John 8:37

8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. ¹  But you want ²  to kill me, because my teaching ³  makes no progress among you. ⁴ 

John 8:40

8:40 But now you are trying ⁵  to kill me, a man who has told you ⁶  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ⁷ 

John 8:59

8:59 Then they picked up ⁸  stones to throw at him, ⁹  but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area. ¹⁰ 

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¹ tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

² tn Grk “you are seeking.”

³ tn Grk “my word.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Grk “seeking.”

⁶ tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

⁷ tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.

⁸ tn Grk “they took up.”

⁹ sn Jesus’ Jewish listeners understood his claim to deity, rejected it, and picked up stones to throw at him for what they considered blasphemy.

¹⁰ tc Most later witnesses (A Θ^c Ë^1,13 Ï) have at the end of the verse “passing through their midst, he went away in this manner” (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου καὶ παρῆγεν οὕτως, dielqwn dia mesou kai parhgen {outw"), while many others have similar permutations (so א^1,2 C L N Ψ 070 33 579 892 1241 al). The wording is similar to two other texts: Luke 4:30 (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου; in several mss αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο καί [autwn eporeueto kai] is found between this phrase and παρῆγεν, strengthening the parallel with Luke 4:30) and John 9:1 (παρῆγεν; cf. παράγων [paragwn] there). The effect is to signal Jesus’ departure as a miraculous cloaking. As such, the additional statement has all the earmarks of scribal amplification. Further, the best and earliest witnesses (Ì^66,75 א* B D W Θ* lat sa) lack these words, rendering the shorter text virtually certain.

tn Grk “from the temple.”