John 3:4

3:4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?” ¹ 

John 6:11

6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, ²  as much as they wanted.

John 7:35

7:35 Then the Jewish leaders ³  said to one another, “Where is he ⁴  going to go that we cannot find him? ⁵  He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed ⁶  among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? ⁷ 

John 9:15

9:15 So the Pharisees asked him again how he had gained his sight. ⁸  He replied, ⁹  “He put mud ¹⁰  on my eyes and I washed, and now ¹¹  I am able to see.”

John 9:21

9:21 But we do not know how he is now able to see, nor do we know who caused him to see. ¹²  Ask him, he is a mature adult. ¹³  He will speak for himself.”

John 11:51

11:51 (Now he did not say this on his own, ¹⁴  but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation, ¹⁵ 

John 12:6

12:6 (Now Judas ¹⁶  said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, ¹⁷  he used to steal what was put into it.) ¹⁸ 

John 19:38

Jesus’ Burial

19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders ¹⁹ ), ²⁰  asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate ²¹  gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. ²² 

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¹ tn The grammatical structure of the question in Greek presupposes a negative reply.

² tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”

³ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).

⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

⁵ tn Grk “will not find him.”

⁶ sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.

⁷ 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 “is he?”).

sn Note the Jewish opponents’ misunderstanding of Jesus’ words, as made clear in vv. 35-36. They didn’t realize he spoke of his departure out of the world. This is another example of the author’s use of misunderstanding as a literary device to emphasize a point.

⁸ tn Or “how he had become able to see.”

sn So the Pharisees asked him. Note the subtlety here: On the surface, the man is being judged. But through him, Jesus is being judged. Yet in reality (as the discerning reader will realize) it is ironically the Pharisees themselves who are being judged by their response to Jesus who is the light of the world (cf. 3:17-21).

⁹ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

¹⁰ tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).

¹¹ tn The word “now” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate the contrast between the man’s former state (blind) and his present state (able to see).

¹² tn Grk “who opened his eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

¹³ tn Or “he is of age.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “say this from himself.”

¹⁵ tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).

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

¹⁷ tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.

¹⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.

¹⁹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

²¹ tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

²² tn Grk “took away his body.”