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John 2:13-4:54
New English Translation

13 Now the Jewish feast of Passover[a] was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14 [b] He found in the temple courts[c] those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables.[d] 15 So he made a whip of cords[e] and drove them all out of the temple courts,[f] with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers[g] and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make[h] my Father’s house a marketplace!”[i] 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal[j] for your house will devour me.”[k]

18 So then the Jewish leaders[l] responded,[m] “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?”[n] 19 Jesus replied,[o] “Destroy[p] this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20 Then the Jewish leaders[q] said to him, “This temple has been under construction[r] for forty-six years,[s] and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But Jesus[t] was speaking about the temple of his body.[u] 22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture[v] and the saying[w] that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus at the Passover Feast

23 Now while Jesus[x] was in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing.[y] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people.[z] 25 He did not need anyone to testify about man,[aa] for he knew what was in man.[ab]

Conversation with Nicodemus

3 Now a certain man, a Pharisee[ac] named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council,[ad] 2 came to Jesus[ae] at night[af] and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs[ag] that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus replied,[ah] “I tell you the solemn truth,[ai] unless a person is born from above,[aj] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[ak] 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”[al]

5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth,[am] unless a person is born of water and spirit,[an] he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh,[ao] and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all[ap] be born from above.’[aq] 8 The wind[ar] blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”[as]

9 Nicodemus replied,[at] “How can these things be?”[au] 10 Jesus answered,[av] “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?[aw] 11 I tell you the solemn truth,[ax] we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but[ay] you people[az] do not accept our testimony.[ba] 12 If I have told you people[bb] about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?[bc] 13 No one[bd] has ascended[be] into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.[bf] 14 Just as[bg] Moses lifted up the serpent[bh] in the wilderness,[bi] so must the Son of Man be lifted up,[bj] 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”[bk]

16 For this is the way[bl] God loved the world: He gave his one and only[bm] Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish[bn] but have eternal life.[bo] 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,[bp] but that the world should be saved through him. 18 The one who believes in him is not condemned.[bq] The one who does not believe has been condemned[br] already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only[bs] Son of God. 19 Now this is the basis for judging:[bt] that the light has come into the world and people[bu] loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.[bv]

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

22 After this,[bw] Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. 23 John[bx] was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim,[by] because water was plentiful there, and people were coming[bz] to him[ca] and being baptized. 24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)[cb]

25 Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew[cc] concerning ceremonial washing.[cd] 26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River,[ce] about whom you testified—see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”

27 John replied,[cf] “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’[cg] but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly[ch] when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete.[ci] 30 He must become more important while I become less important.”[cj]

31 The one who comes from above is superior to all.[ck] The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things.[cl] The one who comes from heaven[cm] is superior to all.[cn] 32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful.[co] 34 For the one whom God has sent[cp] speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly.[cq] 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority.[cr] 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects[cs] the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath[ct] remains[cu] on him.

Departure From Judea

4 Now when Jesus[cv] knew that the Pharisees[cw] had heard that he[cx] was winning[cy] and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were),[cz] 3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee.[da]

Conversation With a Samaritan Woman

4 But he had[db] to pass through Samaria.[dc] 5 Now he came to a Samaritan town[dd] called Sychar,[de] near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.[df] 6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside[dg] the well. It was about noon.[dh]

7 A Samaritan woman[di] came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water[dj] to drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.[dk])[dl] 9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you—a Jew[dm]—ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water[dn] to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common[do] with Samaritans.)[dp]

10 Jesus answered[dq] her, “If you had known[dr] the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water[ds] to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”[dt] 11 “Sir,”[du] the woman[dv] said to him, “you have no bucket and the well[dw] is deep; where then do you get this[dx] living water?[dy] 12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor[dz] Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.”[ea]

13 Jesus replied,[eb] “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty[ec] again. 14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again,[ed] but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain[ee] of water springing up[ef] to eternal life.” 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[eg] water.”[eh] 16 He[ei] said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.”[ej] 17 The woman replied,[ek] “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said,[el] ‘I have no husband,’[em] 18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with[en] now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!”

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see[eo] that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,[ep] and you people[eq] say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman,[er] a time[es] is coming when you will worship[et] the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You people[eu] worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews.[ev] 23 But a time[ew] is coming—and now is here[ex]—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks[ey] such people to be[ez] his worshipers.[fa] 24 God is spirit,[fb] and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ);[fc] “whenever he[fd] comes, he will tell[fe] us everything.”[ff] 26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”

The Disciples Return

27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back.[fg] They were shocked[fh] because he was speaking[fi] with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you want?”[fj] or “Why are you speaking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people,[fk] 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah,[fl] can he?”[fm] 30 So[fn] they left the town and began coming[fo] to him.

Workers for the Harvest

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him,[fp] “Rabbi, eat something.”[fq] 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 So the disciples began to say[fr] to one another, “No one brought him anything[fs] to eat, did they?”[ft] 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me[fu] and to complete[fv] his work.[fw] 35 Don’t you say,[fx] ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up[fy] and see that the fields are already white[fz] for harvest! 36 The one who reaps receives pay[ga] and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 37 For in this instance the saying is true,[gb] ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

The Samaritans Respond

39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified,[gc] “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking[gd] him to stay with them.[ge] He stayed there two days, 41 and because of his word many more[gf] believed. 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[gg] really is the Savior of the world.”[gh]

Onward to Galilee

43 After the two days he departed from there to Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)[gi] 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem[gj] at the feast[gk] (for they themselves had gone to the feast).[gl]

Healing the Royal Official’s Son

46 Now he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine.[gm] In[gn] Capernaum[go] there was a certain royal official[gp] whose son was sick. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him[gq] to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people[gr] see signs and wonders you will never believe!”[gs] 49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus told him, “Go home;[gt] your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home.[gu]

51 While he was on his way down,[gv] his slaves[gw] met him and told him that his son was going to live. 52 So he asked them the time[gx] when his condition began to improve,[gy] and[gz] they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon[ha] the fever left him.” 53 Then the father realized that it was the very time[hb] Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household. 54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign[hc] when he returned from Judea to Galilee.

