Yohanes 4:1--5:47
Konteks4:1 Now when Jesus 1 knew that the Pharisees 2 had heard that he 3 was winning 4 and baptizing more disciples than John 4:2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), 5 4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. 6
4:4 But he had 7 to pass through Samaria. 8 4:5 Now he came to a Samaritan town 9 called Sychar, 10 near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 11 4:6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside 12 the well. It was about noon. 13
4:7 A Samaritan woman 14 came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water 15 to drink.” 4:8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies. 16 ) 17 4:9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you – a Jew 18 – ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water 19 to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common 20 with Samaritans.) 21
4:10 Jesus answered 22 her, “If you had known 23 the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water 24 to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 25 4:11 “Sir,” 26 the woman 27 said to him, “you have no bucket and the well 28 is deep; where then do you get this 29 living water? 30 4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor 31 Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.” 32
4:13 Jesus replied, 33 “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty 34 again. 4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, 35 but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain 36 of water springing up 37 to eternal life.” 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw 38 water.” 39 4:16 He 40 said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.” 41 4:17 The woman replied, 42 “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, 43 ‘I have no husband,’ 44 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with 45 now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!”
4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see 46 that you are a prophet. 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, 47 and you people 48 say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 49 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, 50 a time 51 is coming when you will worship 52 the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people 53 worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. 54 4:23 But a time 55 is coming – and now is here 56 – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks 57 such people to be 58 his worshipers. 59 4:24 God is spirit, 60 and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); 61 “whenever he 62 comes, he will tell 63 us everything.” 64 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
4:27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back. 65 They were shocked 66 because he was speaking 67 with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you want?” 68 or “Why are you speaking with her?” 4:28 Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, 69 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, 70 can he?” 71 4:30 So 72 they left the town and began coming 73 to him.
4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, 74 “Rabbi, eat something.” 75 4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 4:33 So the disciples began to say 76 to one another, “No one brought him anything 77 to eat, did they?” 78 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me 79 and to complete 80 his work. 81 4:35 Don’t you say, 82 ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up 83 and see that the fields are already white 84 for harvest! 4:36 The one who reaps receives pay 85 and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 4:37 For in this instance the saying is true, 86 ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 4:38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
4:39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, 87 “He told me everything I ever did.” 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking 88 him to stay with them. 89 He stayed there two days, 4:41 and because of his word many more 90 believed. 4:42 They said to the woman, “No longer do we believe because of your words, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this one 91 really is the Savior of the world.” 92
4:43 After the two days he departed from there to Galilee. 4:44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 93 4:45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem 94 at the feast 95 (for they themselves had gone to the feast). 96
4:46 Now he came again to Cana 97 in Galilee where he had made the water wine. 98 In 99 Capernaum 100 there was a certain royal official 101 whose son was sick. 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him 102 to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people 103 see signs and wonders you will never believe!” 104 4:49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” 4:50 Jesus told him, “Go home; 105 your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home. 106
4:51 While he was on his way down, 107 his slaves 108 met him and told him that his son was going to live. 4:52 So he asked them the time 109 when his condition began to improve, 110 and 111 they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon 112 the fever left him.” 4:53 Then the father realized that it was the very time 113 Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household. 4:54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign 114 when he returned from Judea to Galilee.
5:1 After this 115 there was a Jewish feast, 116 and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 117 5:2 Now there is 118 in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate 119 a pool called Bethzatha 120 in Aramaic, 121 which has five covered walkways. 122 5:3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. 5:4 [[EMPTY]] 123 5:5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 124 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized 125 that the man 126 had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” 5:7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, 127 I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, 128 someone else 129 goes down there 130 before me.” 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat 131 and walk.” 5:9 Immediately the man was healed, 132 and he picked up his mat 133 and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.) 134
5:10 So the Jewish leaders 135 said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.” 136 5:11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat 137 and walk.’” 5:12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat 138 and walk’?” 139 5:13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped out, since there was a crowd in that place.
5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, 140 lest anything worse happen to you.” 5:15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders 141 that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things 142 on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders 143 began persecuting 144 him. 5:17 So he 145 told 146 them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” 147 5:18 For this reason the Jewish leaders 148 were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.
