Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear^(A) the Lord your God as long as you live^(B) by keeping all his decrees and commands^(C) that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.^{(D) 3} Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey^(E) so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly^(F) in a land flowing with milk and honey,^(G) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised^(H) you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a](I) 5} Love^(J) the Lord your God with all your heart^(K) and with all your soul and with all your strength.^{(L) 6} These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.^{(M) 7} Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.^{(N) 8} Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.^{(O) 9} Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.^(P)

¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,^{(Q) 11} houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,^(R) and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,^{(S) 12} be careful that you do not forget^(T) the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

¹³ Fear the Lord^(U) your God, serve him only^(V) and take your oaths^(W) in his name.^{(X) 14} Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God^(Y), who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test^(Z) as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to keep^(AA) the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.^{(AB) 18} Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,^(AC) so that it may go well^(AD) with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, ¹⁹ thrusting out all your enemies^(AE) before you, as the Lord said.

²⁰ In the future, when your son asks you,^(AF) “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” ²¹ tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.^{(AG) 22} Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. ²³ But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. ²⁴ The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God,^(AH) so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.^{(AI) 25} And if we are careful to obey all this law^(AJ) before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.^(AK)”

Driving Out the Nations

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess^(AL) and drives out before you many nations^(AM)—the Hittites,^(AN) Girgashites,^(AO) Amorites,^(AP) Canaanites, Perizzites,^(AQ) Hivites^(AR) and Jebusites,^(AS) seven nations larger and stronger than you— ² and when the Lord your God has delivered^(AT) them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy^(AU) them totally.^[b](AV) Make no treaty^(AW) with them, and show them no mercy.^{(AX) 3} Do not intermarry with them.^(AY) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,^(AZ) and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy^(BA) you. ⁵ This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles^[c](BB) and burn their idols in the fire.^{(BC) 6} For you are a people holy^(BD) to the Lord your God.^(BE) The Lord your God has chosen^(BF) you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.^(BG)

⁷ The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous^(BH) than other peoples, for you were the fewest^(BI) of all peoples.^{(BJ) 8} But it was because the Lord loved^(BK) you and kept the oath he swore^(BL) to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand^(BM) and redeemed^(BN) you from the land of slavery,^(BO) from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;^(BP) he is the faithful God,^(BQ) keeping his covenant of love^(BR) to a thousand generations^(BS) of those who love him and keep his commandments.^{(BT) 10} But

¹¹ Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

¹² If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors.^{(BV) 13} He will love you and bless you^(BW) and increase your numbers.^(BX) He will bless the fruit of your womb,^(BY) the crops of your land—your grain, new wine^(BZ) and olive oil^(CA)—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.^{(CB) 14} You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.^{(CC) 15} The Lord will keep you free from every disease.^(CD) He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt,^(CE) but he will inflict them on all who hate you.^{(CF) 16} You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.^(CG) Do not look on them with pity^(CH) and do not serve their gods,^(CI) for that will be a snare^(CJ) to you.

¹⁷ You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?^(CK)” ¹⁸ But do not be afraid^(CL) of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.^{(CM) 19} You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand^(CN) and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.^{(CO) 20} Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet^(CP) among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. ²¹ Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you,^(CQ) is a great and awesome God.^{(CR) 22} The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.^(CS) You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. ²³ But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.^{(CT) 24} He will give their kings^(CU) into your hand,^(CV) and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you;^(CW) you will destroy them.^{(CX) 25} The images of their gods you are to burn^(CY) in the fire. Do not covet^(CZ) the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared^(DA) by it, for it is detestable^(DB) to the Lord your God. ²⁶ Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.^(DC) Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

Do Not Forget the Lord

8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live^(DD) and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.^{(DE) 2} Remember how the Lord your God led^(DF) you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test^(DG) you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled^(DH) you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna,^(DI) which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach^(DJ) you that man does not live on bread^(DK) alone but on every word that comes from the mouth^(DL) of the Lord.^{(DM) 4} Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.^{(DN) 5} Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.^(DO)

⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him^(DP) and revering him.^{(DQ) 7} For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land^(DR)—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;^{(DS) 8} a land with wheat and barley,^(DT) vines^(DU) and fig trees,^(DV) pomegranates, olive oil and honey;^{(DW) 9} a land where bread^(DX) will not be scarce and you will lack nothing;^(DY) a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.^(DZ)

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied,^(EA) praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget^(EB) the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,^{(EC) 13} and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget^(ED) the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,^(EE) that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes^(EF) and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.^{(EG) 16} He gave you manna^(EH) to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known,^(EI) to humble and test^(EJ) you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷ You may say to yourself,^(EK) “My power and the strength of my hands^(EL) have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,^(EM) and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

¹⁹ If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods^(EN) and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.^{(EO) 20} Like the nations^(EP) the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.^(EQ)

Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness

9 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan^(ER) to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you,^(ES) with large cities^(ET) that have walls up to the sky.^{(EU) 2} The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”^{(EV) 3} But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you^(EW) like a devouring fire.^(EX) He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly,^(EY) as the Lord has promised you.