Footnotes

  1. John 2:13 tn Grk “the Passover of the Jews.” This is first of at least three (and possibly four) Passovers mentioned in John’s Gospel. If it is assumed that the Passovers appear in the Gospel in their chronological order (and following a date of a.d. 33 for the crucifixion), this would be the Passover of the spring of a.d. 30, the first of Jesus’ public ministry. There is a clear reference to another Passover in 6:4, and another still in 11:55; 12:1; 13:1; 18:28, 39, and 19:14. The latter would be the Passover of a.d. 33. There is a possibility that 5:1 also refers to a Passover, in which case it would be the second of Jesus’ public ministry (a.d. 31), while 6:4 would refer to the third (a.d. 32) and the remaining references would refer to the final Passover at the time of the crucifixion. It is entirely possible, however, that the Passovers occurring in the Fourth Gospel are not intended to be understood as listed in chronological sequence. If the material of the Fourth Gospel originally existed in the form of homilies or sermons by the Apostle John on the life and ministry of Jesus, the present arrangement would not have to be in strict chronological order (it does not explicitly claim to be). In this case the Passover mentioned in 2:13, for example, might actually be later in Jesus’ public ministry than it might at first glance appear. This leads, however, to a discussion of an even greater problem in the passage, the relationship of the temple cleansing in John’s Gospel to the similar account in the synoptic gospels.
  2. John 2:14 sn John 2:14-22. Does John’s account of the temple cleansing describe the same event as the synoptic gospels describe, or a separate event? The other accounts of the cleansing of the temple are Matt 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; and Luke 19:45-46. None are as long as the Johannine account. The fullest of the synoptic accounts is Mark’s. John’s account differs from Mark’s in the mention of sheep and oxen, the mention of the whip of cords, the Greek word κερματιστῆς (kermatistēs) for money changer (the synoptics use κολλυβιστῆς [kollubistēs], which John mentions in 2:15), the scattering of the coins (2:15), and the command by Jesus, “Take these things away from here!” The word for overturned in John is ἀναστρεφω (anastrephō), while Matthew and Mark use καταστρεφω (katastrephō; Luke does not mention the moneychangers at all). The synoptics all mention that Jesus quoted Isa 56:7 followed by Jer 7:11. John mentions no citation of scripture at all, but says that later the disciples remembered Ps 69:9. John does not mention, as does Mark, Jesus’ prohibition on carrying things through the temple (i.e., using it for a shortcut). But the most important difference is one of time: In John the cleansing appears as the first great public act of Jesus’ ministry, while in the synoptics it is virtually the last. The most common solution of the problem, which has been endlessly discussed among NT scholars, is to say there was only one cleansing, and that it took place, as the synoptics record it, at the end of Jesus’ ministry. In the synoptics it appears to be the event that finalized the opposition of the high priest, and precipitated the arrest of Jesus. According to this view, John’s placing of the event at the opening of Jesus’ ministry is due to his general approach; it was fitting ‘theologically’ for Jesus to open his ministry this way, so this is the way John records it. Some have overstated the case for one cleansing and John’s placing of it at the opening of Jesus’ public ministry, however. For example W. Barclay stated: “John, as someone has said, is more interested in the truth than in the facts. He was not interested to tell men when Jesus cleansed the Temple; he was supremely interested in telling men that Jesus did cleanse the Temple” (John [DSBS], 94). But this is not the impression one gets by a reading of John’s Gospel: The evangelist seems to go out of his way to give details and facts, including notes of time and place. To argue as Barclay does that John is interested in truth apart from the facts is to set up a false dichotomy. Why should one have to assume, in any case, that there could have been only one cleansing of the temple? This account in John is found in a large section of nonsynoptic material. Apart from the work of John the Baptist—and even this is markedly different from the references in the synoptics—nothing else in the first five chapters of John’s Gospel is found in any of the synoptics. It is certainly not impossible that John took one isolated episode from the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry and inserted it into his own narrative in a place which seemed appropriate according to his purposes. But in view of the differences between John and the synoptics, in both wording and content, as well as setting and time, it is at least possible that the event in question actually occurred twice (unless one begins with the presupposition that the Fourth Gospel is nonhistorical anyway). In support of two separate cleansings of the temple, it has been suggested that Jesus’ actions on this occasion were not permanent in their result, and after (probably) 3 years the status quo in the temple courts had returned to normal. And at this time early in Jesus’ ministry, he was virtually unknown. Such an action as he took on this occasion would have created a stir, and evoked the response John records in 2:18-22, but that is probably about all, especially if Jesus’ actions met with approval among part of the populace. But later in Jesus’ ministry, when he was well-known, and vigorously opposed by the high-priestly party in Jerusalem, his actions might have brought forth another, harsher response. It thus appears possible to argue for two separate cleansings of the temple as well as a single one relocated by John to suit his own purposes. Which then is more probable? On the whole, more has been made of the differences between John’s account and the synoptic accounts than perhaps should have been. After all, the synoptic accounts also differ considerably from one another, yet few scholars would be willing to posit four cleansings of the temple as an explanation for this. While it is certainly possible that the author did not intend by his positioning of the temple cleansing to correct the synoptics’ timing of the event, but to highlight its significance for the course of Jesus’ ministry, it still appears somewhat more probable that John has placed the event he records in the approximate period of Jesus’ public ministry in which it did occur, that is, within the first year or so of Jesus’ public ministry. The statement of the Jewish authorities recorded by the author (this temple has been under construction for forty-six years) would tend to support an earlier rather than a later date for the temple cleansing described by John, since 46 years from the beginning of construction on Herod’s temple in ca. 19 b.c. (the date varies somewhat in different sources) would be around a.d. 27. This is not conclusive proof, however.
  3. John 2:14 tn Grk “in the temple.”sn The merchants (those who were selling) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.
  4. John 2:14 tn Grk “the money changers sitting”; the words “at tables” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  5. John 2:15 tc Several witnesses, two of which are quite ancient (P66,75 L N ƒ1 33 565 892 1241 al lat), have ὡς (hōs, “like”) before φραγέλλιον (phragellion, “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 ƒ13 M 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.”
  6. John 2:15 tn Grk “the temple.”
  7. John 2:15 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.
  8. John 2:16 tn Or (perhaps) “Stop making.”
  9. John 2:16 tn Or “a house of merchants” (an allusion to Zech 14:21).sn A marketplace. Zech 14:20-21, in context, is clearly a picture of the messianic kingdom. The Hebrew word translated “Canaanite” may also be translated “merchant” or “trader.” Read in this light, Zech 14:21 states that there will be no merchant in the house of the Lord in that day (the day of the Lord, at the establishment of the messianic kingdom). And what would Jesus’ words (and actions) in cleansing the temple have suggested to the observers? That Jesus was fulfilling messianic expectations would have been obvious—especially to the disciples, who had just seen the miracle at Cana with all its messianic implications.
  10. John 2:17 tn Or “Fervent devotion to your house.”
  11. John 2:17 sn A quotation from Ps 69:9.
  12. John 2:18 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 authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)
  13. John 2:18 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
  14. John 2:18 sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions—a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19—his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).
  15. John 2:19 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
  16. John 2:19 tn The imperative here is really more than a simple conditional imperative (= “if you destroy”); its semantic force here is more like the ironical imperative found in the prophets (Amos 4:4, Isa 8:9) = “Go ahead and do this and see what happens.”
  17. John 2:20 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 18.
  18. John 2:20 tn A close parallel to the aorist οἰκοδομήθη (oikodomēthē) 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.
  19. John 2:20 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 b.c. (The reference in the Ant. is probably more accurate than the date given in J. W. 1.21.1 [1.401]). Forty-six years later would be around the Passover of a.d. 27/28.
  20. John 2:21 tn Grk “that one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This Greek term is frequently used as a way of referring to Jesus in the Johannine letters (cf. 1 John 2:6; 3:3, 5, 7, 16; 4:17).
  21. John 2:21 tn The genitive “of his body” (τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, tou sōmatos autou) is a genitive of apposition, clarifying which temple Jesus was referring to. Thus, Jesus not only was referring to his physical resurrection, but also to his participation in the resurrection process. The New Testament thus records the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as all performing the miracle of Christ’s resurrection.sn Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. For the author, the temple is not just the building, it is Jesus’ resurrected body. Compare the nonlocalized worship mentioned in John 4:21-23, and also Rev 21:22 (there is to be no temple in the New Jerusalem; the Lord and the Lamb are its temple). John points to the fact that, as the place where men go in order to meet God, the temple has been supplanted and replaced by Jesus himself, in whose resurrected person people may now encounter God (see John 1:18; 14:6).
  22. John 2:22 sn They believed the scripture is probably an anaphoric reference to Ps 69:9 (69:10 LXX), quoted in John 2:17 above. Presumably the disciples did not remember Ps 69:9 on the spot, but it was a later insight.
  23. John 2:22 tn Or “statement”; Grk “word.”
  24. John 2:23 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. John 2:23 sn Because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. The issue here is not whether their faith was genuine or not, but what its object was. These individuals, after seeing the miracles, believed Jesus to be the Messiah. They most likely saw in him a political-eschatological figure of some sort. That does not, however, mean that their concept of “Messiah” was the same as Jesus’ own, or the author’s.
