1
Ὁ οὖν Ἰησοῦς πρὸ ἓξ ἡμερῶν τοῦ πάσχα ἦλθεν εἰς Βηθανίαν, ὅπου ἦν ⸀Λάζαρος, ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν ⸀Ἰησοῦς.
So six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead.
Six days before — this book counts the days into the Passover.
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
first here Bethany Βηθανία Bēthania
first here Lazarus Λάζαρος Lazaros
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun whom = Lazarus
2
ἐποίησαν οὖν αὐτῷ δεῖπνον ἐκεῖ, καὶ ἡ Μάρθα διηκόνει, ὁ δὲ Λάζαρος εἷς ἦν ⸀ἐκ τῶν ἀνακειμένων σὺν αὐτῷ·
So they made him a supper there, and Martha was serving, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him.
Reclining is how a supper was taken; it returns at 13:23.
first here Martha Μάρθα Martha
pronoun they = those at Bethany
pronoun him = Jesus
3
ἡ οὖν ⸀Μαριὰμ λαβοῦσα λίτραν μύρου νάρδου πιστικῆς πολυτίμου ἤλειψεν τοὺς πόδας τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ἐξέμαξεν ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ· ἡ δὲ οἰκία ἐπληρώθη ἐκ τῆς ὀσμῆς τοῦ μύρου.
So Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
A pound renders a weight (λίτρα, litra), so it stands as a measure. This is the anointing the writer pointed forward to at 11:2.
first here Mariam Μαριάμ Mariam
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun her = Mary
4
λέγει ⸀δὲ ⸂Ἰούδας ὁ Ἰσκαριώτης εἷς τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ⸃, ὁ μέλλων αὐτὸν παραδιδόναι·
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the one about to hand him over, says,
Hand over (παραδίδωμι, paradidōmi) is not “betray” — this edition keeps the plainer verb throughout.
first here Judas Ἰούδας Ioudas
first here Iscariot Ἰσκαριώτης Iskariōtēs
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
5
Διὰ τί τοῦτο τὸ μύρον οὐκ ἐπράθη τριακοσίων δηναρίων καὶ ἐδόθη πτωχοῖς;
“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
Denarii names a coin, so it is kept as it sounds. A denarius was a day's wage at Matthew 20:2.
6
εἶπεν δὲ τοῦτο οὐχ ὅτι περὶ τῶν πτωχῶν ἔμελεν αὐτῷ, ἀλλ’ ὅτι κλέπτης ἦν καὶ τὸ γλωσσόκομον ⸀ἔχων τὰ βαλλόμενα ἐβάσταζεν.
He said this not because the poor were a care to him, but because he was a thief, and having the money box he used to carry off what was put in it.
The writer breaks in to give a reason the words themselves do not carry.
pronoun He = Judas — every “he” and “him” in this verse is Judas
pronoun it = the money box
7
εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἄφες αὐτήν, ⸀ἵνα εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ ἐνταφιασμοῦ μου ⸀τηρήσῃ αὐτό·
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone; let her keep it for the day of my burial.
Leave her alone — the rebuke of verse 5 is turned back.
pronoun her = Mary — both times
pronoun it = the ointment
pronoun my = Jesus
8
τοὺς πτωχοὺς γὰρ πάντοτε ἔχετε μεθ’ ἑαυτῶν, ἐμὲ δὲ οὐ πάντοτε ἔχετε.
For the poor you always have with you, but me you do not always have.”
Always stands twice, and the second turn takes back the first.
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun me = Jesus
9
Ἔγνω ⸀οὖν ὄχλος πολὺς ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἐστιν, καὶ ἦλθον οὐ διὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν μόνον, ἀλλ’ ἵνα καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἴδωσιν ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν.
So a large crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came not because of Jesus only but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
They come for two men — the crowd is drawn by the raised man as much as by the raiser.
first here Jews Ἰουδαῖος Ioudaios
pronoun he = Jesus — both times
pronoun they = the crowd
pronoun whom = Lazarus
10
ἐβουλεύσαντο δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἵνα καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἀποκτείνωσιν,
But the chief priests took counsel to kill Lazarus also,
The raised man is put on the same list as the one who raised him.
