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John Chapter 3

John Chapter 3

(Underlining marks a quotation/allusion. [Brackets] mark a textual variant.fnWhen two (or more) different copies of an original manuscript disagree on any given word or phrase — addition, omission, word order, etc. — the disagreement is called a "textual variant". ~99% of existing textual variants are either minor (like spelling), obviously not original (often appearing only in a few late manuscripts), or don't affect meaning (like "Jesus Christ" vs. "Christ Jesus"). The ~1% that remain do not affect any central doctrine of Christianity. The BOS Bible only marks significant textual variants that affect the meaning; smaller variants that do not affect meaning won't be marked for readability.  "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.fn"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love".  However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings — agapé centers on choice and behavior.  It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings.  (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".)  Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé".  Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing.  It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. An asterisk (*) indicates a verb in the Greek perfect tense.fnThe Greek perfect tense signifies a completed action in the past with a result and/or an ongoing state that extends into the present. For example, Hebrews 12:2 says in part: "He *sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"; the verb for "sat" is in the perfect tense, indicating that He sat down once (completed action in the past), and also that He remains seated until the present moment (ongoing state).)

Glossary

Note: this glossary is currently a work in progress; entries that do not expand will be added as time permits

Ages/of ages
“ages” and “of ages” are the Greek words “αἰών” (aión, noun form) and “αἰώνιος” (aiónios, adjective form) respectively.  The adjective form is typically translated “eternal”, as in “eternal life”. The noun form refers to a whole time period, (Keizer, “Life Time Entirety”) such as a person’s lifetime (an older Greek sense), an age/epoch (e.g., 2 Cor 4:4), or even time in its entirety, making its meaning similar to “forever” (e.g., John 14:16). The adjective form is similarly context-dependent, and the New Testament context often dictates a meaning similar to “forever” (but not always: e.g. 2 Tim 1:9).  Alternately or additionally, it can indicate the quality of a time period — indicating greatness/severity — like the English idiom “of ages” (e.g. “battle of the ages”). Thus, “of ages” was chosen for the adjective form so that both the time and quality senses remain visible.

Clean/unclean

Covenant

Faith

Flesh

Forgive/forgiveness

Grace
The Greek word is “χάρις” (charis), most often translated “grace”, “gift”, or “thanks”. It was a technical term in the 1st century, referring to the Patronage system in place. The Patron (from “pater” = “father”) would give gifts or do favors (both called a charis). A charis was always given/done freely to anyone who would be grateful for it, and this person then became a “client” of the patron. The clients were expected to reciprocate by telling everyone what the patron had done, and offering their services to the patron whenever the patron needed them. This reciprocal act was also called “charis”, and the ones who reciprocated were “being faithful” by giving thanks in this way. Both were done out of gratitude, not legal obligation. A client who wasn’t faithful and grateful probably wouldn’t receive any more charis from his patron, or any other patrons. The patron was responsible for taking care of all his clients, and making sure their needs were met. New Testament usage typically casts God the Father as a Heavenly Patron, to whom Christians should be grateful and faithful because of the gifts He has given us. (e.g. salvation, provision, protection, etc.)

Holy

Justification

Law (Torah)

Make purification

Pure/Impure

Purification offering
In the Old Testament, this is typically the Hebrew “חַטָּ֖את” (khat-tat); in the New Testament, it’s typically “περὶ ἁμαρτίας” (peri hamartias), which is what the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek) used to translate the Hebrew. It’s traditionally translated “sin offering”, but that translation has less support in high-level scholarship. The Hebrew word can mean “sin”, but it can also mean “purification” (e.g. Numbers 8:7). This offering was used to purify uncleanness, whether or not a sin was committed. Thus, it was required even when no sin was committed, such as after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8), for certain diseases (Leviticus 14), etc. High-level, peer-reviewed scholarship dedicated to the field (e.g. Milgrom, Levine, Gane, Sklar, Wright, Gorman, etc.) is largely united on the “purification offering” understanding. The BOS Bible has aligned itself with that high-level, peer-reviewed scholarship in its translation.

