Yohanes 8:52

8:52 Then ¹  the Judeans ²  responded, ³  “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! ⁴  Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet ⁵  you say, ‘If anyone obeys ⁶  my teaching, ⁷  he will never experience ⁸  death.’ ⁹ 

Yohanes 12:16

12:16 (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, ¹⁰  but when Jesus was glorified, ¹¹  then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened ¹²  to him.) ¹³ 

Yohanes 16:4

16:4 But I have told you these things ¹⁴  so that when their time ¹⁵  comes, you will remember that I told you about them. ¹⁶ 

“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you. ¹⁷ 

[8:52]  ¹ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (Ì⁶⁶ א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì⁷⁵ D L Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (Ì⁷⁵) has the conjunction, the combination of Ì⁶⁶ א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:52]  ² tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31).

[8:52]  ³ tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:52]  ⁴ tn Grk “you have a demon.”

[8:52]  ⁵ tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:52]  ⁶ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:52]  ⁷ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:52]  ⁸ tn Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[8:52]  ⁹ tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[12:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”

[12:16]  ¹¹ sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.

[12:16]  ¹² tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).

[12:16]  ¹³ sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).

[16:4]  ¹⁴ tn The first half of v. 4 resumes the statement of 16:1, ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν (tauta lelalhka Jumin), in a somewhat more positive fashion, omitting the reference to the disciples being caused to stumble.

[16:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “their hour.”

[16:4]  ¹⁶ tn The words “about them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:4]  ¹⁷ sn This verse serves as a transition between the preceding discussion of the persecutions the disciples will face in the world after the departure of Jesus, and the following discussion concerning the departure of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit-Paraclete. Jesus had not told the disciples these things from the beginning because he was with them.