11
ὅτι πολλοὶ δι’ αὐτὸν ὑπῆγον τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἐπίστευον εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.
because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
Going away is the word used of the disciples at 6:66.
pronoun him = Lazarus
12
Τῇ ἐπαύριον ⸀ὁ ὄχλος πολὺς ὁ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν, ἀκούσαντες ὅτι ἔρχεται ⸁ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα,
On the next day the large crowd that had come to the feast, hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
On the next day — this book counts the days again, as at 1:29.
13
ἔλαβον τὰ βαΐα τῶν φοινίκων καὶ ἐξῆλθον εἰς ὑπάντησιν αὐτῷ, καὶ ⸀ἐκραύγαζον· Ὡσαννά, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, ⸂καὶ ὁ⸃ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ.
took the branches of the palms and went out to meet him, and were crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.”
Hosanna is a Hebrew cry left as sound; it is a plea, “save now”, not a word of praise. Even the King of Israel is added by this book alone.
first here Israel Ἰσραήλ Israēl
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = the one who comes
14
εὑρὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὀνάριον ἐκάθισεν ἐπ’ αὐτό, καθώς ἐστιν γεγραμμένον·
And Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written:
This book has one donkey. Matthew 21:2 has two.
pronoun it = the young donkey (“as it is written” is a set phrase)
15
Μὴ φοβοῦ, θυγάτηρ Σιών· ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεται, καθήμενος ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου.
“Do not fear, daughter of Zion; see, your King comes, seated on a donkey's colt.”
The quotation is shortened; Do not fear stands where other books put “Say to the daughter of Zion”.
first here Zion Σιών Siōn
pronoun your = the daughter of Zion
16
⸀ταῦτα οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ⸂αὐτοῦ οἱ μαθηταὶ⸃ τὸ πρῶτον, ἀλλ’ ὅτε ἐδοξάσθη Ἰησοῦς τότε ἐμνήσθησαν ὅτι ταῦτα ἦν ἐπ’ αὐτῷ γεγραμμένα καὶ ταῦτα ἐποίησαν αὐτῷ.
His disciples did not know these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
The writer says plainly that the disciples understood only afterwards — as at 2:22.
pronoun His = Jesus
pronoun they = the disciples
pronoun him = Jesus
17
ἐμαρτύρει οὖν ὁ ὄχλος ὁ ὢν μετ’ αὐτοῦ ὅτε τὸν Λάζαρον ἐφώνησεν ἐκ τοῦ μνημείου καὶ ἤγειρεν αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν.
So the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead was bearing witness.
The crowd that saw Lazarus called out is the crowd that bears witness.
pronoun him = Jesus — the second “him” is Lazarus
pronoun he = Jesus
18
διὰ τοῦτο ⸀καὶ ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ ὁ ὄχλος ὅτι ⸀ἤκουσαν τοῦτο αὐτὸν πεποιηκέναι τὸ σημεῖον.
For this reason also the crowd met him, because they heard that he had done this sign.
This sign is the raising of chapter 11.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun they = the crowd
pronoun he = Jesus
19
οἱ οὖν Φαρισαῖοι εἶπαν πρὸς ἑαυτούς· Θεωρεῖτε ὅτι οὐκ ὠφελεῖτε οὐδέν· ἴδε ὁ ⸀κόσμος ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθεν.
So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing; look, the world has gone after him.”
The world has gone after him — said in complaint, and the next verse brings Greeks.
first here Pharisee Φαρισαῖος Pharisaios
pronoun You = the Pharisees
pronoun him = Jesus
20
Ἦσαν δὲ ⸂Ἕλληνές τινες⸃ ἐκ τῶν ἀναβαινόντων ἵνα προσκυνήσωσιν ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ·
Now there were some Greeks among those going up to worship at the feast.
Greeks (Ἕλληνες, Hellēnes) names Greek-speaking people, not Greek-speaking Jews (Ἑλληνισταί, Hellēnistai). This edition keeps the two apart.
first here Greeks Ἕλλην Hellēn
21
οὗτοι οὖν προσῆλθον Φιλίππῳ τῷ ἀπὸ Βηθσαϊδὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας, καὶ ἠρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Κύριε, θέλομεν τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἰδεῖν.