⁴ After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself,^(EZ) “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness^(FA) of these nations^(FB) that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. ⁵ It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity^(FC) that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness^(FD) of these nations,^(FE) the Lord your God will drive them out^(FF) before you, to accomplish what he swore^(FG) to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.^{(FH) 6} Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.^(FI)

The Golden Calf

⁷ Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger^(FJ) of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious^(FK) against the Lord.^{(FL) 8} At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath^(FM) so that he was angry enough to destroy you.^{(FN) 9} When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant^(FO) that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days^(FP) and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.^{(FQ) 10} The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.^(FR) On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.^(FS)

¹¹ At the end of the forty days and forty nights,^(FT) the Lord gave me the two stone tablets,^(FU) the tablets of the covenant. ¹² Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt.^(FV) They have turned away quickly^(FW) from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.”

¹³ And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people^(FX), and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! ¹⁴ Let me alone,^(FY) so that I may destroy them and blot out^(FZ) their name from under heaven.^(GA) And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”

¹⁵ So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.^{(GB) 16} When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.^(GC) You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. ¹⁷ So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.

¹⁸ Then once again I fell^(GD) prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water,^(GE) because of all the sin you had committed,^(GF) doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. ¹⁹ I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you.^(GG) But again the Lord listened to me.^{(GH) 20} And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. ²¹ Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust^(GI) and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.^(GJ)

²² You also made the Lord angry^(GK) at Taberah,^(GL) at Massah^(GM) and at Kibroth Hattaavah.^(GN)

²³ And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea,^(GO) he said, “Go up and take possession^(GP) of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled^(GQ) against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust^(GR) him or obey him. ²⁴ You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.^(GS)

²⁵ I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights^(GT) because the Lord had said he would destroy you.^{(GU) 26} I prayed to the Lord and said, “Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people,^(GV) your own inheritance^(GW) that you redeemed^(GX) by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.^{(GY) 27} Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness^(GZ) of this people, their wickedness and their sin. ²⁸ Otherwise, the country^(HA) from which you brought us will say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them,^(HB) he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.’^{(HC) 29} But they are your people,^(HD) your inheritance^(HE) that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.^(HF)”

Tablets Like the First Ones

10 At that time the Lord said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets^(HG) like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden ark.^{[d] 2} I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the ark.”^(HH)

³ So I made the ark out of acacia wood^(HI) and chiseled^(HJ) out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. ⁴ The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments^(HK) he had proclaimed^(HL) to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.^(HM) And the Lord gave them to me. ⁵ Then I came back down the mountain^(HN) and put the tablets in the ark^(HO) I had made,^(HP) as the Lord commanded me, and they are there now.^(HQ)

⁶ (The Israelites traveled from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah.^(HR) There Aaron died^(HS) and was buried, and Eleazar^(HT) his son succeeded him as priest.^{(HU) 7} From there they traveled to Gudgodah and on to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.^{(HV) 8} At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi^(HW) to carry the ark of the covenant^(HX) of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister^(HY) and to pronounce blessings^(HZ) in his name, as they still do today.^{(IA) 9} That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,^(IB) as the Lord your God told them.)

¹⁰ Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you.^{(IC) 11} “Go,” the Lord said to me, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

Fear the Lord

¹² And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you^(ID) but to fear^(IE) the Lord your God, to walk^(IF) in obedience to him, to love him,^(IG) to serve the Lord^(IH) your God with all your heart^(II) and with all your soul,^{(IJ) 13} and to observe the Lord’s commands^(IK) and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?^(IL)

¹⁴ To the Lord your God belong the heavens,^(IM) even the highest heavens,^(IN) the earth and everything in it.^{(IO) 15} Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved^(IP) them, and he chose you,^(IQ) their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.^{(IR) 16} Circumcise^(IS) your hearts,^(IT) therefore, and do not be stiff-necked^(IU) any longer. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods^(IV) and Lord of lords,^(IW) the great God, mighty and awesome,^(IX) who shows no partiality^(IY) and accepts no bribes.^{(IZ) 18} He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,^(JA) and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.^{(JB) 19} And you are to love^(JC) those who are foreigners,^(JD) for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.^{(JE) 20} Fear the Lord your God and serve him.^(JF) Hold fast^(JG) to him and take your oaths in his name.^{(JH) 21} He is the one you praise;^(JI) he is your God, who performed for you those great^(JJ) and awesome wonders^(JK) you saw with your own eyes. ²² Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all,^(JL) and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.^(JM)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(A)

6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs^(B) he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside^(C) and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival^(D) was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,^(E) “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,^(F) spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”^(G)

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,^(H) and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign^(I) Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”^{(J) 15} Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king^(K) by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.^(L)

Jesus Walks on the Water^(M)

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷ where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water;^(N) and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”^{(O) 21} Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

²² The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake^(P) realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.^{(Q) 23} Then some boats from Tiberias^(R) landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.^{(S) 24} Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Jesus the Bread of Life

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi,^(T) when did you get here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me,^(U) not because you saw the signs^(V) I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures^(W) to eternal life,^(X) which the Son of Man^(Y) will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal^(Z) of approval.”

