John 8:52

Footnotes

1. 135 Important and early witnesses (𝔓66 א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; 𝔓75 D L Ψ 070 f1, 13 33 𝔐 lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (𝔓75) has the conjunction, the combination of 𝔓66 א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
2. 136 Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. . Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. Ἰουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31).
3. 137 Grk “said to him.”
4. 138 Grk “you have a demon.”
5. 139 “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.
6. 140 Grk “If anyone keeps.”
7. 141 Grk “my word.”
8. 142 Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. γεύομαι 2).
9. 143 Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.