So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and were asking him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
They come to the disciple with a Greek name.
first here Philippi Φίλιππος Philippos
first here Bethsaida Βηθσαϊδά Bēthsaida
first here Galileans Γαλιλαία Galilaia
pronoun these = the Greeks
pronoun him = Philip
pronoun we = the Greeks
22
ἔρχεται ⸀ὁ Φίλιππος καὶ λέγει τῷ Ἀνδρέᾳ· ⸀ἔρχεται Ἀνδρέας καὶ Φίλιππος ⸀καὶ λέγουσιν τῷ Ἰησοῦ.
Philip comes and tells Andrew; Andrew and Philip come and tell Jesus.
Philip does not answer; he passes it on. The Greeks are never said to have met him.
first here Andrew Ἀνδρέας Andreas
23
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ⸀ἀποκρίνεται αὐτοῖς λέγων· Ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
And Jesus answers them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
The hour has come — until now the book has said the hour had not yet come (2:4, 7:30, 8:20).
pronoun them = Philip and Andrew
Why this rendering
John.12.23 Observation
Syntactic observation
Ἐλήλυθεν is the perfect of ἔρχομαι — it has come and stands come. The subject is ἡ ὥρα, the hour with its article. This is the end of a line that began at 2:4: οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου, my hour has not yet come; and at 7:30 and 8:20, οὔπω ἐληλύθει ἡ ὥρα αὐτοῦ, the same perfect under a negative. Here the negative falls away for the first time. ὥρα occurs twenty-four times in John, the clock readings (1:39, 4:6, 4:52, 11:9) mixed in among the thematic ones. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀ἀποκρίνεται).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified
Basis Renders the perfect as has come.
The time has arrived for the Son of Man to be glorified
Basis Renders ὥρα as time for naturalness.
Rejected It is the word of 2:4, 7:30 and 8:20, and only one rendering lets the line show. “Time” severs it from the three earlier places. As settled in chapter 4, Korean splits off only the clock readings and keeps the thematic word.
Lost in translation
that the occurrences form one line What was “not yet” at 2:4 loses its negative at 12:23. The line shows only if the word is the same, and no version prints on the page that this is the hour of 2:4. Only consistency preserves it.
Survives in · 개역한글† / King James 1769 / New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / New English Translation† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / Синодальный перевод / 新共同訳聖書 (1987)† / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
24
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου πεσὼν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀποθάνῃ, αὐτὸς μόνος μένει· ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ, πολὺν καρπὸν φέρει.
Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Alone renders μόνος (monos); the grain that keeps itself keeps nothing.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the hearers
pronoun it = the grain of wheat
Why this rendering
John.12.24 Observation
Syntactic observation
μένει is μένω, fixed in chapter 1 as remain. This is the second place in John where the verb attaches to a bad outcome — sin remains at 9:41, and here the grain remains alone. It is the verb of the Spirit remaining (1:32–33) and of the disciple remaining (8:31, 15:4). κόκκος, a grain, occurs only here in John. αὐτὸς μόνος is it alone, with the emphasis doubled. And ἀποθάνῃ stands twice, so that dying occupies both the condition and the result.
Rendering options · 2
it remains alone
Basis Unpacks μένει as stays as it is.
Rejected Having rendered 9:41 as sin remains, unpacking it here splits the two. That one verb serves the Spirit, sin and a grain alike is part of how John is built.
Adopted Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Basis Keeps μένω as fixed in GLOSSARY.
Lost in translation
the range of μένω The Spirit remains (1:32–33), the disciple remains (8:31), sin remains (9:41), the grain remains alone (12:24). One verb serves good and bad alike. Different words in different places dissolve that range.
Survives in · 개역한글† / King James 1769 / New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / Синодальный перевод / 新共同訳聖書 (1987)† / this edition — 7 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
25
ὁ φιλῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ⸀ἀπολλύει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ μισῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον φυλάξει αὐτήν.
The one loving his life loses it, and the one hating his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
Life here is ψυχή (psychē), the life a person lives; life eternal is a different word (ζωή, zōē). English uses one word for both — recorded as a loss.
pronoun his = the one loving his life
pronoun it = his life
26
ἐὰν ἐμοί ⸂τις διακονῇ⸃ ἐμοὶ ἀκολουθείτω, καὶ ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ διάκονος ὁ ἐμὸς ἔσται· ⸀ἐάν τις ἐμοὶ διακονῇ τιμήσει αὐτὸν ὁ πατήρ.
If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.
Serves and servant are one root in Greek (διακον-, diakon-).
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun him = the one who serves
pronoun my = Jesus
27
Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται, καὶ τί εἴπω; πάτερ, σῶσόν με ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης. ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον εἰς τὴν ὥραν ταύτην.
Now my soul stands troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this I came to this hour.
My soul is the same word rendered life in verse 25. This book has no garden prayer; this is where it stands.
pronoun my = Jesus
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun me = Jesus
Why this rendering
John.12.27 Observation
Syntactic observation
τετάρακται is the perfect passive of ταράσσω — it stands troubled. At 11:33 the same verb was active with a reflexive (ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν, he troubled himself). Before the tomb he troubled himself; here he stands troubled. The voice is reversed. And ὥρα stands twice in this verse — save me from this hour, and for this I came to this hour — one word set both against and toward. ψυχή is the word that stood twice at 12:25.
Rendering options · 2
Now my soul is troubled
Basis Renders ψυχή as heart and the perfect passive as a present.
Rejected Rendering ψυχή as heart severs it from the one who loves his ψυχή two verses earlier. And rendering 11:33 and 12:27 alike hides the reversal of voice — once he troubles himself, once he stands troubled.
Adopted Now my soul stands troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this I came to this hour.
Basis Keeps ταράσσω the same word as at 11:33 while marking the voice, and keeps ψυχή as at 12:25. Both occurrences of ὥρα take one word so that away-from and toward stand on it.
Lost in translation
the reversal of voice between 11:33 and 12:27 One verb, once active with a reflexive and once perfect passive. Versions that render both alike cannot show the reversal. The loss is not within a verse but across two chapters.
Survives in · Young's Literal 1898 / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
the range of ψυχή The ψυχή of v.25 is life; that of v.27 is nearer the inner self. Two verses apart, and English cannot hold both in one word — life on the one side, soul on the other.
Survives in · this edition — 6 of the nine carry it (not this language)
28
πάτερ, δόξασόν σου τὸ ὄνομα. ἦλθεν οὖν φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· Καὶ ἐδόξασα καὶ πάλιν δοξάσω.
Father, glorify your name.” So a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
Glorify stands three times in one exchange.
pronoun your = the Father
pronoun I = the Father
pronoun it = your name
29
ὁ οὖν ὄχλος ὁ ἑστὼς καὶ ἀκούσας ἔλεγεν βροντὴν γεγονέναι· ἄλλοι ἔλεγον· Ἄγγελος αὐτῷ λελάληκεν.
So the crowd that stood and heard it was saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to him.”
The same sound is heard two ways — thunder, or an angel.
pronoun it = the voice
pronoun him = Jesus
30
ἀπεκρίθη ⸂Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν⸃· Οὐ δι’ ἐμὲ ⸂ἡ φωνὴ αὕτη⸃ γέγονεν ἀλλὰ δι’ ὑμᾶς.
Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for my sake but for yours.
The voice is said to be for the hearers, as the prayer at 11:42 was.
pronoun my = Jesus
pronoun yours = the crowd
31
νῦν κρίσις ἐστὶν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, νῦν ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω·
Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
Ruler of this world returns at 14:30 and 16:11.
32
κἀγὼ ⸀ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν.
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to myself.”
Lifted up (ὑψόω, hypsoō) holds both being raised on a cross and being raised in honour. Verse 33 says which is meant here, and does not cancel the other.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun myself = Jesus
Why this rendering
John.12.32 Observation
Syntactic observation
ὑψόω occurs four times in John — twice at 3:14, then 8:28, 12:32 and 12:34. At 3:14 it is set beside Moses lifting the serpent, and at 12:33 the narrator states that he said this signifying by what death he was to die. The lifting up is the hanging on a cross. ἑλκύσω is the future of ἕλκω, the verb used in John at 6:44 of the Father drawing, at 18:10 of Peter drawing a sword, and at 21:6 and 21:11 of hauling nets. It is the verb for drawing a sword and hauling a net — pulling with force rather than leading gently. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀ἐὰν).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted will draw all to myself
Basis Uses the settled rendering.
I will haul all people to myself
Basis Shows the force in ἕλκω.
Rejected Matching the word used of the nets at 21:6, 11 and the sword at 18:10 would favour this, but in Korean 끌어당기다 applied to people reads as physical force alone and the sentence collapses. The link is recorded below and the text keeps drawing.
