Paragraph 6:66–71
This paragraph tells the result of Jesus’ words. His disciples reacted in one of two ways: they rejected him or believed him.
6:66a
From that time on: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as From that time on can be interpreted in two ways:
(1) It refers to time. It means “after Jesus had said this.” For example:
After this (Revised Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, King James Version, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible Bible, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version)
(2) It refers to cause. It means “because of what Jesus had said.” For example:
As a result of this (New American Standard Bible)
(New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)
Both of these interpretations have strong support. It was both after and because of what Jesus had said that many disciples left him. It may be possible to translate this in a way that is ambiguous (like the English “At this”). If you must choose between the two, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English translations.
many of His disciples turned back: This clause indicates that many of Jesus’ followers rejected or abandoned him. They stopped learning from him.
Here are other ways to translate this clause:
many of his disciples went away (Revised English Bible)
-or-
many of his followers left him (New Century Version)
6:66b
no longer walked with Him: This clause means about the same as 6:66a. These people stopped going with Jesus. They no longer wanted to learn from him.
Here are other ways to translate this clause:
stopped following him (New Century Version)
-or-
did not go with him anymore
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