FOOTNOTES:

^a Traditionally, ‘James.’ However, this is the Greek Iakobos, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Yaqov. This is the same name referring to Jacob in Matthew 1:2 and 1:15-16.

^b This word charein (or in other places, chaire [sg.] or charete [pl.]) means ‘rejoice’ literally and was a commonly used greeting in the Greek speaking world.

^c All instances of ‘you’ and ‘your’ are plural, being addressed to the group as a collective whole.

^d Or ‘neglect’ or ‘abandon’

^e This is a 3rd person mandative, which does not exist in English. It’s a command that is not phrased as being directed toward the audience but rather to a third party other than whomever the writer is addressing. It’s impossible to translate it as an exact equivalent because English has no such grammatical construction.

^f Or ‘lavishly’ or ‘freely’ or ‘openly’ or ‘generously’

^g The word diakrino is related to the word for ‘assess’/’judge,’ krino. It can mean ‘discern’ or ‘discriminate’ or ‘dispute’ or ‘withdraw from’ or ‘separate oneself hostilely’ (including from parts of oneself, meaning to hesitate or be ambivalent). The basic meaning is about creating separation, whether by sorting types of things or causing division within a group.

^h This word is anthropos, which means ‘person,’ ‘human,’ or ‘humanity’ and is rarely connected with gender unless clearly indicated by the context.

ⁱ The Greek aner is usually translated as ‘man,’ referring specifically to male adults. However, it can sometimes be used, according BDAG, for groups of mixed gender or individuals regardless of gender. Context determines when that is an appropriate translation, as it is here.

^j Or ‘double-minded individual.’ This word is a compound of di- (‘two’) and psuche, which is traditionally translated ‘soul’ and means the inner self or quality of being a living being.

^k This word hodos is ‘a way’ in the sense of a road or path, not in the sense of the manner of doing something. English used ‘way’ more commonly with that usage in the past but has developed to use it more often as the manner of doing something, so it would be confusing to use it here.

^l Literally, ‘low.’ When it’s about topography, it refers to a valley or low area. When about people, it’s used figuratively to do with living condition, resources, status, and power.

^m Or ‘height’ or ‘high status.’ When it’s about topography, it refers to a hill or mountain or high area. When about people, it’s used figuratively to do with living condition, resources, status, and power.

ⁿ Or ‘their lowness’

^o Or ‘lost’

^p Or literally, ‘stays present while under’

^q Traditionally, ‘blessed.’ There is not one English word that covers what is being described here. There is a sense of contentedness but also receiving something that meets a need. Sometimes it’s translated ‘happy’ to capture the mental/emotional component, and historically it was translated ‘blessed’ to capture the endowment aspect of it, the aspect that there’s a quality of goodness gifted to those being described, but what’s not captured in either of those is that the goodness being gifted is directly in response to what the recipients’ experience or actions are. In some cases here it is like restitution, reestablishing justice/equity, and in other cases it’s like the reward or consequence of commitment or accomplishment. At the same time, it’s not at all about ‘instant gratification’ or ‘self-gratification.’ It is about receiving something that inspires or is worthy of gratitude. With this word being about gratitude in response to receiving, and the structure of the sentences showing that what is being received is in response to some other characteristic of the recipient, there is a clear pattern of reciprocity, a mutual generosity and giving between the people and God. It also seems to be connected in the understanding of the early church to Deuteronomy 28-30 and the blessings listed there.

^r The stephanos can mean ‘crown’ like royalty wear, and it can also mean a laurel crown worn by those who win an endurance race. This prize for enduring a race makes the most sense in the context.

^s This seems to be saying that ‘cruel things are not something that are a meaningful test of God’s commitment since God would never indulge in them.’

^t Or ‘but’ or ‘and’ or ‘now’

^u Traditionally, ‘deceived’ or ‘led astray.’ It’s literally a verb about leading off course. It can be used figuratively about deceiving or misleading with information or perspective. It is another in the long list of metaphors related to walking a path.

^v ‘Turning’ here is the word used for the rotation of a celestial object like the moon, implying that the Father of light provides in a consistent stream of giving, unlike the moon that changes with the phases each month. Perhaps ‘shadow of turning’ could be translated as ‘waning light’ or ‘shadow from waning light’ or something along those lines.