5:19 So Jesus answered them, 149 “I tell you the solemn truth, 150 the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, 151 but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father 152 does, the Son does likewise. 153 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, 154 so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 155 5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge 156 anyone, but has assigned 157 all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people 158 will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, 159 the one who hears 160 my message 161 and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, 162 but has crossed over from death to life. 5:25 I tell you the solemn truth, 163 a time 164 is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 5:26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 5:27 and he has granted the Son 165 authority to execute judgment, 166 because he is the Son of Man.
5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time 167 is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 5:29 and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. 168 5:30 I can do nothing on my own initiative. 169 Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, 170 because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. 171
5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 5:32 There is another 172 who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true. 5:33 You have sent to John, 173 and he has testified to the truth. 5:34 (I do not accept 174 human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, 175 and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time 176 in his light.
5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds 177 that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds 178 I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me. 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people 179 have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, 180 5:38 nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent. 5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly 181 because you think in them you possess eternal life, 182 and it is these same scriptures 183 that testify about me, 5:40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.
5:41 “I do not accept 184 praise 185 from people, 186 5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God 187 within you. 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept 188 me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept 189 him. 5:44 How can you believe, if you accept praise 190 from one another and don’t seek the praise 191 that comes from the only God? 192
5:45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. 193 5:46 If 194 you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 5:47 But if you do not believe what Moses 195 wrote, how will you believe my words?”
[4:1] 1 tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì66c,75 A B C L Ws Ψ 083 Ë13 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì66* א D Θ 086 Ë1 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.
[4:1] 2 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[4:1] 3 tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.
[4:2] 5 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[4:3] 6 sn The author doesn’t tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come).
[4:4] 7 sn Travel through Samaria was not geographically necessary; the normal route for Jews ran up the east side of the Jordan River (Transjordan). Although some take the impersonal verb had to (δεῖ, dei) here to indicate logical necessity only, normally in John’s Gospel its use involves God’s will or plan (3:7, 3:14, 3:30, 4:4, 4:20, 4:24, 9:4, 10:16, 12:34, 20:9).
[4:4] 8 sn Samaria. The Samaritans were descendants of 2 groups: (1) The remnant of native Israelites who were not deported after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722
[4:5] 9 tn Grk “town of Samaria.” The noun Σαμαρείας (Samareias) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
[4:5] 10 sn Sychar was somewhere in the vicinity of Shechem, possibly the village of Askar, 1.5 km northeast of Jacob’s well.
[4:5] 11 sn Perhaps referred to in Gen 48:22.
[4:6] 12 tn Grk “on (ἐπί, epi) the well.” There may have been a low stone rim encircling the well, or the reading of Ì66 (“on the ground”) may be correct.
[4:6] 13 tn Grk “the sixth hour.”
[4:6] sn It was about noon. The suggestion has been made by some that time should be reckoned from midnight rather than sunrise. This would make the time 6 a.m. rather than noon. That would fit in this passage but not in John 19:14 which places the time when Jesus is condemned to be crucified at “the sixth hour.”
[4:7] 14 tn Grk “a woman from Samaria.” According to BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, the prepositional phrase is to be translated as a simple attributive: “γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας a Samaritan woman J 4:7.”
[4:7] 15 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
[4:8] 17 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author, indicating why Jesus asked the woman for a drink (for presumably his disciples also took the water bucket with them).
[4:9] 18 tn Or “a Judean.” Here BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαίος 2.a states, “Judean (with respect to birth, nationality, or cult).” The same term occurs in the plural later in this verse. In one sense “Judean” would work very well in the translation here, since the contrast is between residents of the two geographical regions. However, since in the context of this chapter the discussion soon becomes a religious rather than a territorial one (cf. vv. 19-26), the translation “Jew” has been retained here and in v. 22.
[4:9] 19 tn “Water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
[4:9] 20 tn D. Daube (“Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: the Meaning of συγχράομαι [Jn 4:7ff],” JBL 69 [1950]: 137-47) suggests this meaning.