  26. John 2:24 tn Grk “all.” The word “people” has been supplied for clarity, since the Greek word πάντας (pantas) is masculine plural (thus indicating people rather than things).
  27. John 2:25 tn The masculine form has been retained here in the translation to maintain the connection with “a man of the Pharisees” in 3:1, with the understanding that the reference is to people of both genders.
  28. John 2:25 tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.
  29. John 3:1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
  30. John 3:1 tn Grk “a ruler of the Jews” (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
  31. John 3:2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  32. John 3:2 tn Or “during the night.”sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif—compare John 9:4; 11:10; 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.
  33. John 3:2 sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, sēmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.
  34. John 3:3 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
  35. John 3:3 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
  36. John 3:3 tn The word ἄνωθεν (anōthen) has a double meaning, either “again” (in which case it is synonymous with παλίν [palin]) or “from above” (BDAG 92 s.v. ἄνωθεν). This is a favorite technique of the author of the Fourth Gospel, and it is lost in almost all translations at this point. John uses the word 5 times, in 3:3, 7; 3:31; 19:11 and 23. In the latter 3 cases the context makes clear that it means “from above.” Here (3:3, 7) it could mean either, but the primary meaning intended by Jesus is “from above.” Nicodemus apparently understood it the other way, which explains his reply, “How can a man be born when he is old? He can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” The author uses the technique of the “misunderstood question” often to bring out a particularly important point: Jesus says something which is misunderstood by the disciples or (as here) someone else, which then gives Jesus the opportunity to explain more fully and in more detail what he really meant.sn Or born again. The Greek word ἄνωθεν (anōthen) can mean both “again” and “from above,” giving rise to Nicodemus’ misunderstanding about a second physical birth (v. 4).
  37. John 3:3 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. But what does Jesus’ statement about not being able to see the kingdom of God mean within the framework of John’s Gospel? John uses the word kingdom (βασιλεία, basileia) only 5 times (3:3, 5; 18:36 [3x]). Only here is it qualified with the phrase of God. The fact that John does not stress the concept of the kingdom of God does not mean it is absent from his theology, however. Remember the messianic implications found in John 2, both the wedding and miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the temple. For Nicodemus, the term must surely have brought to mind the messianic kingdom which Messiah was supposed to bring. But Nicodemus had missed precisely this point about who Jesus was. It was the Messiah himself with whom Nicodemus was speaking. Whatever Nicodemus understood, it is clear that the point is this: He misunderstood Jesus’ words. He over-literalized them, and thought Jesus was talking about repeated physical birth, when he was in fact referring to new spiritual birth.
  38. John 3:4 tn The grammatical structure of the question in Greek presupposes a negative reply.
  39. John 3:5 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
  40. John 3:5 tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”). sn Jesus’ somewhat enigmatic statement points to the necessity of being born “from above,” because water and wind/spirit/Spirit come from above. Isaiah 44:3-5 and Ezek 37:9-10 are pertinent examples of water and wind as life-giving symbols of the Spirit of God in his work among people. Both occur in contexts that deal with the future restoration of Israel as a nation prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It is therefore particularly appropriate that Jesus should introduce them in a conversation about entering the kingdom of God. Note that the Greek word πνεύματος is anarthrous (has no article) in v. 5. This does not mean that spirit in the verse should be read as a direct reference to the Holy Spirit, but that both water and wind are figures (based on passages in the OT, which Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel should have known) that represent the regenerating work of the Spirit in the lives of men and women.
  41. John 3:6 sn What is born of the flesh is flesh, i.e., what is born of physical heritage is physical. (It is interesting to compare this terminology with that of the dialogue in John 4, especially 4:23, 24.) For John the “flesh” (σάρξ, sarx) emphasizes merely the weakness and mortality of the creature—a neutral term, not necessarily sinful as in Paul. This is confirmed by the reference in John 1:14 to the Logos becoming “flesh.” The author avoids associating sinfulness with the incarnate Christ.
  42. John 3:7 tn “All” has been supplied to indicate the plural pronoun in the Greek text.
  43. John 3:7 tn Or “born again.” The same Greek word with the same double meaning occurs in v. 3.
  44. John 3:8 tn The same Greek word, πνεύματος (pneumatos), may be translated “wind” or “spirit.”
  45. John 3:8 sn Again, the physical illustrates the spiritual, although the force is heightened by the word-play here on wind-spirit (see the note on wind at the beginning of this verse). By the end of the verse, however, the final usage of πνεύματος (pneumatos) refers to the Holy Spirit.
  46. John 3:9 tn Grk “Nicodemus answered and said to him.”
  47. John 3:9 sn “How can these things be?” is Nicodemus’ answer. It is clear that at this time he has still not grasped what Jesus is saying. Note also that this is the last appearance of Nicodemus in the dialogue. Having served the purpose of the author, at this point he disappears from the scene. As a character in the narrative, he has served to illustrate the prevailing Jewish misunderstanding of Jesus’ teaching about the necessity of a new, spiritual birth from above. Whatever parting words Nicodemus might have had with Jesus, the author does not record them.
  48. John 3:10 tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to him.”
  49. John 3:10 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.
  50. John 3:11 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
  51. John 3:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to show the contrast present in the context.
  52. John 3:11 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the translation to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than Nicodemus alone).
  53. John 3:11 sn Note the remarkable similarity of Jesus’ testimony to the later testimony of the Apostle John himself in 1 John 1:2: “And we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us.” This is only one example of how thoroughly the author’s own thoughts were saturated with the words of Jesus (and also how difficult it is to distinguish the words of Jesus from the words of the author in the Fourth Gospel).
  54. John 3:12 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).
  55. John 3:12 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.
  56. John 3:13 tn Grk “And no one.”
  57. John 3:13 sn The verb ascended is a perfect tense in Greek (ἀναβέβηκεν, anabebēken) which seems to look at a past, completed event. (This is not as much of a problem for those who take Jesus’ words to end at v. 12, and these words to be a comment by the author, looking back on Jesus’ ascension.) As a saying of Jesus, these words are a bit harder to explain. Note, however, the lexical similarities with 1:51: “ascending,” “descending,” and “son of man.” Here, though, the ascent and descent is accomplished by the Son himself, not the angels as in 1:51. There is no need to limit this saying to Jesus’ ascent following the resurrection, however; the point of the Jacob story (Gen 28), which seems to be the background for 1:51, is the freedom of communication and relationship between God and men (a major theme of John’s Gospel). This communication comes through the angels in Gen 28 (and John 1:51), but here (most appropriately) it comes directly through the Son of Man. Although Jesus could be referring to a prior ascent, after an appearance as the preincarnate Son of Man, more likely he is simply pointing out that no one from earth has ever gone up to heaven and come down again. The Son, who has come down from heaven, is the only one who has been ‘up’ there. In both Jewish intertestamental literature and later rabbinic accounts, Moses is portrayed as ascending to heaven to receive the Torah and descending to distribute it to men (e.g., Targum Ps 68:19.) In contrast to these Jewish legends, the Son is the only one who has ever made the ascent and descent.
  58. John 3:13 tc Most witnesses, including a few very significant ones (A[*] Θ Ψ 050 ƒ1,13 M latt syc,p,h), have at the end of this verse “the one who is in heaven” (ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ho ōn en tō ouranō). A few others have variations on this phrase, such as “who was in heaven” (e syc), or “the one who is from heaven” (0141 sys). The witnesses normally considered the best, along with several others, lack the phrase in its entirety (P66,75 א B L T Ws 083 086 33 1241 co). On the one hand, if the reading ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ is authentic it may suggest that while Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus he spoke of himself as in heaven even while he was on earth. If that is the case, one could see why variations from this hard saying arose: “who was in heaven,” “the one who is from heaven,” and omission of the clause. At the same time, such a saying could be interpreted (though with difficulty) as part of the narrator’s comments rather than Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus, alleviating the problem. And if v. 13 was viewed in early times as the evangelist’s statement, “the one who is in heaven” could have crept into the text through a marginal note. Other internal evidence suggests that this saying may be authentic. The adjectival participle, ὁ ὤν, is used in the Fourth Gospel more than any other NT book (though the Apocalypse comes in a close second), and frequently with reference to Jesus (1:18; 6:46; 8:47). It may be looking back to the LXX of Exod 3:14 (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν). Especially since this exact construction is not necessary to communicate the location of the Son of Man, its presence in many witnesses here may suggest authenticity. Further, John uses the singular of οὐρανός (ouranos, “heaven”) in all 18 instances of the word in this Gospel, and all but twice with the article (only 1:32 and 6:58 are anarthrous, and even in the latter there is significant testimony to the article). At the same time, the witnesses that lack this clause are very weighty and must not be discounted. Generally speaking, if other factors are equal, the reading of such mss should be preferred. And internally, it could be argued that ὁ ὤν is the most concise way to speak of the Son of Man in heaven at that time (without the participle the point would be more ambiguous). Further, the articular singular οὐρανός is already used twice in this verse, thus sufficiently prompting scribes to add the same in the longer reading. This combination of factors suggests that ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ is not a genuine Johannism. Further intrinsic evidence against the longer reading relates to the evangelist’s purposes: If he intended v. 13 to be his own comments rather than Jesus’ statement, his switch back to Jesus’ words in v. 14 (for the lifting up of the Son of Man is still seen as in the future) seems inexplicable. The reading “who is in heaven” thus seems to be too hard. All things considered, as intriguing as the longer reading is, it seems almost surely to have been a marginal gloss added inadvertently to the text in the process of transmission. For an argument in favor of the longer reading, see David Alan Black, “The Text of John 3:13, ” GTJ 6 (1985): 49-66.sn See the note on the title Son of Man in 1:51.