Ransom

Redemption

Repent/repentance

Righteous/righteousness

Salvation/save

Soul
“soul” is the Greek word “ψυχή/psuché” and Hebrew word “נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh”. The BOS Bible translates these words as “soul” for consistency, and so the full meaning of “soul” isn’t obscured by different translations in different places. They closely overlap in meaning and are typically translated “soul” or “life”. They refer to the animating force of a living thing, and thus can also refer to its life, or to the whole of any person or creature, including animals (e.g. fish in Revelation 8:9 and Genesis 1). They are frequently used as an emphatic reference to a person’s whole self, including longings, deep emotions, and inner life. (e.g. Ps 42:11) Note: while “soul” has significant overlap in meaning with “spirit”, the words have distinct meanings and usages throughout scripture. For example, lions tear apart a soul in Psalm 7:2, and a “dead soul” is mentioned in Leviticus 21:11; “spirit” has no analogous usages, and it returns to God at death (Ecc 12:7; Acts 7:59). The adjective forms of soul and spirit are contrasted in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15; see also: Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Sin

Click to Collapse the Glossary
Nicodemus talks to Jesus
  1. Now, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
  2. This man came to Him at night and said to Him: “Rabbi, we *know that you have come from God as a teacher, for no one is able to do these signs which you do unless God is with Him.”
  3. Jesus answered and told him: “Amen, amen I tell you: unless someone was born from above, he isn’t able to see the kingdom of God.”
  4. Nicodemus says to Him: “How is a man able to be born while being old?  He isn’t able to enter into his mother’s womb a second time and to be born again, is he?”
  5. Jesus answered: “Amen, amen I tell you: unless someone was born of water and the Spirit,fnquotation/allusion to Ezekiel 36:25-27 he isn’t able to enter into the kingdom of God.
  6. “What was *born from the flesh is flesh; and what was *born from the Spirit is spirit.
  7. “Don’t marvel that I told you ‘it’s necessary for you all to be born from above’.”
  8. “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you don’t *know where it comes from and where it’s going; it’s this way with every man who is *born from the Spirit.”
  9. Nicodemus answered and said to Him: “How are these things able to happen?”
  10. Jesus answered and told him: “You are the teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?”
  11. “Amen, amen I tell you that we speak of what we *know, and we testify of what we have seen, and you men aren’t receiving our testimony.
  12. “If I told you men about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
  13. “And no one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven;fnquotation/allusion to Proverbs 30:4 and Deuteronomy 30:12 the Son of Manfnquotation/allusion to Daniel 7:13 [the One who is in heaven].
  14. “And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,fnquotation/allusion to Numbers 21:8-9, though that particular story begins in verse 4 of that chapter. in this way also, it’s necessary for the Son of Manfnquotation/allusion to Daniel 7:13 to be lifted up,
  15. “so that every man believing in Him might have the life of ages.
  16. “For God ^loved the world in this way, that He gave His only unique Son,fnquotation/allusion to Genesis 22:2,12 so that every man believing in Him might not perish, but might have the life of ages.
  17. “For God didn’t send the Son into the world so He would judge the world, but so the world might be saved through Him.
  18. “The man believing in Him isn’t judged, but the man not believing has been judged already because he hasn’t believed in the name of the only unique Son of God.
  19. “And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and men ^loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.
  20. “For every man practicing evil hates the light and doesn’t come to the light so that his works won’t be exposed.
  21. “But the man practicing the truth comes to the light so that his works that have been done in God might be revealed.
John testifies again
  1. After these things, Jesus and His disciples went into the land of Judea, and He was staying with them there and was baptizing.
  2. And John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim because many waters were there, and many were arriving and were being baptized,
  3. for John wasn’t *thrown into prison yet.
  4. Therefore, a debate arose among John’s disciples with a Jew about cleansing.
  5. And they came to John and told him: “Rabbi, He who was with you across the Jordan (about whom you have testified), look: He is baptizing and all are going to Him.”
  6. John answered and said: “A man isn’t able to receive [even one thing] unless it has been given to him from heaven.
  7. “You yourselves testify of me that I said: “I’m not the Anointed”, but that I have been sent before Him.
  8. “The man having the bride is a bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom (the man *standing and listening for him) rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice.  Therefore, this joy of mine has been fulfilled.
  9. “It’s necessary for Him to increase, but for me to decrease.
  10. “The One coming from above is above all.  The man from the earth is from the earth and speaks from the earth.  The One coming from heaven is above all.
  11. “What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies and no one receives His testimony.
  12. “The man who received His testimony set his seal that God is true.
  13. “For He whom God sent speaks the words of God, for He doesn’t give the Spirit by measure.
  14. “The Father ^loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.
  15. “The man believing in the Son has the life of ages, but the man disbelieving the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

 

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