[4:9] sn The background to the statement use nothing in common is the general assumption among Jews that the Samaritans were ritually impure or unclean. Thus a Jew who used a drinking vessel after a Samaritan had touched it would become ceremonially unclean.
[4:9] 21 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[4:10] 22 tn Grk “answered and said to her.”
[4:10] 23 tn Or “if you knew.”
[4:10] 24 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
[4:10] 25 tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.
[4:10] sn The word translated living is used in Greek of flowing water, which leads to the woman’s misunderstanding in the following verse. She thought Jesus was referring to some unknown source of drinkable water.
[4:11] 26 tn Or “Lord.” The Greek term κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage there is probably a gradual transition from one to the other as the woman’s respect for Jesus grows throughout the conversation (4:11, 15, 19).
[4:11] 27 tc ‡ Two early and important Greek
[4:11] 28 tn The word for “well” has now shifted to φρέαρ (frear, “cistern”); earlier in the passage it was πηγή (phgh).
[4:11] 29 tn The anaphoric article has been translated “this.”
[4:11] 30 sn Where then do you get this living water? The woman’s reply is an example of the “misunderstood statement,” a technique appearing frequently in John’s Gospel. Jesus was speaking of living water which was spiritual (ultimately a Johannine figure for the Holy Spirit, see John 7:38-39), but the woman thought he was speaking of flowing (fresh drinkable) water. Her misunderstanding gave Jesus the opportunity to explain what he really meant.
[4:12] 31 tn Or “our forefather”; Grk “our father.”
[4:12] 32 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 this instance all of v. 12 is one question. It has been broken into two sentences for the sake of English style (instead of “for he” the Greek reads “who”).
[4:13] 33 tn Grk “answered and said to her.”
[4:13] 34 tn Grk “will thirst.”
[4:14] 35 tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.
[4:14] 36 tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (phgh) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.
[4:14] 37 tn The verb ἁλλομένου (Jallomenou) is used of quick movement (like jumping) on the part of living beings. This is the only instance of its being applied to the action of water. However, in the LXX it is used to describe the “Spirit of God” as it falls on Samson and Saul. See Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kgdms 10:2, 10 LXX (= 1 Sam 10:6, 10 ET); and Isa 35:6 (note context).
[4:15] 38 tn Grk “or come here to draw.”
[4:15] 39 tn The direct object of the infinitive ἀντλεῖν (antlein) is understood in Greek but supplied for clarity in the English translation.
[4:16] 40 tc Most witnesses have “Jesus” here, either with the article (אc C2 D L Ws Ψ 086 Ï lat) or without (א* A Θ Ë1,13 al), while several important and early witnesses lack the name (Ì66,75 B C* 33vid pc). It is unlikely that scribes would have deliberately expunged the name of Jesus from the text here, especially since it aids the reader with the flow of the dialogue. Further, that the name occurs both anarthrously and with the article suggests that it was a later addition. (For similar arguments, see the tc note on “woman” in 4:11).
[4:16] 41 tn Grk “come here” (“back” is implied).
[4:17] 42 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
[4:17] 43 tn Grk “Well have you said.”
[4:17] 44 tn The word order in Jesus’ reply is reversed from the woman’s original statement. The word “husband” in Jesus’ reply is placed in an emphatic position.
[4:18] 45 tn Grk “the one you have.”
[4:19] 46 tn Grk “behold” or “perceive,” but these are not as common in contemporary English usage.
[4:20] 47 sn This mountain refers to Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan shrine was located.
[4:20] 48 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “say” is second person plural and thus refers to more than Jesus alone.
[4:20] 49 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[4:21] 50 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
[4:21] 52 tn The verb is plural.
[4:22] 53 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.
[4:22] 54 tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.
[4:23] 56 tn “Here” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to conform to contemporary English idiom.
[4:23] 57 sn See also John 4:27.
[4:23] 58 tn Or “as.” The object-complement construction implies either “as” or “to be.”
[4:23] 59 tn This is a double accusative construction of object and complement with τοιούτους (toioutous) as the object and the participle προσκυνοῦντας (proskunounta") as the complement.
