John 12
English Standard Version
Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
12 Six days before (A)the Passover, (B)Jesus therefore came to Bethany, (C)where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. (D)Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 (E)Mary therefore took a pound[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[b] and (F)given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and (G)having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it[c] for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus[d] was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, (H)whom he had raised from the dead. 10 (I)So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because (J)on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 The next day (K)the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of (L)palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, (M)“Hosanna! Blessed is (N)he who comes in the name of the Lord, even (O)the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 (P)“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!”
16 (Q)His disciples did not understand these things at first, but (R)when Jesus was glorified, then (S)they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 (T)The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him (U)was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, (V)“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, (W)the world has gone after him.”
Some Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now (X)among those who went up to worship at the feast were some (Y)Greeks. 21 So these came to (Z)Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told (AA)Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, (AB)“The hour has come (AC)for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, (AD)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 (AE)Whoever loves his life loses it, and (AF)whoever (AG)hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must (AH)follow me; and (AI)where I am, there will my servant be also. (AJ)If anyone serves me, (AK)the Father will honor him.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
27 (AL)“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, (AM)save me from (AN)this hour’? But (AO)for this purpose I have come to (AP)this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then (AQ)a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, (AR)“An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, (AS)“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 (AT)Now is the judgment of this world; now will (AU)the ruler of this world (AV)be cast out. 32 And I, (AW)when I am lifted up from the earth, (AX)will draw (AY)all people to myself.” 33 He said this (AZ)to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that (BA)the Christ remains forever. How can you say that (BB)the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, (BC)“The light is among you (BD)for a little while longer. (BE)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness (BF)overtake you. (BG)The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become (BH)sons of light.”
The Unbelief of the People
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 (BI)so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
(BJ)“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they (BK)could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40 (BL)“He has blinded their eyes
and (BM)hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things because (BN)he saw his glory and (BO)spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, (BP)many even of the authorities believed in him, but (BQ)for fear of the Pharisees they did not (BR)confess it, so that they would not be (BS)put out of the synagogue; 43 (BT)for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Jesus Came to Save the World
44 And Jesus cried out and said, (BU)“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but (BV)in him who sent me. 45 And (BW)whoever (BX)sees me sees him who sent me. 46 (BY)I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone (BZ)hears my words and does not keep them, (CA)I do not judge him; for (CB)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 (CC)The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; (CD)the word that I have spoken will judge him (CE)on the last day. 49 For (CF)I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father (CG)who sent me has himself given me (CH)a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
John 12
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus in Bethany With His Friends(A)
12 Six days before the Passover festival, Jesus went to Bethany. That is where Lazarus lived, the man Jesus raised from death. 2 There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus. 3 Mary brought in a pint[a] of expensive perfume made of pure nard. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house.
4 Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ followers, was there—the one who would later hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, 5 “That perfume was worth a full year’s pay.[b] It should have been sold, and the money should have been given to the poor people.” 6 But Judas did not really care about the poor. He said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the moneybag for the group of followers. And he often stole money from the bag.
7 Jesus answered, “Don’t stop her. It was right for her to save this perfume for today—the day for me to be prepared for burial. 8 You will always have those who are poor with you.[c] But you will not always have me.”
The Plot Against Lazarus
9 Many of the Jews heard that Jesus was in Bethany, so they went there to see him. They also went there to see Lazarus, the one Jesus raised from death. 10 So the leading priests made plans to kill Lazarus too. 11 Because of him, many Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus. That is why they wanted to kill Lazarus too.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(B)
12 The next day the people in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was coming there. These were the crowds of people who had come to the Passover festival. 13 They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Jesus. They shouted,
God bless the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, as the Scriptures say,
15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion[e]!
Look! Your king is coming.
He is riding on a young donkey.” (D)
16 The followers of Jesus did not understand at that time what was happening. But after he was raised to glory, they understood that this was written about him. Then they remembered that they had done these things for him.
