John 11:9-11

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 11:9 tn Grk “Jesus answered.”
2. John 11:9 tn Or “he does not trip.”
3. John 11:9 sn What is the light of this world? On one level, of course, it refers to the sun, but the reader of John’s Gospel would recall 8:12 and understand Jesus’ symbolic reference to himself as the light of the world. There is only a limited time left (Are there not twelve hours in a day?) until the Light will be withdrawn (until Jesus returns to the Father) and the one who walks around in the dark will trip and fall (compare the departure of Judas by night in 13:30).
4. John 11:10 tn Grk “in the night.”
5. John 11:10 tn Or “he trips.”
6. John 11:11 tn Grk “He said these things, and after this he said to them.”
7. John 11:11 tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaō) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “asleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term, especially in light of the disciples’ confusion over what Jesus actually meant (see v. 13).