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39 You study the scriptures thoroughly[a] because you think in them you possess eternal life,[b] and it is these same scriptures[c] that testify about me, 40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

41 “I do not accept[d] praise[e] from people,[f]

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Footnotes

  1. John 5:39 tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.
  2. John 5:39 sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”
  3. John 5:39 tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).
  4. John 5:41 tn Or “I do not receive.”
  5. John 5:41 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
  6. John 5:41 tn Grk “from men,” but in a generic sense; both men and women are implied here.