^w Traditionally, ‘Word.’ The Greek word is logos. While ‘word’ is one of a long list of possible ways to translate logos, it has become something of religious jargon and loses its ability to convey the meaning intended in this passage. It is also used many times throughout John, and the uses are somewhat different. There is strong historical precedent for translating it as ‘conversation.’ According to Victoria Loorz in Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred (2021), “Up until the fourth century, Boyle points out, theologians and bishops and translators consistently translated the Greek word logos into Latin, the language of the church, as sermo, which means not ‘word’ but ‘conversation.’ Sermo indicates not a one-way sermon but a lively discourse, a dialogue, a manner of speaking back and forth: a conversation. A noun created from the root verb serō, which means to weave or join, sermo is the intimate living of life together, living among, familiarity, intimate conversation, the act of living with. Sermo was the Latin translation that best fit the meaning of logos” (p. 109). It seems to be ‘conversation’ or ‘discussion’ or ‘what was discussed’ or ‘what was said in the conversation.’ A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (BDAG) lists the definition of logos as “a communication whereby the mind finds expression.” Incorporating this definition into the understanding described by Loorz leads to the experience of God communicating the divine consciousness in a way meant to be understood, received by hearers and seers (verbs for ‘see’ occur dozens of times in John, including what is usually translated as ‘know’ or ‘understand’ which more literally means ‘has seen’) in a sacred conversation that transforms the consciousness of those in conversation with God. In the Hebrew Bible, torah and davar seem to have related meanings. Davar has also traditionally been translated as ‘word.’ One example of its use is in Exodus 20:1. It’s about divine communication here, other types of communication in other contexts. According to Wilda C. Gafney in Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne (2017), “The Torah is instruction, revelation, and sometimes law. Torah (with a capital T) is the first five books of the Scriptures and all that is in them: story, song, genealogy, geography, legal material, and lessons from the ancestors. Torah (with a little t) is instruction and jurisprudence. So, while there is torah in Torah, not all Torah is torah, and there is torah outside of the five books of the Torah! Toroth (plural of torah) can be found in any of the many genres of Torah. [. . .] The Torah is a locus of divine revelation (and divine self-revelation). The word torah comes from the verb y-r-h, ‘to throw’ (e.g., ‘to cast lots’) or ‘to shoot’ (arrows). With regard to torah, y-r-h also means ‘to throw’ rain or instruction from the heavens; [. . .] In a mystical sense, Torah can be seen as an embodiment of divine Wisdom and for some as the Word of God (with a capital W)” (p. 17).

^x Literally, ‘an offering of the first portion’ is something like ‘from the beginning’ and referred to tributes or offerings of the first produce of the season.

^y Literally, this word meant ‘dirty’ or ‘filthy’ but was used figuratively for abusive or hostile behavior. See also James 2:2 where the adjective form is used of dirty clothing. It seems to have a similar usage as how Jesus and Paul and others seem to use ‘unclean’ (without the ceremonial connotations), but the words themselves are not related.

^z Or ‘discussion.’ Traditionally, ‘message’ or ‘word’

^aa Or ‘discussion.’ Traditionally, ‘message’ or ‘word’

^bb Literally, ‘if someone is a hearer of the conversation but not a doer’

^cc This phrase is unclear. The Greek phrase is to prosopon tes geneseos autou. The words to prosopon can mean ‘face’ or ‘outward appearance’ or ‘presentation’ or even ‘presence,’ based on context. The words tes geneseos mean something like ‘of the beginning’ or ‘of the origin’ or ‘of the lineage.’ The last word, autou means ‘of him.’ Most translations take it to mean something like ‘the face originating from him’ (i.e. his own reflection). That might be the best translation, but it’s not the only reasonable translation. Trying to connect it in context seems to make sense that is more about outward appearance and what it indicates about their social and economic status, perhaps what cultural assumptions were part of their heritage. The focus on that persona would be a distraction from the values of the teachings of Christ. This seems likely since the problem seems not only to be that the person forgets (as is indicated in verse 24) but also the act of focusing their mind on it in the first place.

^dd The word translated here as ‘loyal to God’ is difficult to translate. It is often translated as ‘religious’ or ‘devout.’ It means something literally like ‘frightened’ or ‘anxious’ and is used specifically of being oriented toward serving a deity.

^ee In Greek, kardia, ‘heart’ refers not to all emotion but rather to the emotional push and pull of desire and motivation. Another way to translate it could be ‘deceiving themselves about what they desire.’

^ff Literally, ‘pressure,’ used of circumstances that place burden and suffering on people. Perhaps, ‘adversity.’