John 4:27-54

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. John 4:30 tn “So” is supplied for transitional smoothness in English.
9. 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.
10. John 4:31 tn Grk “were asking him, saying.”
11. John 4:31 tn The direct object of φάγε (phage) in Greek is understood; “something” is supplied in English.
12. John 4:33 tn An ingressive imperfect conveys the idea that Jesus’ reply provoked the disciples’ response.
13. John 4:33 tn The direct object of ἤνεγκεν (ēnenken) in Greek is understood; “anything” is supplied in English.
14. 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?”).
15. John 4:34 sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.
16. John 4:34 tn Or “to accomplish.”
17. 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.
18. John 4:35 tn The recitative ὅτι (hoti) after λέγετε (legete) has not been translated.
19. John 4:35 tn Grk “lift up your eyes” (an idiom). BDAG 357 s.v. ἐπαίρω 1 has “look up” here.
20. John 4:35 tn That is, “ripe.”
21. John 4:36 tn Or “a reward”; see L&N 38.14 and 57.173. This is something of a wordplay.
22. John 4:37 tn The recitative ὅτι (hoti) after ἀληθινός (alēthinos) has not been translated.
23. John 4:39 tn Grk “when she testified.”
24. John 4:40 tn Following the arrival of the Samaritans, the imperfect verb has been translated as ingressive.
25. 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.
26. John 4:41 tn Or “and they believed much more.”
27. John 4:42 tn Or “this.” The Greek pronoun can mean either “this one” or “this” (BDAG 740 s.v. οὗτος 1).
28. 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.
29. John 4:44 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
30. John 4:45 sn All the things he had done in Jerusalem probably refers to the signs mentioned in John 2:23.
31. John 4:45 sn See John 2:23-25.
32. 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.
33. John 4:46 sn See John 2:1-11.
34. John 4:46 tn Grk “And in.”
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. 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).
39. John 4:48 tn Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteusēte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.
40. John 4:50 tn Grk “Go”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
41. John 4:50 tn Grk “and went.” The words “for home” are implied by the following verse.
42. 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.
43. 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.
44. John 4:52 tn Grk “the hour.”
45. John 4:52 tn BDAG 558 s.v. κομψότερον translates the idiom κομψότερον ἔχειν (kompsoteron echein) as “begin to improve.”
46. John 4:52 tn The second οὖν (oun) in 4:52 has been translated as “and” to improve English style by avoiding redundancy.
47. John 4:52 tn Grk “at the seventh hour.”
48. John 4:53 tn Grk “at that hour.”
49. 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.