Paragraph 5:39–44
Jesus condemned the religious leaders’ failure to believe in him. He said they were more interested in receiving praise from one another than they were in receiving God’s praise.
5:39a
You pore over the Scriptures: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pore over means “to study in a detailed or careful way.” The Jewish religious leaders read the Scriptures very carefully. For example:
You carefully study the Scriptures (New Century Version)
-or-
You study the Scriptures in detail (God’s Word)
the Scriptures: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Scriptures is more literally “the writings (things that someone writes).” This refers to the Hebrew holy books that form part of the Bible, what we now call the Old Testament. See Scriptures, the Writings, It Is Written 2(a) in Key Biblical Terms.
Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
the holy writings
-or-
God’s word/message
5:39b
because: The Greek word the Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces the reason why the religious leaders studied the scriptures.
you presume that by them you possess eternal life: The Jewish leaders believed that they would receive eternal life as they studied and obeyed the scriptures. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
you think they give you eternal life (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
you think that in them you will find eternal life (Good News Translation)
-or-
you ⌊⌊wrongly⌋ think that if you do that, you will get life with no end
you presume: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as presume here means “to regard something as true.” It may or may not be correct. Jesus did not say that the Jews’ thinking was completely wrong, but neither did he say that it was completely right. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
supposing that in having them you have eternal life (Revised English Bible)
eternal life: The word eternal refers to something that does not end. The phrase eternal life refers to the new spiritual life that God gives us when we believe in Jesus. This life never ends. See the note at 3:15 and how you translated this phrase there and in 5:24c. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
forever life ⌊from God⌋
-or-
⌊spiritual⌋ life that never ends
-or-
living forever ⌊with God⌋
5:39c
These are the very words that testify about Me: The scriptures that the Jews studied testified about Jesus. See the notes on 1:45b, where Philip also says this. For testify, see the notes on 5:31, 5:36c, and 5:37a. Jesus was saying that the scriptures were a testimony. The scriptures’ testimony confirmed that he told the truth when he said that he was God’s Messiah.
Here are other ways to translate this clause:
it is these same scriptures that testify about me (NET Bible)
-or-
and it is those scriptures that speak about me
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