Again Jesus’ antagonists take his words as a reference to physical death, and so their conviction that Jesus has a demon becomes stronger. We know for sure is literally “we have known” (a perfect tense in Greek), which carries the implication of strong assurance. Jerusalem Bible renders these words “Now we know for certain that you are possessed” (New English Bible “Now we are certain…”). Moffatt translates “Now we are sure you are mad.”

Whoever obeys your teaching is literally “if anyone obeys your teaching message,” a form which may be retained in some languages.

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 .