[4:23] sn The Father wants such people as his worshipers. Note how the woman has been concerned about where people ought to worship, while Jesus is concerned about who people ought to worship.
[4:24] 60 tn Here πνεῦμα (pneuma) is understood as a qualitative predicate nominative while the articular θεός (qeos) is the subject.
[4:25] 61 tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”
[4:25] sn The one called Christ. This is a parenthetical statement by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.
[4:25] 63 tn Or “he will announce to us.”
[4:25] 64 tn Grk “all things.”
[4:27] 65 tn Or “his disciples returned”; Grk “came” (“back” is supplied in keeping with English usage). Because of the length of the Greek sentence it is better to divide here and begin a new English sentence, leaving the καί (kai) before ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) untranslated.
[4:27] 66 tn BDAG 444 s.v. θαυμάζω 1.a.γ has “be surprised that” followed by indirect discourse. The context calls for a slightly stronger wording.
[4:27] 67 tn The ὅτι (Joti) could also be translated as declarative (“that he had been speaking with a woman”) but since this would probably require translating the imperfect verb as a past perfect (which is normal after a declarative ὅτι), it is preferable to take this ὅτι as causal.
[4:27] 68 tn Grk “seek.” See John 4:23.
[4:27] sn The question “What do you want?” is John’s editorial comment (for no one in the text was asking it). The author is making a literary link with Jesus’ statement in v. 23: It is evident that, in spite of what the disciples may have been thinking, what Jesus was seeking is what the Father was seeking, that is to say, someone to worship him.
[4:28] 69 tn The term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) used here can mean either “people” (when used generically) or “men” (though there is a more specific term in Greek for adult males, ανήρ [anhr]). Thus the woman could have been speaking either (1) to all the people or (2) to the male leaders of the city as their representatives. However, most recent English translations regard the former as more likely and render the word “people” here.
[4:29] 70 tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.
[4:29] 71 tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.
[4:30] 72 tn “So” is supplied for transitional smoothness in English.
[4:30] 73 sn The imperfect tense is here rendered began coming for the author is not finished with this part of the story yet; these same Samaritans will appear again in v. 35.
[4:31] 74 tn Grk “were asking him, saying.”
[4:31] 75 tn The direct object of φάγε (fage) in Greek is understood; “something” is supplied in English.
[4:33] 76 tn An ingressive imperfect conveys the idea that Jesus’ reply provoked the disciples’ response.
[4:33] 77 tn The direct object of ἤνεγκεν (hnenken) in Greek is understood; “anything” is supplied in English.
[4:33] 78 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 it is “did they?”).
[4:34] 79 sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.
[4:34] 80 tn Or “to accomplish.”
[4:34] 81 tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.
[4:34] sn No one brought him anything to eat, did they? In the discussion with the disciples which took place while the woman had gone into the city, note again the misunderstanding: The disciples thought Jesus referred to physical food, while he was really speaking figuratively and spiritually again. Thus Jesus was forced to explain what he meant, and the explanation that his food was his mission, to do the will of God and accomplish his work, leads naturally into the metaphor of the harvest. The fruit of his mission was represented by the Samaritans who were coming to him.
[4:35] 82 tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after λέγετε (legete) has not been translated.
[4:35] 83 tn Grk “lift up your eyes” (an idiom). BDAG 357 s.v. ἐπαίρω 1 has “look up” here.
[4:36] 85 tn Or “a reward”; see L&N 38.14 and 57.173. This is something of a wordplay.
[4:37] 86 tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after ἀληθινός (alhqino") has not been translated.
[4:39] 87 tn Grk “when she testified.”
[4:40] 88 tn Following the arrival of the Samaritans, the imperfect verb has been translated as ingressive.
[4:40] 89 tn Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the sequencing with the following verse, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
[4:41] 90 tn Or “and they believed much more.”
[4:42] 91 tn Or “this.” The Greek pronoun can mean either “this one” or “this” (BDAG 740 s.v. οὗτος 1).
