John 8:6
Context8:6 (Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against 1 him.) 2 Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger. 3
John 20:27
Context20:27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put 4 your finger here, and examine 5 my hands. Extend 6 your hand and put it 7 into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” 8
John 20:25
Context20:25 The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, 9 “Unless I see the wounds 10 from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!” 11
1 tn Grk “so that they could accuse.”
2 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author of 7:53–8:11.
3 tn Or possibly “Jesus bent down and wrote an accusation on the ground with his finger.” The Greek verb καταγράφω (katagrafw) may indicate only the action of writing on the ground by Jesus, but in the overall context (Jesus’ response to the accusation against the woman) it can also be interpreted as implying that what Jesus wrote was a counteraccusation against the accusers (although there is no clue as to the actual content of what he wrote, some scribes added “the sins of each one of them” either here or at the end of v. 8 [U 264 700 al]).
4 tn Or “Extend” or “Reach out.” The translation “put” or “reach out” for φέρω (ferw) here is given in BDAG 1052 s.v. 4.
5 tn Grk “see.” The Greek verb ἴδε (ide) is often used like its cognate ἰδού (idou) in Hellenistic Greek (which is “used to emphasize the …importance of someth.” [BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 1.b.ε]).
6 tn Or “reach out” or “put.”
7 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
8 tn Grk “and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
9 tn Grk “but he said to them.”
10 tn Or “marks.”
11 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. The use of “it” here as direct object of the verb πιστεύσω (pisteusw) specifies exactly what Thomas was refusing to believe: that Jesus had risen from the dead, as reported by his fellow disciples. Otherwise the English reader may be left with the impression Thomas was refusing to “believe in” Jesus, or “believe Jesus to be the Christ.” The dramatic tension in this narrative is heightened when Thomas, on seeing for himself the risen Christ, believes more than just the resurrection (see John 20:28).