  59. John 3:14 tn Grk “And just as.”
  60. John 3:14 sn Or the snake, referring to the bronze serpent mentioned in Num 21:9.
  61. John 3:14 sn An allusion to Num 21:5-9.
  62. John 3:14 sn So must the Son of Man be lifted up. This is ultimately a prediction of Jesus’ crucifixion. Nicodemus could not have understood this, but John’s readers, the audience to whom the Gospel is addressed, certainly could have (compare the wording of John 12:32). In John, being lifted up refers to one continuous action of ascent, beginning with the cross but ending at the right hand of the Father. Step 1 is Jesus’ death; step 2 is his resurrection; and step 3 is the ascension back to heaven. It is the upward swing of the “pendulum” which began with the incarnation, the descent of the Word become flesh from heaven to earth (cf. Paul in Phil 2:5-11). See also the note on the title Son of Man in 1:51.
  63. John 3:15 tn This is the first use of the term ζωὴν αἰώνιον (zōēn aiōnion) in the Gospel, although ζωή (zōē) in chap. 1 is to be understood in the same way without the qualifying αἰώνιος (aiōnios).sn Some interpreters extend the quotation of Jesus’ words through v. 21.
  64. John 3:16 tn Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (houtōs) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:133-34; D. A. Carson, John, 204) or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son (see R. H. Gundry and R. W. Howell, “The Sense and Syntax of John 3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of Οὕτως…ὥστε in John 3:16, ” NovT 41 [1999]: 24-39). Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως), the following clause involving ὥστε (hōste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God’s love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.
  65. John 3:16 tn Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12; 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna theou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 18; 3:16, 18).
  66. John 3:16 tn In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.
  67. John 3:16 sn The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.
  68. John 3:17 sn That is, “to judge the world to be guilty and liable to punishment.”
  69. John 3:18 tn Grk “judged.”
  70. John 3:18 tn Grk “judged.”
  71. John 3:18 tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.
  72. John 3:19 tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”
  73. John 3:19 tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).
  74. John 3:21 sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. As Brown observes, “If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). Thus, there is nodeterminism in John as there seems to be in some of the passages of the Qumranscrolls” (John [AB], 1:148). Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).
  75. John 3:22 tn This section is related loosely to the preceding by μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta). This constitutes an indefinite temporal reference; the intervening time is not specified.
  76. John 3:23 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
  77. John 3:23 tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainōn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.
  78. John 3:23 tn Or “people were continually coming.”
  79. John 3:23 tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  80. John 3:24 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  81. John 3:25 tc Was this dispute between the Baptist’s disciples and an individual Judean (᾿Ιουδαίου, Ioudaiou) or representatives of the Jewish authorities (᾿Ιουδαίων, Ioudaiōn)? There is good external support for the plural ᾿Ιουδαίων (P66 א* Θ ƒ1,13 565 al latt), but the external evidence for the singular ᾿Ιουδαίου is slightly stronger (P75 א2 A B L Ψ 33 1241 the majority of Byzantine minuscules and others).tn Or “a certain Judean.” Here BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαίος 2.a states, “Judean (with respect to birth, nationality, or cult).” If the emphasis is simply on the individual’s origin, “Judean” would be preferable since it designates a nationality or place of origin. However, the mention of ceremonial washing in the context suggests the dispute was religious in nature, so “Jew” has been retained in the translation here.
  82. John 3:25 tn Or “ceremonial cleansing,” or “purification.”sn What was the controversy concerning ceremonial washing? It is not clear. Some have suggested that it was over the relative merits of the baptism of Jesus and John. But what about the ceremonial nature of the washing? There are so many unanswered questions here that even R. E. Brown (who does not usually resort to dislocations in the text as a solution to difficulties) proposes that this dialogue originally took place immediately after 1:19-34 and before the wedding at Cana. (Why else the puzzled hostility of the disciples over the crowds coming to Jesus?) Also, the synoptics imply John was imprisoned before Jesus began his Galilean ministry. At any rate, there is no reason to rearrange the material here—it occurs in this place for a very good reason. As far as the author is concerned, it serves as a further continuation of the point made to Nicodemus, that is, the necessity of being born “from above” (3:3). Note that John the Baptist describes Jesus as “the one who comes from heaven” in 3:31 (ἄνωθεν [anōthen], the same word as in 3:3). There is another lexical tie to preceding material: The subject of the dispute, ceremonial washing (3:25), calls to mind the six stone jars of water changed to wine at the wedding feast in 2:6, put there for “Jewish ceremonial washing.” This section ultimately culminates and concludes ideas begun in chap. 2 and continued in chap. 3. Although the author does not supply details, one scenario would be this: The disciples of John, perplexed after this disagreement with an individual Jew (or with the Jewish authorities), came to John and asked about the fact that Jesus was baptizing and more and more were coming to him. John had been preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sin (see Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3). Possibly what the Jew(s) reported to John’s disciples was that Jesus was now setting aside the Jewish purification rituals as unnecessary. To John’s disciples this might also be interpreted as: (a) a falling away from Judaism, and (b) a break with John’s own teaching. That Jesus could have said this is very evident from many incidents in his ministry in all the gospels. The thrust would be that outward cleansing (that is, observance of purification rituals) was not what made a person clean. A new heart within (that is, being born from above) is what makes a person clean. So John’s disciples came to him troubled about an apparent contradiction in doctrine though the explicit problem they mentioned is that Jesus was baptizing and multitudes were coming to him. (Whether Jesus was or was not baptizing really wasn’t the issue though, and John the Baptist knew that because he didn’t mention it in his reply. In 4:2 the author says that Jesus was not baptizing, but his disciples. That reference would seem to cover this incident as well, and so the disciples of John are just reporting what they have heard, or thought they heard.) The real point at issue is the authority of Jesus to “overturn” the system of ritual purification within Judaism. John replied to this question of the authority of Jesus in 3:27-36. In 3:27-30 he reassured his disciples, reminding them that if more people were coming to Jesus, it did not threaten him at all, because “heaven” had ordained it to be so (v. 27). (After all, some of these very disciples of John had presumably heard him tell the Jewish delegation that he was not the Messiah but was sent before him, mentioned in John 1.) Then John compared himself to the friend of the bridegroom who stands by and yet participates in the bridegroom’s joy (v. 29). John was completely content in his own position as forerunner and preparer of the way.
  83. John 3:26 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
  84. John 3:27 tn Grk “answered and said.”
  85. John 3:28 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
  86. John 3:29 tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).
  87. John 3:29 tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”
  88. John 3:30 sn Some interpreters extend the quotation of John the Baptist’s words through v. 36.
  89. John 3:31 tn Or “is above all.”
  90. John 3:31 tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”
  91. John 3:31 sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.
  92. John 3:31 tc P75 א* D ƒ1 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanō pantōn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (P36vid,66 א2 A B L Ws Θ Ψ 083 086 ƒ13 33 M lat sys,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.tn Or “is above all.”
  93. John 3:33 tn Or “is true.”
  94. John 3:34 tn That is, Christ.
  95. John 3:34 tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.
  96. John 3:35 tn Grk “has given all things into his hand” (an idiom).
  97. John 3:36 tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”
  98. John 3:36 tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”
  99. John 3:36 tn Or “resides.”
  100. John 4:1 tc Several early and significant witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (P66c,75 A B C L Ws Ψ 083 ƒ13 33 M sa), have κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Iēsous, “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 (P66* א D Θ 086 ƒ1 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 autographic 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.
  101. John 4:1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
  102. John 4:1 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.
  103. John 4:1 tn Grk “was making.”
  104. John 4:2 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  105. John 4:3 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).
  106. John 4:4 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, 14, 30; 4:4, 20, 24; 9:4; 10:16; 12:34; 20:9).
  107. John 4:4 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 b.c.; (2) Foreign colonists brought in from Babylonia and Media by the Assyrian conquerors to settle the land with inhabitants who would be loyal to Assyria. There was theological opposition between the Samaritans and the Jews because the former refused to worship in Jerusalem. After the exile the Samaritans put obstacles in the way of the Jewish restoration of Jerusalem, and in the 2nd century b.c. the Samaritans helped the Syrians in their wars against the Jews. In 128 b.c. the Jewish high priest retaliated and burned the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim.