[4:42] 92 sn There is irony in the Samaritans’ declaration that Jesus was really the Savior of the world, an irony foreshadowed in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel (1:11): “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” Yet the Samaritans welcomed Jesus and proclaimed him to be not the Jewish Messiah only, but the Savior of the world.
[4:44] 93 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[4:45] 94 sn All the things he had done in Jerusalem probably refers to the signs mentioned in John 2:23.
[4:45] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[4:45] 95 sn See John 2:23-25.
[4:45] 96 sn John 4:44-45. The last part of v. 45 is a parenthetical note by the author. The major problem in these verses concerns the contradiction between the proverb stated by Jesus in v. 44 and the reception of the Galileans in v. 45. Origen solved the problem by referring his own country to Judea (which Jesus had just left) and not Galilee. But this runs counter to the thrust of John’s Gospel, which takes pains to identify Jesus with Galilee (cf. 1:46) and does not even mention his Judean birth. R. E. Brown typifies the contemporary approach: He regards v. 44 as an addition by a later redactor who wanted to emphasize Jesus’ unsatisfactory reception in Galilee. Neither expedient is necessary, though, if honor is understood in its sense of attributing true worth to someone. The Galileans did welcome him, but their welcome was to prove a superficial response based on what they had seen him do at the feast. There is no indication that the signs they saw brought them to place their faith in Jesus any more than Nicodemus did on the basis of the signs. But a superficial welcome based on enthusiasm for miracles is no real honor at all.
[4:46] 97 map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.
[4:46] 98 sn See John 2:1-11.
[4:46] 100 sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.
[4:46] map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[4:46] 101 tn Although βασιλικός (basiliko") has often been translated “nobleman” it is almost certainly refers here to a servant of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee (who in the NT is called a king, Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29). Capernaum was a border town, so doubtless there were many administrative officials in residence there.
[4:47] 102 tn The direct object of ἠρώτα (hrwta) is supplied from context. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[4:48] 103 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] 104 tn Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.
[4:50] 105 tn Grk “Go”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[4:50] 106 tn Grk “and left.” The words “for home” are implied by the following verse.
[4:51] 107 sn While he was on his way down. Going to Capernaum from Cana, one must go east across the Galilean hills and then descend to the Sea of Galilee. The 20 mi (33 km) journey could not be made in a single day. The use of the description on his way down shows the author was familiar with Palestinian geography.
[4:51] 108 tn Traditionally, “servants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[4:52] 110 tn BDAG 558 s.v. κομψότερον translates the idiom κομψότερον ἔχειν (komyoteron ecein) as “begin to improve.”
[4:52] 111 tn The second οὖν (oun) in 4:52 has been translated as “and” to improve English style by avoiding redundancy.
[4:52] 112 tn Grk “at the seventh hour.”
[4:53] 113 tn Grk “at that hour.”
[4:54] 114 tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. 2:11 where the same construction occurs.
[5:1] 115 sn The temporal indicator After this is not specific, so it is uncertain how long after the incidents at Cana this occurred.
[5:1] 116 tc The textual variants ἑορτή or ἡ ἑορτή (Jeorth or Jh Jeorth, “a feast” or “the feast”) may not appear significant at first, but to read ἑορτή with the article would almost certainly demand a reference to the Jewish Passover. The article is found in א C L Δ Ψ Ë1 33 892 1424 pm, but is lacking in {Ì66,75 A B D T Ws Θ Ë13 565 579 700 1241 pm}. Overall, the shorter reading has somewhat better support. Internally, the known proclivity of scribes to make the text more explicit argues compellingly for the shorter reading. Thus, the verse refers to a feast other than the Passover. The incidental note in 5:3, that the sick were lying outside in the porticoes of the pool, makes Passover an unlikely time because it fell toward the end of winter and the weather would not have been warm. L. Morris (John [NICNT], 299, n. 6) thinks it impossible to identify the feast with certainty.
