John Chapter 4 verse 3 Holy Bible
he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.
read chapter 4 in ASV
He went out of Judaea into Galilee again.
read chapter 4 in BBE
he left Judaea and went away again unto Galilee.
read chapter 4 in DARBY
He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
read chapter 4 in KJV
read chapter 4 in WBT
he left Judea, and departed into Galilee.
read chapter 4 in WEB
he left Judea and went away again to Galilee,
read chapter 4 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. But it should be observed that ἀφῆκε is a very peculiar word for a simple departure. The verb ἀφίημι is used when καταλείπω might have been expected (Westcott). The word means "to leave a thing to itself," to its own ways, to treat it as no longer exercising an influence on the mind. (It is, with the noun ἄφφεσις, used for "forgive," "forgiveness," of sins.) Jesus left Judaea, which had so imperfectly accepted his claims. The word suggests that his departure was a consequence of the action of the Pharisees; And he departed again. This refers to the first departure after the early testimonies of John, when Jesus went to Cana and Capernaum (John 1:43). Whether this journey corresponded with that mentioned in Matthew and Mark, as following the baptism and temptation of Jesus, or not, it is not to be confounded with the journey which John had already recorded.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) Again.--This word is almost certainly part of the original text, though it is not found in some MSS. Its omission is due to a difficulty of interpretation. What is the previous return into Galilee? The only one mentioned in this Gospel is that of John 1:43. We have had another note of time in John 3:24, from which we learn that this Judaean period of the ministry preceded the imprisonment of John, and therefore the commencement of the Galilean ministry recorded in Matthew 4:12 (see Note there) and Mark 1:14. This second return, then, is the starting-point of the history of our Lord's work in Galilee as told by the earlier Gospels.