  108. John 4:5 tn Grk “town of Samaria.” The noun Σαμαρείας (Samareias) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
  109. John 4:5 sn Sychar was somewhere in the vicinity of Shechem, possibly the village of Askar, 1.5 km northeast of Jacob’s well.
  110. John 4:5 sn Perhaps referred to in Gen 48:22.
  111. John 4:6 tn Grk “on (ἐπί, epi) the well.” There may have been a low stone rim encircling the well, or the reading of P66 (“on the ground”) may be correct.
  112. John 4:6 tn Grk “the sixth hour.”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.”
  113. John 4:7 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.”
  114. John 4:7 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
  115. John 4:8 tn Grk “buy food.”
  116. John 4:8 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author, indicating why Jesus asked the woman for a drink.
  117. John 4:9 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.
  118. John 4:9 tn “Water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
  119. John 4:9 tn D. Daube (“Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: the Meaning of συγχράομαι [Jn 4:7ff],” JBL 69 [1950]: 137-47) suggests this meaning.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.
  120. John 4:9 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  121. John 4:10 tn Grk “answered and said to her.”
  122. John 4:10 tn Or “if you knew.”
  123. John 4:10 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
  124. John 4:10 tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.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.
  125. John 4:11 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).
  126. John 4:11 tc ‡ Two early and significant Greek mss along with two versional witnesses (P75 B sys ac2) lack ἡ γυνή (hē gunē, “the woman”) here; א* has ἐκείνη (ekeinē, “that one” or possibly “she”) instead of ἡ γυνή. It is possible that no explicit subject was in the autographic text and scribes added either ἡ γυνή or ἐκείνη to make the meaning clear. It is also possible that the archetype of P75 א B expunged the subject because it was not altogether necessary, with the scribe of א later adding the pronoun. However, ἡ γυνή is not in doubt in any other introduction to the woman’s words in this chapter (cf. vv. 9, 15, 17, 19, 25), suggesting that intentional deletion was not the motive for the shorter reading in v. 11 (or else why would they delete the words only here?). Thus, the fact that virtually all witnesses (P66 א2 A C D L Ws Θ Ψ 050 083 086 ƒ1,13 M latt syc,p,h sa bo) have ἡ γυνή here may suggest that it is a motivated reading, conforming this verse to the rest of the pericope. Although a decision is difficult, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA28 has ἡ γυνή in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity. For English stylistic reasons, the translation also includes “the woman” here.
  127. John 4:11 tn The word for “well” has now shifted to φρέαρ (phrear, “cistern”); earlier in the passage it was πηγή (pēgē).
  128. John 4:11 tn The anaphoric article has been translated “this.”
  129. John 4:11 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.
  130. John 4:12 tn Or “our forefather”; Grk “our father.”
  131. John 4:12 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mē) 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”).
  132. John 4:13 tn Grk “answered and said to her.”
  133. John 4:13 tn Grk “will thirst.”
  134. John 4:14 tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.
  135. John 4:14 tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (pēgē) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.
  136. John 4:14 tn The verb ἁλλομένου (hallomenou) 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).
  137. John 4:15 tn Grk “or come here to draw.”
  138. John 4:15 tn The direct object of the infinitive ἀντλεῖν (antlein) is understood in Greek but supplied for clarity in the English translation.
  139. John 4:16 tc Most witnesses have “Jesus” here, either with the article (אc C2 D L Ws Ψ 086 M lat) or without (א* A Θ ƒ1,13 al), while several significant and early witnesses lack the name (P66,75 B C* 33vid). 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).
  140. John 4:16 tn Grk “come here” (“back” is implied).
  141. John 4:17 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
  142. John 4:17 tn Grk “Well have you said.”
  143. John 4:17 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.
  144. John 4:18 tn Grk “the one you have.”
  145. John 4:19 tn Grk “behold” or “perceive,” but these are not as common in contemporary English usage.
  146. John 4:20 sn This mountain refers to Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan shrine was located.
  147. John 4:20 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.
  148. John 4:21 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.
  149. John 4:21 tn Grk “an hour.”
  150. John 4:21 tn The verb is plural.
  151. John 4:22 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.
  152. John 4:22 tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.
  153. John 4:23 tn Grk “an hour.”
  154. John 4:23 tn “Here” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to conform to contemporary English idiom.
  155. John 4:23 sn See also John 4:27.
  156. John 4:23 tn Or “as.” The object-complement construction implies either “as” or “to be.”
  157. John 4:23 tn This is a double accusative construction of object and complement with τοιούτους (toioutous) as the object and the participle προσκυνοῦντας (proskunountas) as the complement.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.
  158. John 4:24 tn Here πνεῦμα (pneuma) is understood as a qualitative predicate nominative while the articular θεός (theos) is the subject.
  159. John 4:25 tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”sn The one called Christ. This is a parenthetical statement by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.
  160. John 4:25 tn Grk “that one.”
  161. John 4:25 tn Or “he will announce to us.”
  162. John 4:25 tn Grk “all things.”
  163. John 4:27 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 (ethaumazon) untranslated.
  164. John 4:27 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.
  165. John 4:27 tn The ὅτι (hoti) 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.
  166. John 4:27 tn Grk “seek.” See John 4:23.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.
  167. John 4:28 tn The term ἄνθρωποι (anthrōpoi) used here can mean either “people” (when used generically) or “men” (though there is a more specific term in Greek for adult males, ανήρ [anēr]). 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.
  168. John 4:29 tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (christos) 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.
  169. John 4:29 tn The use of μήτι (mēti) 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.
  170. John 4:30 tn “So” is supplied for transitional smoothness in English.
  171. John 4:30 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.
  172. John 4:31 tn Grk “were asking him, saying.”
  173. John 4:31 tn The direct object of φάγε (phage) in Greek is understood; “something” is supplied in English.
  174. John 4:33 tn An ingressive imperfect conveys the idea that Jesus’ reply provoked the disciples’ response.
  175. John 4:33 tn The direct object of ἤνεγκεν (ēnenken) in Greek is understood; “anything” is supplied in English.
  176. John 4:33 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mē) 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?”).
  177. John 4:34 sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.
  178. John 4:34 tn Or “to accomplish.”
  179. John 4:34 tn The substantival ἵνα (hina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.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.
  180. John 4:35 tn The recitative ὅτι (hoti) after λέγετε (legete) has not been translated.
  181. John 4:35 tn Grk “lift up your eyes” (an idiom). BDAG 357 s.v. ἐπαίρω 1 has “look up” here.
  182. John 4:35 tn That is, “ripe.”
  183. John 4:36 tn Or “a reward”; see L&N 38.14 and 57.173. This is something of a wordplay.
  184. John 4:37 tn The recitative ὅτι (hoti) after ἀληθινός (alēthinos) has not been translated.
  185. John 4:39 tn Grk “when she testified.”
  186. John 4:40 tn Following the arrival of the Samaritans, the imperfect verb has been translated as ingressive.
  187. John 4:40 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.
  188. John 4:41 tn Or “and they believed much more.”
  189. John 4:42 tn Or “this.” The Greek pronoun can mean either “this one” or “this” (BDAG 740 s.v. οὗτος 1).
  190. John 4:42 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.
  191. John 4:44 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  192. John 4:45 sn All the things he had done in Jerusalem probably refers to the signs mentioned in John 2:23.
  193. John 4:45 sn See John 2:23-25.
  194. John 4:45 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.
  195. John 4:46 sn See John 2:1-11.
  196. John 4:46 tn Grk “And in.”
  197. John 4:46 sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (207 m) below sea level. It existed since Hasmonean times and was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. The population in the first century is estimated to be around 1,500. Capernaum became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt 4:13; Mark 2:1). In modern times the site was discovered in 1838 by the American explorer E. Robinson, and major excavations began in 1905 by German archaeologists H. Kohl and C. Watzinger. Not until 1968, however, were remains from the time of Jesus visible; in that year V. Corbo and S. Loffreda began a series of annual archaeological campaigns that lasted until 1985. This work uncovered what is thought to be the house of Simon Peter as well as ruins of the first century synagogue beneath the later synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D. Today gently rolling hills and date palms frame the first century site, a favorite tourist destination of visitors to the Galilee.
  198. John 4:46 tn Although βασιλικός (basilikos) has often been translated “nobleman” it 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.
  199. John 4:47 tn The direct object of ἠρώτα (ērōta) is supplied from context. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
  200. John 4:48 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).
  201. John 4:48 tn Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteusēte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.
  202. John 4:50 tn Grk “Go”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
  203. John 4:50 tn Grk “and went.” The words “for home” are implied by the following verse.
  204. John 4:51 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.
  205. John 4:51 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.). One good 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. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households.
  206. John 4:52 tn Grk “the hour.”
  207. John 4:52 tn BDAG 558 s.v. κομψότερον translates the idiom κομψότερον ἔχειν (kompsoteron echein) as “begin to improve.”
  208. John 4:52 tn The second οὖν (oun) in 4:52 has been translated as “and” to improve English style by avoiding redundancy.
  209. John 4:52 tn Grk “at the seventh hour.”
  210. John 4:53 tn Grk “at that hour.”
  211. John 4:54 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.
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Luke 5
New English Translation

