Yohanes 1:5

1:5 And the light shines on ¹  in the darkness, ²  but ³  the darkness has not mastered it. ⁴ 

Yohanes 1:27

1:27 who is coming after me. I am not worthy ⁵  to untie the strap ⁶  of his sandal!”

Yohanes 3:10

3:10 Jesus answered, ⁷  “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? ⁸ 

Yohanes 3:12

3:12 If I have told you people ⁹  about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹⁰ 

Yohanes 4:48

4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people ¹¹  see signs and wonders you will never believe!” ¹² 

Yohanes 5:34

5:34 (I do not accept ¹³  human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.)

Yohanes 7:10

7:10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus ¹⁴  himself also went up, not openly but in secret.

Yohanes 7:34

7:34 You will look for me ¹⁵  but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”

Yohanes 8:35

8:35 The slave does not remain in the family ¹⁶  forever, but the son remains forever. ¹⁷ 

Yohanes 8:46

8:46 Who among you can prove me guilty ¹⁸  of any sin? ¹⁹  If I am telling you ²⁰  the truth, why don’t you believe me?

Yohanes 8:50

8:50 I am not trying to get ²¹  praise for myself. ²²  There is one who demands ²³  it, and he also judges. ²⁴ 

Yohanes 10:5

10:5 They will never follow a stranger, ²⁵  but will run away from him, because they do not recognize ²⁶  the stranger’s voice.” ²⁷ 

Yohanes 11:26

11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. ²⁸  Do you believe this?”

Yohanes 12:30

12:30 Jesus said, ²⁹  “This voice has not come for my benefit ³⁰  but for yours.

Yohanes 13:24

13:24 So Simon Peter ³¹  gestured to this disciple ³²  to ask Jesus ³³  who it was he was referring to. ³⁴ 

Yohanes 17:20

Jesus Prays for Believers Everywhere

17:20 “I am not praying ³⁵  only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe ³⁶  in me through their testimony, ³⁷ 

Yohanes 19:33

19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

Yohanes 21:5

21:5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish, ³⁸  do you?” ³⁹  They replied, ⁴⁰  “No.”

[1:5]  ¹ tn To this point the author has used past tenses (imperfects, aorists); now he switches to a present. The light continually shines (thus the translation, “shines on”). Even as the author writes, it is shining. The present here most likely has gnomic force (though it is possible to take it as a historical present); it expresses the timeless truth that the light of the world (cf. 8:12, 9:5, 12:46) never ceases to shine.

[1:5]  sn The light shines on. The question of whether John has in mind here the preincarnate Christ or the incarnate Christ is probably too specific. The incarnation is not really introduced until v. 9, but here the point is more general: It is of the very nature of light, that it shines.

[1:5]  ² sn The author now introduces what will become a major theme of John’s Gospel: the opposition of light and darkness. The antithesis is a natural one, widespread in antiquity. Gen 1 gives considerable emphasis to it in the account of the creation, and so do the writings of Qumran. It is the major theme of one of the most important extra-biblical documents found at Qumran, the so-called War Scroll, properly titled The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness. Connections between John and Qumran are still an area of scholarly debate and a consensus has not yet emerged. See T. A. Hoffman, “1 John and the Qumran Scrolls,” BTB 8 (1978): 117-25.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “and,” but the context clearly indicates a contrast, so this has been translated as an adversative use of καί (kai).

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Or “comprehended it,” or “overcome it.” The verb κατέλαβεν (katelaben) is not easy to translate. “To seize” or “to grasp” is possible, but this also permits “to grasp with the mind” in the sense of “to comprehend” (esp. in the middle voice). This is probably another Johannine double meaning – one does not usually think of darkness as trying to “understand” light. For it to mean this, “darkness” must be understood as meaning “certain people,” or perhaps “humanity” at large, darkened in understanding. But in John’s usage, darkness is not normally used of people or a group of people. Rather it usually signifies the evil environment or ‘sphere’ in which people find themselves: “They loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). Those who follow Jesus do not walk in darkness (8:12). They are to walk while they have light, lest the darkness “overtake/overcome” them (12:35, same verb as here). For John, with his set of symbols and imagery, darkness is not something which seeks to “understand (comprehend)” the light, but represents the forces of evil which seek to “overcome (conquer)” it. The English verb “to master” may be used in both sorts of contexts, as “he mastered his lesson” and “he mastered his opponent.”

[1:27]  ⁵ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[1:27]  sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet.

[1:27]  ⁶ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

[3:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to him.”