Lost in translation
the doubleness of ὑψόω Lifting up holds both hanging on a cross and being exalted, and 12:33 fixes the first sense on the page. English lift up carries the doubleness reasonably well — a rare place that crosses over.
Survives in · 개역한글† / King James 1769 / New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / New English Translation† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
that ἕλκω is the verb of swords and nets The drawing of 6:44 and 12:32, the drawing of a sword at 18:10 and the hauling of nets at 21:6 and 11 are one verb. English cannot use one verb for people and for objects, and the link disappears entirely — recorded as a loss.
Survives in · this edition — 3 of the nine carry it (not this language)
33
τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ ἤμελλεν ἀποθνῄσκειν.
He said this signifying by what death he was about to die.
The writer names the death — the reader is told what the crowd is not.
pronoun He = Jesus — both times
34
ἀπεκρίθη ⸀οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ ὄχλος· Ἡμεῖς ἠκούσαμεν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου ὅτι ὁ χριστὸς μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ πῶς ⸂λέγεις σὺ⸃ ⸀ὅτι δεῖ ὑψωθῆναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου;
So the crowd answered him, “We heard from the law that the Christ remains to the age; and how do you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
We heard from the law — no place is given for the saying.
first here Christ Χριστός Christos
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun We = the crowd
pronoun you = Jesus
35
εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἔτι μικρὸν χρόνον τὸ φῶς ⸂ἐν ὑμῖν⸃ ἐστιν. περιπατεῖτε ⸀ὡς τὸ φῶς ἔχετε, ἵνα μὴ σκοτία ὑμᾶς καταλάβῃ, καὶ ὁ περιπατῶν ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ οὐκ οἶδεν ποῦ ὑπάγει.
So Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while the light is among you. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not seize you; and the one walking in the darkness does not know where he is going.
Seize is the verb of 1:5, where light and darkness first met.
pronoun them = the crowd
pronoun you = the crowd
pronoun he = the one walking in the darkness
36
⸀ὡς τὸ φῶς ἔχετε, πιστεύετε εἰς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα υἱοὶ φωτὸς γένησθε. Ταῦτα ⸀ἐλάλησεν Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἐκρύβη ἀπ’ αὐτῶν.
While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said these things, and going away he was hidden from them.
Was hidden — the public speaking of this book ends here.
pronoun you = the crowd
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the crowd
37
τοσαῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ σημεῖα πεποιηκότος ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐπίστευον εἰς αὐτόν,
But though he had done so many signs before them, they were not believing in him,
The writer sums up the signs and their result together.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the people
pronoun they = the people
pronoun him = Jesus
38
ἵνα ὁ λόγος Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου πληρωθῇ ὃν εἶπεν· Κύριε, τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν; καὶ ὁ βραχίων κυρίου τίνι ἀπεκαλύφθη;
so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said: “Lord, who believed our report? And to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed?”
Report renders ἀκοή (akoē), which is also the hearing itself.
first here Isaiah Ἠσαΐας Ēsaias
pronoun he = Isaiah
pronoun our = the prophet and those with him
39
διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἠδύναντο πιστεύειν ὅτι πάλιν εἶπεν Ἠσαΐας·
For this reason they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
Could not — the hardest line in the chapter, and the text lets it stand.
pronoun they = the people
40
Τετύφλωκεν αὐτῶν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ ⸀ἐπώρωσεν αὐτῶν τὴν καρδίαν, ἵνα μὴ ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ νοήσωσιν τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ ⸀στραφῶσιν, καὶ ⸀ἰάσομαι αὐτούς.
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they may not see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I heal them.”
Hardened renders a verb for making callous or thick.
pronoun He = God
pronoun their = the people
pronoun they = the people
pronoun I = God
pronoun them = the people
41
ταῦτα εἶπεν Ἠσαΐας ⸀ὅτι εἶδεν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐλάλησεν περὶ αὐτοῦ.
Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory, and he spoke about him.
