Seize him in order to make him king by force may be literally rendered “take him by force and make him king” (Jerusalem Bible). “Take by force” (one word in Greek) is a strong verb, often used with the connotation of physical force or violence (see Matt 11.12, TEV try to seize). To make him king by force may be rendered “to cause him to be king even if he didn’t want to be.”

Went off again is translated “withdrew” in Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, and Moffatt, and it appears as “retired” in Phillips. An alternative Greek text reads “fled” (New American Bible; Jerusalem Bible “escaped”). If the reading of the original manuscript was “fled,” it was changed to “went off again” by some scribe who perhaps felt that it was undignified for Jesus to flee. However, the UBS Committee on the Greek text believes that the verb “fled” was introduced by a certain scribal tradition in an attempt to enliven the narrative. They accept the reading went off again and rate it a “B” choice. Whichever text one follows the impact of the narrative is the same. Although Jesus is indeed king, his kingdom is not of this world (18.36), and so he would not let himself be forced into being made the kind of king these people were looking for. (See note at 1.49.)

It is not clear just what is meant by the statement that Jesus went off again to the hills. The scene began with the words Jesus went up a hill (verse 3), and there is no indication in the intervening verses of a change in location. Perhaps Jesus went further up the same hill, to get away from the crowd, or he may have gone off into other hills nearby. Both interpretations find support in modern translations. The term rendered “again” may simply suggest that such an action was typical of what Jesus often did.

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 .