:2: “And we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us.” This is only one example of how thoroughly the author’s own thoughts were saturated with the words of Jesus (and also how difficult it is to distinguish the words of Jesus from the words of the author in the Fourth Gospel).
5 tn Or “is above all.”
6 tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”
7 sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.
8 tc Ì75 א* D Ë1 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanw pantwn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (Ì36vid,66 א2 A B L Ws Θ Ψ 083 086 Ë13 33 Ï lat sys,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.
tn Or “is above all.”