Discovery BoxJohn 2:15 
Context2:15 So he made a whip of cords 1 and drove them all out of the temple courts, 2 with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers 3 and overturned their tables.
John 2:20
Context2:20 Then the Jewish leaders 4 said to him, “This temple has been under construction 5 for forty-six years, 6 and are you going to raise it up in three days?”
John 5:14
Context5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, 7 lest anything worse happen to you.”
John 11:56
Context11:56 Thus they were looking for Jesus, 8 and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts, 9 “What do you think? That he won’t come to the feast?”
John 18:20
Context18:20 Jesus replied, 10 “I have spoken publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues 11 and in the temple courts, 12 where all the Jewish people 13 assemble together. I 14 have said nothing in secret.
1 tc Several witnesses, two of which are quite ancient (Ì66,75 L N Ë1 33 565 892 1241 al lat), have ὡς (Jws, “like”) before φραγέλλιον (fragellion, “whip”). A decision based on external evidence would be difficult to make because the shorter reading also has excellent witnesses, as well as the majority, on its side (א A B Θ Ψ Ë13 Ï co). Internal evidence, though, leans toward the shorter reading. Scribes tended to add to the text, and the addition of ὡς here clearly softens the assertion of the evangelist: Instead of making a whip of cords, Jesus made “[something] like a whip of cords.”
2 tn Grk “the temple.”
3 sn Because of the imperial Roman portraits they carried, Roman denarii and Attic drachmas were not permitted to be used in paying the half-shekel temple-tax (the Jews considered the portraits idolatrous). The money changers exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian coinage at a small profit.
4 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 18.
5 tn A close parallel to the aorist οἰκοδομήθη (oikodomhqh) can be found in Ezra 5:16 (LXX), where it is clear from the following verb that the construction had not yet been completed. Thus the phrase has been translated “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years.” Some, however, see the term ναός (naos) here as referring only to the sanctuary and the aorist verb as consummative, so that the meaning would be “this temple was built forty-six years ago” (so ExSyn 560-61). Ultimately in context the logic of the authorities’ reply appears to fit more naturally if it compares length of time for original construction with length of time to reconstruct it.
6 sn According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.1 [15.380]), work on this temple was begun in the 18th year of Herod the Great’s reign, which would have been ca. 19
7 tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.
8 tn Grk “they were seeking Jesus.”
9 tn Grk “in the temple.”
10 tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”
11 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.
12 tn Grk “in the temple.”
13 tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people generally, for whom the synagogues and the temple courts in Jerusalem were important public gathering places. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish religious leaders” in v. 12.
14 tn Grk “And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
