Psalm 41:9

Hebrew Bible

7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; they plan ways to harm me. 8 They say, ‘An awful disease overwhelms him, and now that he is bedridden he will never recover.’ 9 Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. 10 As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up, so I can pay them back!” 11 By this I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.

John 17:12

New Testament

10 Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and I have been glorified by them. 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. 12 When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

 Notes and References

"... The last fulfillment formula on the lips of Jesus in John which might hearken back to Isaiah is found in John 17:12. As Jesus prays, he says, “And none of those [you gave me] have perished except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Here a passage is not quoted, but the Scripture is said to be fulfilled. While this might be an allusion to the many places in the Old Testament that speak of the destruction of the enemies of the Messiah (compare e.g., Genesis 3:15; Psalm 110:5-6), a particular passage from Isaiah could be in view. Isaiah 33:1 reads, “Woe to the one who destroys, and will you not be destroyed? And woe to the one who deals treacherously, when they did not deal treacherously against him. When you finish destroying you shall be destroyed, and when you cease dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously against you.” In the context, Isaiah 32:1 predicts the reign of a righteous king, and 32:15 speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit. John presents Jesus as the King who has been betrayed (John 18:2, 36-37), and who gives the Spirit to his followers (20:22). Perhaps Isaiah 33:1 is the Scripture being fulfilled in John 17:12. (Most cite Psalm 41:10 - It seems that Isaiah 33:1 is nearer to the meaning of John 17:12 than these passages.) ..."

Hamilton, James The Influence of Isaiah on the Gospel of John (pp. 139-162) Perichoresis 5/2, 2007

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.