translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: JHN

label: NET translator note

text: For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


text: Regarding the use of the present tense ἐστιν ( estin ) and its implications for the dating of the Gospel of John, see the article by D. B. Wallace, “ John 5,2 and the Date of the Fourth Gospel,” Bib 71 (1990): 177-205.


text: The site of the miracle is also something of a problem: προβατικῇ ( probatikh ) is usually taken as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple. Some (R. E. Brown and others) would place the word κολυμβήθρα ( kolumbhqra ) with προβατικῇ to read “in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Pool , there is (another pool) with the Hebrew name.” This would imply that there is reference to two pools in the context rather than only one. This does not seem necessary (although it is a grammatical possibility). The gender of the words does not help since both are feminine (as is the participle ἐπιλεγομένη [ epilegomenh ]). Note however that Brown’s suggestion would require a feminine word to be supplied (for the participle ἐπιλεγομένη to modify). The traditional understanding of the phrase as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple appears more probably correct.


text: Grk “in Hebrew.”


text: Or “porticoes,” or “colonnades”; Grk “stoas.” sn The pool had five porticoes . These were covered walkways formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the side facing the pool. People could stand, sit, or walk on these colonnaded porches, protected from the weather and the heat of the sun.


text: Grk “who had had thirty-eight years in his disability.”


text: Or “knew.”


text: Grk “he.” The referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος ( kurios ) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage the paralytic who was healed by Jesus never acknowledges Jesus as Lord – he rather reports Jesus to the authorities.


text: Grk “while I am going.”


text: Grk “another.”


text: The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.


text: Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” Some of these items, however, are rather substantial (e.g., “mattress”) and would probably give the modern English reader a false impression.


text: Grk “became well.”


text: Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in the previous verse.


text: Grk “Now it was Sabbath on that day.” sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.


text: Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι ( Ioudaioi ) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9).


text: Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in v. 8 .


text: א B C* L) do not. Nevertheless, in the translation, it is necessary to supply the words due to the demands of English style, which does not typically allow for understood or implied direct objects as Greek does.


text: Grk “Pick up and walk”; the object (the mat) is implied but not repeated.


text: Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.


text: Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10 .


text: Or “harassing.”


text: places the word in brackets, indicating some doubts as to authenticity.


text: Grk “answered.”


text: Grk “answered and said to them.”


text: Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”


text: Grk “nothing from himself.”


text: Grk “that one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Grk “and makes them live.”


text: Grk “the Son makes whomever he wants to live.”


text: Or “condemn.”


text: Or “given,” or “handed over.”


text: Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).


text: Or “obeys.”


text: Or “word.”


text: Grk “and does not come into judgment.”


text: Grk “an hour.”


text: Grk “him.”


text: Grk “authority to judge.”


text: Or “a resurrection resulting in judgment.”


text: Grk “nothing from myself.”


text: Or “righteous,” or “proper.”


text: That is, “the will of the Father who sent me.”


text: Or “I do not receive.”


text: Grk “for an hour.”


text: Or “works.”


text: Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.


text: The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to clarify that the following verbs (“heard,” “seen,” “have residing,” “do not believe”) are second person plural.


text: Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.


text: The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).


text: Or “honor” ( Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).


text: Grk “from men,” but in a generic sense; both men and women are implied here.


text: The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ ( thn agaphn tou qeou , “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek , §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on the love God gives which in turn produces love for him, but Jesus’ opponents are lacking any such love inside them.


text: Or “you do not receive.”


text: Or “you will receive.”


text: B W a b sa) lack θεοῦ ( qeou , “God”) here, thus reading “the only one,” while most of the rest of the tradition, including some important mss , has the name ({ א A D L Θ Ψ 33 Ï }). Internally, it could be argued that the name of God was not used here, in keeping with the NT practice of suppressing the name of God at times for rhetorical effect, drawing the reader inexorably to the conclusion that the one being spoken of is God himself. On the other hand, never is ὁ μόνος ( Jo mono" ) used absolutely in the NT (i.e., without a noun or substantive with it), and always the subject of the adjunct is God (cf. Matt 24:36 ; John 17:3 ; 1 Tim 6:16 ). What then is to explain the shorter reading? In uncial script, with θεοῦ written as a nomen sacrum , envisioning accidental omission of the name by way of homoioteleuton requires little imagination, largely because of the succession of words ending in - ου : toumonouqMuou . It is thus preferable to retain the word in the text.


text: Grk “For if.”


text: Grk “that one” (“he”); the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.