His glory — the text does not say whose, and the pronoun is left as it stands.
pronoun he = Isaiah — both times
pronoun his = the one whose glory Isaiah saw
pronoun him = the one Isaiah spoke about
42
ὅμως μέντοι καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀρχόντων πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοὺς Φαρισαίους οὐχ ὡμολόγουν ἵνα μὴ ἀποσυνάγωγοι γένωνται,
Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing him, so that they might not be put out of the synagogue;
Put out of the synagogue is the fear of 9:22.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun they = the rulers who believed
43
ἠγάπησαν γὰρ τὴν δόξαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων μᾶλλον ἤπερ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ.
for they loved the glory of people more than the glory of God.
Glory and glory — the same word twice, told apart only by whose it is.
pronoun they = the rulers who believed
Why this rendering
John.12.43 Observation
Syntactic observation
δόξα stands twice in one sentence — τὴν δόξαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων and τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ, both with the article. This is the shape of 5:44, where the δόξα from people and the δόξα from God also stood in one sentence, and GLOSSARY settled not to split them into praise and glory. At 5:44 the contrast was anarthrous against articular; here both carry the article. The verse just before, 12:42, has ἀποσυνάγωγος, the word of 9:22 — those who did not confess for fear of being put out of the synagogue.
Rendering options · 2
they loved the praise of men more than the glory of God
Basis Splits the two according to sense.
Rejected This was set aside at 5:44. The form of the sentence is one word set against itself; splitting it into praise and glory turns a comparison into a contrast of two different things. KJV, which uses praise in both halves, is nearer the original here.
Adopted for they loved the glory of people more than the glory of God.
Basis Keeps one word in both halves so that it pairs with 5:44.
Lost in translation
the pairing with 5:44 5:44 is a question and 12:43 a statement — how can you believe, and so they did not confess. One word joins them. Rendering either half as praise makes the question and the answer two different things.
Survives in · Young's Literal 1898 / New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / New English Translation† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / Синодальный перевод / 新共同訳聖書 (1987)† / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
44
Ἰησοῦς δὲ ἔκραξεν καὶ εἶπεν· Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ πιστεύει εἰς ἐμὲ ἀλλὰ εἰς τὸν πέμψαντά με,
And Jesus cried out and said, “The one believing in me does not believe in me but in him who sent me,
Cried out — the last public words, after verse 36 said he was hidden.
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun him = the one who sent me
45
καὶ ὁ θεωρῶν ἐμὲ θεωρεῖ τὸν πέμψαντά με.
and the one seeing me sees him who sent me.
Seeing and being sent are joined, as at 14:9.
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun him = the one who sent me
46
ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ μὴ μείνῃ.
I have come as light into the world, so that everyone believing in me may not remain in the darkness.
Remain is the word of chapter 15.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun me = Jesus
47
καὶ ἐάν τίς μου ἀκούσῃ τῶν ῥημάτων καὶ μὴ ⸀φυλάξῃ, ἐγὼ οὐ κρίνω αὐτόν, οὐ γὰρ ἦλθον ἵνα κρίνω τὸν κόσμον ἀλλ’ ἵνα σώσω τὸν κόσμον.
And if anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
Keep renders φυλάσσω (phylassō), to guard.
pronoun my = Jesus
pronoun them = my words
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun him = the one who hears
48
ὁ ἀθετῶν ἐμὲ καὶ μὴ λαμβάνων τὰ ῥήματά μου ἔχει τὸν κρίνοντα αὐτόν· ὁ λόγος ὃν ἐλάλησα ἐκεῖνος κρινεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ·
The one rejecting me and not receiving my words has one who judges him: the word that I spoke, that will judge him on the last day;
The word itself is made the judge.
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun my = Jesus
pronoun him = the one rejecting me
pronoun I = Jesus
49
ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐξ ἐμαυτοῦ οὐκ ἐλάλησα, ἀλλ’ ὁ πέμψας με πατὴρ αὐτός μοι ἐντολὴν ⸀δέδωκεν τί εἴπω καὶ τί λαλήσω.
because I did not speak from myself, but the Father who sent me, he himself has given me a command what to say and what to speak.
What to say and what to speak are two different verbs in Greek.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun myself = Jesus
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun he = the Father
pronoun himself = the Father
50
καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιός ἐστιν. ἃ οὖν ⸂ἐγὼ λαλῶ⸃, καθὼς εἴρηκέν μοι ὁ πατήρ, οὕτως λαλῶ.
And I know that his command is life eternal. So what I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak.”
The command is not a rule but life eternal — the chapter closes on that.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun his = the Father
pronoun me = Jesus