[5:1] sn A Jewish feast. Jews were obligated to go up to Jerusalem for 3 major annual feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. If the first is probably ruled out because of the time of year, the last is not as likely because it forms the central setting for chap. 7 (where there are many indications in the context that Tabernacles is the feast in view.) This leaves the feast of Pentecost, which at some point prior to this time in Jewish tradition (as reflected in Jewish intertestamental literature and later post-Christian rabbinic writings) became identified with the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Such an association might explain Jesus’ reference to Moses in 5:45-46. This is uncertain, however. The only really important fact for the author is that the healing was done on a Sabbath. This is what provoked the controversy with the Jewish authorities recorded in 5:16-47.
[5:1] 117 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:2] 118 tn Regarding the use of the present tense ἐστιν (estin) and its implications for the dating of the Gospel of John, see the article by D. B. Wallace, “John 5,2 and the Date of the Fourth Gospel,” Bib 71 (1990): 177-205.
[5:2] 119 tn The site of the miracle is also something of a problem: προβατικῇ (probatikh) is usually taken as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple. Some (R. E. Brown and others) would place the word κολυμβήθρα (kolumbhqra) with προβατικῇ to read “in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Pool, there is (another pool) with the Hebrew name.” This would imply that there is reference to two pools in the context rather than only one. This does not seem necessary (although it is a grammatical possibility). The gender of the words does not help since both are feminine (as is the participle ἐπιλεγομένη [epilegomenh]). Note however that Brown’s suggestion would require a feminine word to be supplied (for the participle ἐπιλεγομένη to modify). The traditional understanding of the phrase as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple appears more probably correct.
[5:2] 120 tc Some
[5:2] sn On the location of the pool called Bethzatha, the double-pool of St. Anne is the probable site, and has been excavated; the pools were trapezoidal in shape, 165 ft (49.5 m) wide at one end, 220 ft (66 m) wide at the other, and 315 ft (94.5 m) long, divided by a central partition. There were colonnades (rows of columns) on all 4 sides and on the partition, thus forming the five covered walkways mentioned in John 5:2. Stairways at the corners permitted descent to the pool.
[5:2] 122 tn Or “porticoes,” or “colonnades”; Grk “stoas.”
[5:2] sn The pool had five porticoes. These were covered walkways formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the side facing the pool. People could stand, sit, or walk on these colonnaded porches, protected from the weather and the heat of the sun.
[5:4] 123 tc The majority of later
[5:5] 124 tn Grk “who had had thirty-eight years in his disability.”
[5:6] 126 tn Grk “he.” The referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:7] 127 tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage the paralytic who was healed by Jesus never acknowledges Jesus as Lord – he rather reports Jesus to the authorities.
[5:7] 128 tn Grk “while I am going.”
[5:7] 130 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
[5:8] 131 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” Some of these items, however, are rather substantial (e.g., “mattress”) and would probably give the modern English reader a false impression.
[5:9] 132 tn Grk “became well.”
[5:9] 133 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in the previous verse.
[5:9] 134 tn Grk “Now it was Sabbath on that day.”
[5:9] sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[5:10] 135 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9).
[5:10] 136 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in v. 8.
[5:11] 137 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in v. 8.
[5:12] 138 tc While a number of
[5:12] 139 tn Grk “Pick up and walk”; the object (the mat) is implied but not repeated.
[5:14] 140 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.
[5:15] 141 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
[5:16] 142 sn Note the plural phrase these things which seems to indicate that Jesus healed on the Sabbath more than once (cf. John 20:30). The synoptic gospels show this to be true; the incident in 5:1-15 has thus been chosen by the author as representative.
[5:16] 143 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
[5:17] 145 tc ‡ Most witnesses (Ì66 A D L Θ Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï latt co) have ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while generally better witnesses (Ì75 א B W {0141} 892 1241 pbo) lack the name. Although it is possible that Alexandrian scribes deleted the name due to proclivities to prune, this is not as likely as other witnesses adding it for clarification, especially since multiple strands of the Alexandrian text are represented in the shorter reading. NA27 places the word in brackets, indicating some doubts as to authenticity.
