It is difficult to determine precisely who is referred to in all others who came before me. Evidently this expression was taken by some scribes as a reference to the Old Testament period, and so one ancient Greek manuscript and several other ancient sources omit the word all from the text. However, the evidence for the omission of this word is very weak. It is readily seen why a scribe would delete it from the text, but it is difficult to see any possible reason for adding it, if it was not there originally. On the other hand, the words before me are problematic, and the UBS Greek text places them in brackets to indicate their uncertainty. It may be that these words were added in an attempt to explain the meaning of the verb came, or it may be that they were omitted to help resolve the difficulty mentioned in connection with the word all. Even though the inclusion of before me remains problematic, most modern translations include this phrase.

In spite of the textual difficulties, there is no real problem in the interpretation of the text as it stands, provided one takes the reference to thieves and robbers to be the same here as in verse 1. It is not, of course, a blanket reference to all leaders of the Old Testament period. It would include any leaders, including prophets, priests, or kings, who had taken advantage of the people God had placed in their care; it would also include the false Messianic pretenders, as well as the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ own day. Thieves and robbers are the same words used in verse 1.

All others who came before me may be rendered in some languages “All others who have come in the past.” It may, however, be necessary to indicate clearly just who “all others” are, for example, “All others who have come pretending to take care of the sheep.” It is also possible to make this meaning clear by means of a marginal note.

The Greek verb “to hear” covers a broad area of meaning. Good News Translation takes it here to mean did … listen to. Revised Standard Version translates “did … heed”; New English Bible “paid … heed to”; Jerusalem Bible “took … notice of”; and Moffatt “would … listen to.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .