John 12:26-28

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 12:26 tn As a third person imperative in Greek, ἀκολουθείτω (akoloutheitō) is usually translated “let him follow me.” This could be understood by the modern English reader as merely permissive, however (“he may follow me if he wishes”). In this context there is no permissive sense, but rather a command, so the translation “he must follow me” is preferred.
2. John 12:26 tn Grk “where I am, there my servant will be too.”
3. John 12:27 tn Or “save me.”
4. John 12:27 tn Or “this occasion.”sn Father, deliver me from this hour. It is now clear that Jesus’ hour has come—the hour of his return to the Father through crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension (see 12:23). This will be reiterated in 13:1 and 17:1. Jesus states (employing words similar to those of Ps 6:4) that his soul is troubled. What shall his response to his imminent death be? A prayer to the Father to deliver him from that hour? No, because it is on account of this very hour that Jesus has come. His sacrificial death has always remained the primary purpose of his mission into the world. Now, faced with the completion of that mission, shall he ask the Father to spare him from it? The expected answer is no.
5. John 12:27 tn Or “this occasion.”
6. John 12:28 tn Or “from the sky” (see note on 1:32).
7. John 12:28 tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
8. John 12:28 tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.