Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

7 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want^[a] to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders^(A) there were looking for a way to kill him.^{(B) 2} But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles^(C) was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers^(D) 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.^(E)

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time^(F) is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me^(G) because I testify that its works are evil.^{(H) 8} You go to the festival. I am not^[b] going up to this festival, because my time^(I) 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^(J) 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.”^{(K) 13} But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.^(L)

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

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

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.^{(Q) 17} Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out^(R) 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,^(S) 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?^(T) Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”^(U)

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

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle,^(W) and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision^(X) (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs),^(Y) 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.”^(Z)

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?^{(AA) 26} Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities^(AB) really concluded that he is the Messiah?^{(AC) 27} But we know where this man is from;^(AD) when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

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

³⁰ At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,^(AJ) because his hour had not yet come.^{(AK) 31} Still, many in the crowd believed in him.^(AL) They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs^(AM) 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,^(AN) and then I am going to the one who sent me.^{(AO) 34} You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”^(AP)

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^(AQ) among the Greeks,^(AR) 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’?”^(AS)

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival,^(AT) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.^{(AU) 38} Whoever believes^(AV) in me, as Scripture has said,^(AW) rivers of living water^(AX) will flow from within them.”^{[c](AY) 39} By this he meant the Spirit,^(AZ) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.^(BA) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.^(BB)

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

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

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

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,”^(BI) the guards replied.

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

⁵⁰ Nicodemus,^(BL) 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.”^(BM)

[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,

Psalm 31^[a](A)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Boundaries of Canaan

34 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan,^(A) the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance^(B) is to have these boundaries:^(C)

³ “‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin^(D) along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea,^{(E) 4} cross south of Scorpion Pass,^(F) continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea.^(G) Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon,^{(H) 5} where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt^(I) and end at the Mediterranean Sea.

⁶ “‘Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.^(J) This will be your boundary on the west.^(K)

⁷ “‘For your northern boundary,^(L) run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor^{(M) 8} and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath.^(N) Then the boundary will go to Zedad, ⁹ continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.

¹⁰ “‘For your eastern boundary,^(O) run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. ¹¹ The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah^(P) on the east side of Ain^(Q) and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee.^{[a](R) 12} Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea.

“‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”

¹³ Moses commanded the Israelites: “Assign this land by lot^(S) as an inheritance.^(T) The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, ¹⁴ because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.^{(U) 15} These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance east of the Jordan across from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua^(V) son of Nun. ¹⁸ And appoint one leader from each tribe to help^(W) assign the land.^{(X) 19} These are their names:^(Y)

²⁹ These are the men the Lord commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.^(AH)

Towns for the Levites

35 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,^(AI) the Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in^(AJ) from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands^(AK) around the towns. ³ Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.^(AL)

⁴ “The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits^[b] from the town wall. ⁵ Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits^[c](AM) on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.^(AN)

Cities of Refuge^(AO)

⁶ “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee.^(AP) In addition, give them forty-two other towns. ⁷ In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. ⁸ The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.”^(AQ)

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses: ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,^{(AR) 11} select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone^(AS) accidentally^(AT) may flee. ¹² They will be places of refuge from the avenger,^(AU) so that anyone accused of murder^(AV) may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.^{(AW) 13} These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.^{(AX) 14} Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.

¹⁶ “‘If anyone strikes someone a fatal blow with an iron object, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.^{(AY) 17} Or if anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if anyone is holding a wooden object and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. ¹⁹ The avenger of blood^(AZ) shall put the murderer to death; when the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put the murderer to death.^{(BA) 20} If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at them intentionally^(BB) so that they die ²¹ or if out of enmity one person hits another with their fist so that the other dies, that person is to be put to death;^(BC) that person is a murderer. The avenger of blood^(BD) shall put the murderer to death when they meet.

²² “‘But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally^{(BE) 23} or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended, ²⁴ the assembly^(BF) must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. ²⁵ The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest,^(BG) who was anointed^(BH) with the holy oil.^(BI)

²⁶ “‘But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which they fled ²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds them outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder. ²⁸ The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may they return to their own property.

²⁹ “‘This is to have the force of law^(BJ) for you throughout the generations to come,^(BK) wherever you live.^(BL)

³⁰ “‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.^(BM)

³¹ “‘Do not accept a ransom^(BN) for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.

³² “‘Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow them to go back and live on their own land before the death of the high priest.

³³ “‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land,^(BO) and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴ Do not defile the land^(BP) where you live and where I dwell,^(BQ) for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’”

Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters^(BR)

36 The family heads of the clan of Gilead^(BS) son of Makir,^(BT) the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph,^(BU) came and spoke before Moses and the leaders,^(BV) the heads of the Israelite families. ² They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot,^(BW) he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad^(BX) to his daughters. ³ Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away. ⁴ When the Year of Jubilee^(BY) for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our ancestors.”

⁵ Then at the Lord’s command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right. ⁶ This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan. ⁷ No inheritance^(BZ) in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. ⁸ Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan,^(CA) so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. ⁹ No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”

¹⁰ So Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹ Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah^(CB)—married their cousins on their father’s side. ¹² They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father’s tribe and clan.^(CC)

¹³ These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses^(CD) to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.^(CE)