[3:10]  ⁸ sn Jesus’ question “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?” implies that Nicodemus had enough information at his disposal from the OT scriptures to have understood Jesus’ statements about the necessity of being born from above by the regenerating work of the Spirit. Isa 44:3-5 and Ezek 37:9-10 are passages Nicodemus might have known which would have given him insight into Jesus’ words. Another significant passage which contains many of these concepts is Prov 30:4-5.

[3:12]  ⁹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than Nicodemus alone).

[3:12]  ¹⁰ sn Obviously earthly things and heavenly things are in contrast, but what is the contrast? What are earthly things which Jesus has just spoken to Nicodemus? And through him to others – this is not the first instance of the plural pronoun, see v. 7, you must all. Since Nicodemus began with a plural (we know, v. 2) Jesus continues it, and through Nicodemus addresses a broader audience. It makes most sense to take this as a reference to the things Jesus has just said (and the things he is about to say, vv. 13-15). If this is the case (and it seems the most natural explanation) then earthly things are not necessarily strictly physical things, but are so called because they take place on earth, in contrast to things like v. 16, which take place in heaven. Some have added the suggestion that the things are called earthly because physical analogies (birth, wind, water) are used to describe them. This is possible, but it seems more probable that Jesus calls these things earthly because they happen on earth (even though they are spiritual things). In the context, taking earthly things as referring to the words Jesus has just spoken fits with the fact that Nicodemus did not believe. And he would not after hearing heavenly things either, unless he first believed in the earthly things – which included the necessity of a regenerating work from above, by the Holy Spirit.

[4:48]  ¹¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than the royal official alone).

[4:48]  ¹² tn Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.

[5:34]  ¹³ tn Or “I do not receive.”

[7:10]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:34]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “seek me.”

[8:35]  ¹⁶ tn Or “household.” The Greek work οἰκία (oikia) can denote the family as consisting of relatives by both descent and marriage, as well as slaves and servants, living in the same house (more the concept of an “extended family”).

[8:35]  ¹⁷ sn Jesus’ point is that while a slave may be part of a family or household, the slave is not guaranteed a permanent place there, while a son, as a descendant or blood relative, will always be guaranteed a place in the family (remains forever).

[8:46]  ¹⁸ tn Or “can convict me.”

[8:46]  ¹⁹ tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”

[8:46]  ²⁰ tn Or “if I tell you.”

[8:50]  ²¹ tn Grk “I am not seeking.”

[8:50]  ²² tn Grk “my glory.”

[8:50]  ²³ tn Grk “who seeks.”

[8:50]  ²⁴ tn Or “will be the judge.”

[10:5]  ²⁵ tn Or “someone whom they do not know.”

[10:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “know.”

[10:5]  ²⁷ tn Or “the voice of someone they do not know.”

[11:26]  ²⁸ tn Grk “will never die forever.”

[12:30]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said.”

[12:30]  ³⁰ tn Or “for my sake.”

[13:24]  ³¹ sn It is not clear where Simon Peter was seated. If he were on Jesus’ other side, it is difficult to see why he would not have asked the question himself. It would also have been difficult to beckon to the beloved disciple, on Jesus’ right, from such a position. So apparently Peter was seated somewhere else. It is entirely possible that Judas was seated to Jesus’ left. Matt 26:25 seems to indicate that Jesus could speak to him without being overheard by the rest of the group. Judas is evidently in a position where Jesus can hand him the morsel of food (13:26).

[13:24]  ³² tn Grk “to this one”; the referent (the beloved disciple) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ³³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ³⁴ sn That is, who would betray him (v. 21).

[17:20]  ³⁵ tn Or “I do not pray.”

[17:20]  ³⁶ tn Although πιστευόντων (pisteuontwn) is a present participle, it must in context carry futuristic force. The disciples whom Jesus is leaving behind will carry on his ministry and in doing so will see others come to trust in him. This will include not only Jewish Christians, but other Gentile Christians who are “not of this fold” (10:16), and thus Jesus’ prayer for unity is especially appropriate in light of the probability that most of the readers of the Gospel are Gentiles (much as Paul stresses unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Eph 2:10-22).

[17:20]  ³⁷ tn Grk “their word.”

[21:5]  ³⁸ tn The word προσφάγιον (prosfagion) is unusual. According to BDAG 886 s.v. in Hellenistic Greek it described a side dish to be eaten with bread, and in some contexts was the equivalent of ὄψον (oyon), “fish.” Used in addressing a group of returning fishermen, however, it is quite clear that the speaker had fish in mind.

[21:5]  ³⁹ 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 “do you?”).

[21:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “They answered him.”