The Call of the Disciples

5 Now[a] Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[b] and the crowd was pressing around him[c] to hear the word of God. 2 He[d] saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into[e] one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then[f] Jesus[g] sat down[h] and taught the crowds from the boat.[i] 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower[j] your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon[k] answered,[l] “Master,[m] we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word[n] I will lower[o] the nets.” 6 When[p] they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.[q] 7 So[r] they motioned[s] to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.[t] 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord,[u] for I am a sinful man!”[v] 9 For[w] Peter[x] and all who were with him were astonished[y] at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners.[z] Then[aa] Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on[ab] you will be catching people!”[ac] 11 So[ad] when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed[ae] him.

Healing a Leper

12 While[af] Jesus[ag] was in one of the towns,[ah] a man came[ai] to him who was covered with[aj] leprosy.[ak] When[al] he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground[am] and begged him,[an] “Lord, if[ao] you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 So[ap] he stretched out his hand and touched[aq] him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then[ar] he ordered the man[as] to tell no one,[at] but commanded him,[au] “Go[av] and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering[aw] for your cleansing, as Moses commanded,[ax] as a testimony to them.”[ay] 15 But the news about him spread even more,[az] and large crowds were gathering together to hear him[ba] and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 Yet Jesus himself[bb] frequently withdrew[bc] to the wilderness[bd] and prayed.

Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic

17 Now on[be] one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees[bf] and teachers of the law[bg] sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem),[bh] and the power of the Lord was with him[bi] to heal. 18 Just then[bj] some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man[bk] on a stretcher.[bl] They[bm] were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus.[bn] 19 But[bo] since they found[bp] no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof[bq] and let him down on the stretcher[br] through the roof tiles[bs] right[bt] in front of Jesus.[bu] 20 When[bv] Jesus[bw] saw their[bx] faith he said, “Friend,[by] your sins are forgiven.”[bz] 21 Then[ca] the experts in the law[cb] and the Pharisees began to think[cc] to themselves,[cd] “Who is this man[ce] who is uttering blasphemies?[cf] Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived[cg] their hostile thoughts,[ch] he said to them,[ci] “Why are you raising objections[cj] within yourselves? 23 Which is easier,[ck] to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know[cl] that the Son of Man[cm] has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man[cn]—“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher[co] and go home.”[cp] 25 Immediately[cq] he stood up before them, picked[cr] up the stretcher[cs] he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying[ct] God. 26 Then[cu] astonishment[cv] seized them all, and they glorified[cw] God. They were filled with awe,[cx] saying, “We have seen incredible[cy] things[cz] today.”[da]

The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners

27 After[db] this, Jesus[dc] went out and saw a tax collector[dd] named Levi[de] sitting at the tax booth.[df] “Follow me,”[dg] he said to him. 28 And he got up and followed him, leaving everything[dh] behind.[di]

29 Then[dj] Levi gave a great banquet[dk] in his house for Jesus,[dl] and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting[dm] at the table with them. 30 But[dn] the Pharisees[do] and their experts in the law[dp] complained[dq] to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”[dr] 31 Jesus[ds] answered them, “Those who are well don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.[dt] 32 I have not come[du] to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”[dv]

The Superiority of the New

33 Then[dw] they said to him, “John’s[dx] disciples frequently fast[dy] and pray,[dz] and so do the disciples of the Pharisees,[ea] but yours continue to eat and drink.”[eb] 34 So[ec] Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the wedding guests[ed] fast while the bridegroom[ee] is with them, can you?[ef] 35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them,[eg] at that time[eh] they will fast.” 36 He also told them a parable:[ei] “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews[ej] it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn[ek] the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.[el] 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins.[em] If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 Instead new wine must be poured into new wineskins.[en] 39 [eo] No[ep] one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”[eq]