[5:17] 147 sn “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” What is the significance of Jesus’ claim? A preliminary understanding can be obtained from John 5:18, noting the Jewish authorities’ response and the author’s comment. They sought to kill Jesus, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God. This must be seen in the context of the relation of God to the Sabbath rest. In the commandment (Exod 20:11) it is explained that “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth…and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Philo, based on the LXX translation of Exod 20:11, denied outright that God had ever ceased his creative activity. And when Rabban Gamaliel II, R. Joshua, R. Eleazar ben Azariah, and R. Akiba were in Rome, ca.
[5:18] 148 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
[5:19] 149 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[5:19] 150 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[5:19] 151 tn Grk “nothing from himself.”
[5:19] 152 tn Grk “that one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:19] 153 sn What works does the Son do likewise? The same that the Father does – and the same that the rabbis recognized as legitimate works of God on the Sabbath (see note on working in v. 17). (1) Jesus grants life (just as the Father grants life) on the Sabbath. But as the Father gives physical life on the Sabbath, so the Son grants spiritual life (John 5:21; note the “greater things” mentioned in v. 20). (2) Jesus judges (determines the destiny of people) on the Sabbath, just as the Father judges those who die on the Sabbath, because the Father has granted authority to the Son to judge (John 5:22-23). But this is not all. Not only has this power been granted to Jesus in the present; it will be his in the future as well. In v. 28 there is a reference not to spiritually dead (only) but also physically dead. At their resurrection they respond to the Son as well.
[5:21] 154 tn Grk “and makes them live.”
[5:21] 155 tn Grk “the Son makes whomever he wants to live.”
[5:22] 157 tn Or “given,” or “handed over.”
[5:23] 158 tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).
[5:24] 159 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[5:24] 162 tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”
[5:25] 163 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[5:27] 166 tn Grk “authority to judge.”
[5:29] 168 tn Or “a resurrection resulting in judgment.”
[5:30] 169 tn Grk “nothing from myself.”
[5:30] 170 tn Or “righteous,” or “proper.”
[5:30] 171 tn That is, “the will of the Father who sent me.”
[5:32] 172 sn To whom does another refer? To John the Baptist or to the Father? In the nearer context, v. 33, it would seem to be John the Baptist. But v. 34 seems to indicate that Jesus does not receive testimony from men. Probably it is better to view v. 32 as identical to v. 37, with the comments about the Baptist as a parenthetical digression.
[5:33] 173 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
[5:34] 174 tn Or “I do not receive.”
[5:35] 175 sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.
[5:35] 176 tn Grk “for an hour.”
[5:36] 178 tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.
[5:37] 179 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to clarify that the following verbs (“heard,” “seen,” “have residing,” “do not believe”) are second person plural.
[5:37] 180 sn You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time. Compare Deut 4:12. Also see Deut 5:24 ff., where the Israelites begged to hear the voice no longer – their request (ironically) has by this time been granted. How ironic this would be if the feast is Pentecost, where by the 1st century
[5:39] 181 tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.
[5:39] 182 sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”
[5:39] 183 tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).
[5:41] 184 tn Or “I do not receive.”
[5:41] 185 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
[5:41] 186 tn Grk “from men,” but in a generic sense; both men and women are implied here.
[5:42] 187 tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ (thn agaphn tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on the love God gives which in turn produces love for him, but Jesus’ opponents are lacking any such love inside them.
[5:43] 188 tn Or “you do not receive.”
[5:43] 189 tn Or “you will receive.”
[5:44] 190 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
[5:44] 191 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
[5:44] 192 tc Several early and important witnesses (Ì66,75 B W a b sa) lack θεοῦ (qeou, “God”) here, thus reading “the only one,” while most of the rest of the tradition, including some important
[5:45] 193 sn The final condemnation will come from Moses himself – again ironic, since Moses is the very one the Jewish authorities have trusted in (placed your hope). This is again ironic if it is occurring at Pentecost, which at this time was being celebrated as the occasion of the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There is evidence that some Jews of the 1st century looked on Moses as their intercessor at the final judgment (see W. A. Meeks, The Prophet King [NovTSup], 161). This would mean the statement Moses, in whom you have placed your hope should be taken literally and relates directly to Jesus’ statements about the final judgment in John 5:28-29.
[5:47] 195 tn Grk “that one” (“he”); the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
