John 12.20-33 Translation and Commentary (RCL Fifth Sunday in Lent Year B)

I'm continuing offering a commentary on the text and a translation for these Sundays in Lent. Here are the ones for the 5th Sunday in Lent Year B for John 12.20-33. I usually work these up for my students and have them figure out the questions, but I've included the version with my responses. I also have included my translation which I think is closer to be faithful to the Greek than to elegant English. I do highlight nuances of the Greek that are often obscured in English translations. You'll also see how I mark up my translation. In part, it serves to highlight aspects of a narrative critical reading and shows themes and repetition. In part, it serves as preparation for performance of the text. In my experience, trying to 'memorize' (better: to 'learn from the heart') is the best form of sermon preparation.

• John 12.20-33 parallel translations and notes
• John 12.20-33 mgvhoffman marked translation
  

John 3.14-21 Translation and Commentary (RCL Fourth Sunday in Lent Year B)

As I did for the previous week's text (John 2.13-22), I composed a document for my students to work through the coming week's text, John 3.14-21. You'll see what I have done is pull together a range of English versions to compare, including my own translation. The commentary is really a set of questions about the text and translation, and I have provided my own responses to my questions. It's this kind of close inspection of the text that has often generated the ideas that help me find the approach to use in my sermon. Let me know if you find something you would like to discuss!

Here is the document with the translations and notes.

Here is my translation of John 3.1-21 to provide context.