Footnotes

  1. Luke 5:1 tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  2. Luke 5:1 sn The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Cf. the parallel in Matt 4:18.
  3. Luke 5:1 sn The image of the crowd pressing around him suggests the people leaning forward to catch Jesus’ every word.
  4. Luke 5:2 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  5. Luke 5:3 tn Grk “Getting into”; the participle ἐμβάς (embas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  6. Luke 5:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  7. Luke 5:3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Luke 5:3 tn Grk “sitting down”; the participle καθίσας (kathisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  9. Luke 5:3 sn In 1986 following a period of drought and low lake levels, a fishing boat from the first century was discovered on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was excavated and preserved and can now be seen in the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar north of Tiberias. The remains of the boat are 27 ft (8.27 m) long and 7.5 ft (2.3 m) wide; it could be rowed by four rowers and had a mast for a sail. The boat is now known as the “Jesus boat” or the “Sea of Galilee boat” although there is no known historical connection of any kind with Jesus or his disciples. However, the boat is typical for the period and has provided archaeologists with much information about design and construction of boats on the Sea of Galilee in the first century.
  10. Luke 5:4 tn Or “let down.” The verb here is plural, so this is a command to all in the boat, not just Peter.
  11. Luke 5:5 tn Grk “And Simon.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  12. Luke 5:5 tn Grk “answering, Simon said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation to “Simon answered.”
  13. Luke 5:5 tn The word ἐπιστάτης is a term of respect for a person of high status (see L&N 87.50).
  14. Luke 5:5 tn The expression “at your word,” which shows Peter’s obedience, stands first in the Greek clause for emphasis.
  15. Luke 5:5 tn Or “let down.”
  16. Luke 5:6 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  17. Luke 5:6 tn In context, this imperfect verb is best taken as an ingressive imperfect.
  18. Luke 5:7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate consequential nature of the action.
  19. Luke 5:7 tn That is, “they signaled by making gestures” (L&N 33.485).
  20. Luke 5:7 tn This infinitive conveys the idea that the boats were at the point of sinking (BDF §338.1).
  21. Luke 5:8 sn Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.
  22. Luke 5:8 sn Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.
  23. Luke 5:9 sn An explanatory conjunction (For) makes it clear that Peter’s exclamation is the result of a surprising set of events. He speaks, but the others feel similarly.
  24. Luke 5:9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. Luke 5:9 sn In the Greek text, this term is in an emphatic position.
  26. Luke 5:10 tn Or “business associates.”
  27. Luke 5:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  28. Luke 5:10 sn From now on is a common Lukan expression, see Luke 1:48.
  29. Luke 5:10 tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net—not line—fishing, which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:461). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life. With the statement “You will be catching people” Jesus turns the miracle into a metaphor for mission.
  30. Luke 5:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ pronouncement.
  31. Luke 5:11 sn The expression left everything and followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.
  32. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  33. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  34. Luke 5:12 tn Or “cities.”
  35. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “towns, behold, a man covered with leprosy.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou, “behold”) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
  36. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “full of leprosy” (an idiom for a severe condition).
  37. Luke 5:12 sn See the note on lepers in Luke 4:27.
  38. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “And seeing.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here. The participle ἰδών (idōn) has been taken temporally.
  39. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “he fell on his face”; an idiom for bowing down with one’s face to the ground.
  40. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “and begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
  41. Luke 5:12 tn This is a third class condition. The report portrays the leper making no presumptions about whether Jesus will heal him or not.
  42. Luke 5:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response of Jesus to the man’s request.
  43. Luke 5:13 sn Touched. This touch would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean (Lev 14:46; also Mishnah, m. Nega’im 3.1; 11.1; 12.1; 13.6-12).
  44. Luke 5:14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  45. Luke 5:14 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  46. Luke 5:14 sn The silence ordered by Jesus was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 4:35, 41; 8:56 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence with reference to miracles.
  47. Luke 5:14 tn The words “commanded him” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied for clarity. This verse moves from indirect to direct discourse. This abrupt change is very awkward, so the words have been supplied to smooth out the transition.
  48. Luke 5:14 tn Grk “Going, show.” The participle ἀπελθών (apelthōn) has been translated as an attendant circumstance participle. Here the syntax also changes somewhat abruptly from indirect discourse to direct discourse.
  49. Luke 5:14 tn The words “the offering” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
  50. Luke 5:14 sn On the phrase as Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.
  51. Luke 5:14 tn Or “as an indictment against them”; or “as proof to the people.” This phrase could be taken as referring to a positive witness to the priests, a negative testimony against them, or as a testimony to the community that the man had indeed been cured. In any case, the testimony shows that Jesus is healing and ministering to those in need.
  52. Luke 5:15 sn That is, in spite of Jesus’ instructions to the man to tell no one about the healing (v. 14).
  53. Luke 5:15 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
  54. Luke 5:16 tn Here αὐτός (autos) has been translated reflexively.
  55. Luke 5:16 tn Grk “was withdrawing” (ἦν ὑποχωρῶν, ēn hupochōrōn). The adverb “frequently” has been added in the translation to bring out what is most likely an iterative force to the imperfect. However, the imperfect might instead portray an ingressive idea: “he began to withdraw.” See ExSyn 542-43.
  56. Luke 5:16 tn Or “desert.”
  57. Luke 5:17 tn Grk “And it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  58. Luke 5:17 sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
  59. Luke 5:17 tn That is, those who were skilled in the teaching and interpretation of the OT law. These are called “experts in the law” (Grk “scribes”) in v. 21.
  60. Luke 5:17 sn Jesus was now attracting attention outside of Galilee as far away as Jerusalem, the main city of Israel.
  61. Luke 5:17 tc Most mss (A C D [K] Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 33 M latt bo) read αὐτούς (autous) instead of αὐτόν (auton) here. If original, this plural pronoun would act as the direct object of the infinitive ἰᾶσθαι (iasthai, “to heal”). However, the reading with the singular pronoun αὐτόν, which acts as the subject of the infinitive, is to be preferred. Externally, it has support from better mss (א B L W al sa). Internally, it is probable that scribes changed the singular αὐτόν to the plural αὐτούς, expecting the object of the infinitive to come at this point in the text. The singular as the harder reading accounts for the rise of the other reading.
  62. Luke 5:18 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καὶ ἰδού (kai idou) has been translated as “just then” to indicate the somewhat sudden appearance of the men carrying the paralytic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1), especially in conjunction with the suddenness of the stretcher-bearers’ appearance.
  63. Luke 5:18 tn Grk “a man who was paralyzed”; the relative clause in Greek has adjectival force and has been simplified to a simple adjective in the translation.
  64. Luke 5:18 tn Traditionally, “on a bed,” but this could be confusing to the modern reader who might envision a large piece of furniture. In various contexts, κλίνη (klinē) may be translated “bed, couch, cot, stretcher, or bier” (in the case of a corpse). See L&N 6.106.
  65. Luke 5:18 tn Grk “stretcher, and.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead, because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.
  66. Luke 5:18 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  67. Luke 5:19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast implied in the context: They wanted to bring the man to Jesus, but found no way.
  68. Luke 5:19 tn Grk “But finding.” The participle εὑρόντες (heurontes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
  69. Luke 5:19 sn A house in 1st century Palestine would have had a flat roof with stairs or a ladder going up. This access was often from the outside of the house.
  70. Luke 5:19 tn This word, κλινίδιον (klinidion), is a different Greek word than the one used in the previous verse (κλίνη, klinē). In this context both may be translated “stretcher” (see L&N 6.106 and 6.107).
  71. Luke 5:19 tn There is a translational problem at this point in the text. The term Luke uses is κέραμος (keramos). It can in certain contexts mean “clay,” but usually this is in reference to pottery (see BDAG 540 s.v. 1). The most natural definition in this instance is “roof tile” (used in the translation above). However, tiles were generally not found in Galilee. Recent archaeological research has suggested that this house, which would have probably been typical for the area, could not have supported “a second story, nor could the original roof have been masonry; no doubt it was made from beams and branches of trees covered with a mixture of earth and straw” (J. F. Strange and H. Shanks, “Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found?” BAR 8, no. 6 [Nov/Dec 1982]: 34). Luke may simply have spoken of building materials that would be familiar to his readers.
  72. Luke 5:19 tn Grk “in the midst.”
  73. Luke 5:19 sn The phrase right in front of Jesus trailing as it does at the end of the verse is slightly emphatic, adding a little note of drama: What would Jesus do?
  74. Luke 5:20 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  75. Luke 5:20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  76. Luke 5:20 sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.
  77. Luke 5:20 tn Grk “Man,” but the term used in this way was not derogatory in Jewish culture. Used in address (as here) it means “friend” (see BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8).
  78. Luke 5:20 tn Grk “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke stresses the forgiveness of sins (cf. 1:77; 3:3; 24:47). In 5:20 he uses both the perfect ἀφέωνται and the personal pronoun σοι which together combine to heighten the subjective aspect of the experience of forgiveness. The σοι has been omitted in translation in light of normal English style.sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.
  79. Luke 5:21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  80. Luke 5:21 tn Or “Then the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateus) as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.
  81. Luke 5:21 tn Or “to reason” (in a hostile sense). See G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.
  82. Luke 5:21 tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.
  83. Luke 5:21 tn Grk “this one” (οὗτος, houtos).
  84. Luke 5:21 sn Uttering blasphemies in the NT has a somewhat broader meaning than mere exclamations or pronouncements. It could mean to say something that dishonored God, but it could also involve claims to divine prerogatives (in this case, to forgive sins on God’s behalf). Such claims were viewed as usurping God’s majesty or honor. The remark here raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry, and even more importantly, the identity of Jesus himself as God’s representative.
  85. Luke 5:22 sn Jesus often perceived people’s thoughts in Luke; see 4:23; 6:8; 7:40; 9:47. Such a note often precedes a rebuke.
  86. Luke 5:22 tn Grk “reasonings.” This is the noun form of the infinitive διαλογίζεσθαι (dialogizesthai, “began to reason to themselves”) used in v. 21. Jesus’ reply to them in the latter part of the present verse makes clear that these reasonings were mental and internal, so the translation “thoughts” was used here. On the hostile or evil nature of these thoughts, see G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.
  87. Luke 5:22 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation.
  88. Luke 5:22 tn The Greek verb διαλογίζεσθε (dialogizesthe, “you reason”), used in context with διαλογισμούς (dialogismous, “reasonings”), connotes more than neutral reasoning or thinking. While the verb can refer to normal “reasoning,” “discussion,” or “reflection” in the NT, its use here in Luke 5:22, alongside the noun—which is regularly used with a negative sense in the NT (cf. Matt 15:19; Mark 7:21; Luke 2:35; 6:8; 9:47; Rom 1:21; 1 Cor 3:20; G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:96-97; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:484)—suggests the idea of “contention.” Therefore, in order to reflect the hostility evident in the reasoning of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the verb has been translated as “raising objections.”
  89. Luke 5:23 sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.
  90. Luke 5:24 sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).
  91. Luke 5:24 sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.
  92. Luke 5:24 tn Grk “to the one who was paralyzed”; the Greek participle is substantival and has been simplified to a simple adjective and noun in the translation.sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.
  93. Luke 5:24 tn This word, κλινίδιον (klinidion), is the same as the one used in v. 19. In this context it may be translated “stretcher” (see L&N 6.107).
  94. Luke 5:24 tn Grk “to your house.”
  95. Luke 5:25 tn Grk “And immediately.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  96. Luke 5:25 tn Grk “and picked up.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because contemporary English normally places a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series.
  97. Luke 5:25 tn Grk “picked up what he had been lying on”; the referent of the relative pronoun (the stretcher) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  98. Luke 5:25 sn Note the man’s response, glorifying God. Joy at God’s work is also a key theme in Luke: 2:20; 4:15; 5:26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15; 18:43; 23:47.
  99. Luke 5:26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  100. Luke 5:26 tn Or “amazement.” See L&N 25.217, which translates this clause, “astonishment seized all of them.”
  101. Luke 5:26 tn This imperfect verb could be translated as an ingressive (“they began to glorify God”), but this is somewhat awkward in English since the following verb is aorist and is normally translated as a simple past.
  102. Luke 5:26 tn Grk “fear,” but the context and the following remark show that it is mixed with wonder; see L&N 53.59.
  103. Luke 5:26 tn Or “remarkable.” The term παράδοξος (paradoxos) is hard to translate exactly; it suggests both the unusual and the awe inspiring in this context. For the alternatives see L&N 31.44 (“incredible”) and 58.56 (“remarkable”). It is often something beyond belief (G. Kittel, TDNT 2:255).
  104. Luke 5:26 tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied because the adjective παράδοξος (paradoxos) is substantival. Other translations sometimes supply alternate words like “miracles” or “signs,” but “things” is the most neutral translation.
  105. Luke 5:26 sn See the note on today in 2:11.
  106. Luke 5:27 tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  107. Luke 5:27 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  108. Luke 5:27 sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.
  109. Luke 5:27 sn It is possible that Levi is a second name for Matthew, because people often used alternative names in 1st century Jewish culture.
  110. Luke 5:27 tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telōnion; so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.sn The tax booth was a booth located at a port or on the edge of a city or town to collect taxes for trade. These taxes were a form of customs duty or toll applied to the movement of goods and produce brought into an area for sale. As such these tolls were a sort of “sales tax” paid by the seller but obviously passed on to the purchaser in the form of increased prices (L&N 57.183). The system as a whole is sometimes referred to as “tax farming” because a contract to collect these taxes for an entire district would be sold to the highest bidder, who would pay up front, hire employees to do the work of collection, and then recoup the investment and overhead by charging commissions on top of the taxes. Although rates and commissions were regulated by law, there was plenty of room for abuse in the system through the subjective valuation of goods by the tax collectors, and even through outright bribery. Tax overseers and their employees were obviously not well liked. There was a tax booth in Capernaum, which was on the trade route from Damascus to Galilee and the Mediterranean. It was here that Jesus met Levi (also named Matthew [see Matt 9:9]) who, although indirectly employed by the Romans, was probably more directly responsible to Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee appointed by Rome. It was Levi’s job to collect customs duties for Rome and he was thus despised by his fellow Jews, many of whom would have regarded him as a traitor.
  111. Luke 5:27 sn Follow me. For similar calls on the part of Jesus see Luke 5:10-11; 9:23, 59; 18:22.
  112. Luke 5:28 sn On the phrase leaving everything see Luke 5:10-11; 14:33.
  113. Luke 5:28 tn The participial phrase “leaving everything behind” occurs at the beginning of the sentence, but has been transposed to the end in the translation for logical reasons, since it serves to summarize Levi’s actions.
  114. Luke 5:29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  115. Luke 5:29 sn A great banquet refers to an elaborate meal. Many of the events in Luke take place in the context of meal fellowship: 7:36-50; 9:12-17; 10:38-42; 11:37-54; 14:1-24; 22:7-38; 24:29-32, 41-43.
  116. Luke 5:29 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  117. Luke 5:29 tn Grk “reclining.” This term reflects the normal practice in 1st century Jewish culture of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position. Since it is foreign to most modern readers, the translation “sitting” has been substituted.
  118. Luke 5:30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast present in this context.
  119. Luke 5:30 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
  120. Luke 5:30 tn Or “and their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
  121. Luke 5:30 tn Or “grumbled”; a term often used in the OT for inappropriate grumbling: Exod 15:24; 16:7-8; Num 14:2, 26-35; 16:11.
  122. Luke 5:30 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations (eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners) and the accusation comes not against Jesus, but his disciples.
  123. Luke 5:31 tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  124. Luke 5:31 sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is well (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.
  125. Luke 5:32 sn I have not come is another commission statement by Jesus; see 4:43-44.
  126. Luke 5:32 sn Though parallels exist to this saying (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17), only Luke has this last phrase but sinners to repentance. Repentance is a frequent topic in Luke’s Gospel: 3:3, 8; 13:1-5; 15:7, 10; 16:30; 17:3-4; 24:47.
  127. Luke 5:33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  128. Luke 5:33 tc Most mss (א*,2 A C D Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 M latt sy) read διὰ τί (dia ti, “Why do John’s…?”) here, turning the statement into a question. But such seems to be a motivated reading, assimilating the text to Mark 2:18 and Matt 9:14. The reading represented in the translation is supported by P4 א1 B L W Ξ 33 892* 1241 sa.sn John refers to John the Baptist.
  129. Luke 5:33 sn John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
  130. Luke 5:33 tn Grk “and offer prayers,” but this idiom (δέησις + ποιέω) is often simply a circumlocution for praying.
  131. Luke 5:33 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
  132. Luke 5:33 tn Grk “but yours are eating and drinking.” The translation “continue to eat and drink” attempts to reflect the progressive or durative nature of the action described, which in context is a practice not limited to the specific occasion at hand (the banquet).
  133. Luke 5:34 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ pronouncement is a result of their statements about his disciples.
  134. Luke 5:34 tn Grk “the sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to guests at the wedding, or more specifically, friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).
  135. Luke 5:34 sn The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5-6; 62:4-5).
  136. Luke 5:34 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mē) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “can you?”).
  137. Luke 5:35 sn The statement when the bridegroom is taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 9:18ff.
  138. Luke 5:35 tn Grk “then in those days.”
  139. Luke 5:36 sn The term parable in a Semitic context can cover anything from a long story to a brief wisdom saying. Here it is the latter.
  140. Luke 5:36 tn Grk “puts,” but since the means of attachment would normally be sewing, the translation “sews” has been used.
  141. Luke 5:36 tn Grk “he tears.” The point is that the new garment will be ruined to repair an older, less valuable one.
  142. Luke 5:36 sn The piece from the new will not match the old. The imagery in this saying looks at the fact that what Jesus brings is so new that it cannot simply be combined with the old. To do so would be to destroy what is new and to put together something that does not fit.
  143. Luke 5:37 sn Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.
  144. Luke 5:38 tc Most mss (A C [D] Θ Ψ ƒ13 M latt sy) have καὶ ἀμφότεροι συντηροῦνται (kai amphoteroi suntērountai, “and both will be preserved”), assimilating the text to Matt 9:17. The earliest and best witnesses, as well as many others (P4,75vid א B L W ƒ1 33 579 700 1241 2542 co), however, lack the words.sn The meaning of the saying new wine…into new skins is that the presence and teaching of Jesus was something new and signaled the passing of the old. It could not be confined within the old religion of Judaism, but involved the inauguration and consummation of the kingdom of God.
  145. Luke 5:39 tc The Western textual tradition (D it) lacks 5:39. The verse is unique to Luke, so the omission by these witnesses looks like assimilation to the other synoptic accounts.
  146. Luke 5:39 tc ‡ Although most mss begin the verse with καί (kai, “and”), beginning the sentence without a conjunction is both a harder reading and is found in early and significant witnesses (P4,75vid א2 B 579 700 892 1241). NA28 puts the word in brackets indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
  147. Luke 5:39 tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 33 M lat), read χρηστότερος (chrēstoteros, “better”), a smoother reading. The reading of the text (found in P4 א B L W 1241) is preferred as the more difficult reading. This reading could suggest that the new thing Jesus brings is not even considered, since the “old wine” is already found quite acceptable.tn Grk “good.”sn The third illustration points out that those already satisfied with what they have will not seek the new (The old is good enough).
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