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe^(AA) in the one he has sent.”^(AB)

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign^(AC) then will you give that we may see it and believe you?^(AD) What will you do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna^(AE) in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[c]”^(AF)

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven^(AG) and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”^(AH)

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am^(AI) the bread of life.^(AJ) Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes^(AK) in me will never be thirsty.^{(AL) 36} But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me^(AM) will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven^(AN) not to do my will but to do the will^(AO) of him who sent me.^{(AP) 39} And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,^(AQ) but raise them up at the last day.^{(AR) 40} For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son^(AS) and believes in him shall have eternal life,^(AT) and I will raise them up at the last day.”

⁴¹ At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,^(AU) whose father and mother we know?^(AV) How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”^(AW)

⁴³ “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,^(AX) and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’^[d](AY) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God;^(AZ) only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.^{(BA) 48} I am the bread of life.^{(BB) 49} Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.^{(BC) 50} But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,^(BD) which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread^(BE) that came down from heaven.^(BF) Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”^(BG)

⁵² Then the Jews^(BH) began to argue sharply among themselves,^(BI) “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh^(BJ) of the Son of Man^(BK) and drink his blood,^(BL) you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.^{(BM) 55} For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.^{(BN) 57} Just as the living Father sent me^(BO) and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”^{(BP) 59} He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples^(BQ) said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”^(BR)

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?^{(BS) 62} Then what if you see the Son of Man^(BT) ascend to where he was before!^{(BU) 63} The Spirit gives life;^(BV) the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit^[e] and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known^(BW) from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.^{(BX) 65} He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”^(BY)

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples^(BZ) turned back and no longer followed him.

⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.^(CA)

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him,^(CB) “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.^{(CC) 69} We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”^(CD)

⁷⁰ Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you,^(CE) the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”^{(CF) 71} (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,^(CG) who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)^(CH)

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

7 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want^[f] to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders^(CI) there were looking for a way to kill him.^{(CJ) 2} But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles^(CK) was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers^(CL) said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.^(CM)

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time^(CN) is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me^(CO) because I testify that its works are evil.^{(CP) 8} You go to the festival. I am not^[g] going up to this festival, because my time^(CQ) has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus^(CR) and asking, “Where is he?”

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”^{(CS) 13} But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.^(CT)

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.^{(CU) 15} The Jews^(CV) there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning^(CW) without having been taught?”^(CX)

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.^{(CY) 17} Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out^(CZ) whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory,^(DA) but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law?^(DB) Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”^(DC)

²⁰ “You are demon-possessed,”^(DD) the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle,^(DE) and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision^(DF) (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs),^(DG) you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”^(DH)

Division Over Who Jesus Is

²⁵ At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?^{(DI) 26} Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities^(DJ) really concluded that he is the Messiah?^{(DK) 27} But we know where this man is from;^(DL) when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

²⁸ Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts,^(DM) cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.^(DN) I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.^(DO) You do not know him, ²⁹ but I know him^(DP) because I am from him and he sent me.”^(DQ)

³⁰ At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,^(DR) because his hour had not yet come.^{(DS) 31} Still, many in the crowd believed in him.^(DT) They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs^(DU) than this man?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

³³ Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time,^(DV) and then I am going to the one who sent me.^{(DW) 34} You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”^(DX)

³⁵ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered^(DY) among the Greeks,^(DZ) and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”^(EA)

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival,^(EB) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.^{(EC) 38} Whoever believes^(ED) in me, as Scripture has said,^(EE) rivers of living water^(EF) will flow from within them.”^{[h](EG) 39} By this he meant the Spirit,^(EH) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.^(EI) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.^(EJ)

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”^(EK)

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?^{(EL) 42} Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants^(EM) and from Bethlehem,^(EN) the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided^(EO) because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.^(EP)

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

⁴⁵ Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶ “No one ever spoke the way this man does,”^(EQ) the guards replied.

⁴⁷ “You mean he has deceived you also?”^(ER) the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸ “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?^{(ES) 49} No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

⁵⁰ Nicodemus,^(ET) who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹ “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”^(EU)

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[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]

⁵³ Then they all went home, 8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.^(EV)

² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.^{(EW) 3} The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.