17 There were many people with Jesus when he raised Lazarus from death and told him to come out of the tomb. Now they were telling others about what Jesus did. 18 That’s why so many people went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign he did. 19 So the Pharisees said to each other, “Look! Our plan is not working. The people are all following him!”
Jesus Talks About Life and Death
20 There were some Greeks there too. These were some of the people who went to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover festival. 21 They went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
23 Jesus said to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive his glory. 24 It is a fact that a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die before it can grow and produce much more wheat. If it never dies, it will never be more than a single seed. 25 Whoever loves the life they have now will lose it. But whoever is willing to give up their life in this world will keep it. They will have eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me. My servants must be with me everywhere I am. My Father will give honor to anyone who serves me.
Jesus Talks About His Death
27 “Now I am very troubled. What should I say? Should I say, ‘Father save me from this time of suffering’? No, I came to this time so that I could suffer. 28 Father, do what will bring you glory!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have already brought glory to myself. I will do it again.”
29 The people standing there heard the voice. They said it was thunder.
But others said, “An angel spoke to him!”
30 Jesus said, “That voice was for you and not for me. 31 Now is the time for the world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32 I will be lifted up[f] from the earth. When that happens, I will draw all people to myself.” 33 Jesus said this to show how he would die.
34 The people said, “But our law says that the Messiah will live forever. So why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus said, “The light[g] will be with you for only a short time more. So walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not catch you. People who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. 36 So put your trust in the light while you still have it. Then you will be children of light.” When Jesus finished saying these things, he went away to a place where the people could not find him.
Some Jews Refuse to Believe in Jesus
37 The people saw all these miraculous signs Jesus did, but they still did not believe in him. 38 This was to give full meaning to what Isaiah the prophet said:
“Lord, who believed what we told them?
Who has seen the Lord’s power?” (E)
39 This is why the people could not believe. Because Isaiah also said,
40 “God made the people blind.
He closed their minds.
He did this so that they would not see with their eyes
and understand with their minds.
He did it so that they would not turn
and be healed.” (F)
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ divine greatness. So he spoke about him.
42 But many people believed in Jesus. Even many of the Jewish leaders believed in him, but they were afraid of the Pharisees, so they did not say openly that they believed. They were afraid they would be ordered to stay out of the synagogue. 43 They loved praise from people more than praise from God.
Jesus’ Teaching Will Judge People
44 Then Jesus said loudly, “Everyone who believes in me is really believing in the one who sent me. 45 Everyone who sees me is really seeing the one who sent me. 46 I came into this world as a light. I came so that everyone who believes in me will not stay in darkness.
47 “I did not come into the world to judge people. I came to save the people in the world. So I am not the one who judges those who hear my teaching and do not obey. 48 But there is a judge for all those who refuse to believe in me and do not accept what I say. The message I have spoken will judge them on the last day. 49 That is because what I taught was not from myself. The Father who sent me told me what to say and what to teach. 50 And I know that whatever he says to do will bring eternal life. So the things I say are exactly what the Father told me to say.”
Footnotes
- John 12:3 pint Literally, “ litra,” a Roman pound, equal to 327 grams (11.5 ounces).
- John 12:5 a full year’s pay Literally, “300 denarii.” One Roman denarius, a silver coin, was the average pay for one day’s work.
- John 12:8 You will … with you See Deut. 15:11.
- John 12:13 Praise Literally, “Hosanna,” a Hebrew word used in praying to God for help. Here, it was probably a shout of celebration used in praising God or his Messiah.
- John 12:15 people of Zion Literally, “daughter of Zion,” meaning the city of Jerusalem. See “Zion” in the Word List.
- John 12:32 lifted up Meaning to be nailed to a cross and “lifted up” on it to die. It may also have a second meaning: to be “lifted up” from death to heaven. Also in verse 34.
- John 12:35 light This means Christ, as in Jn. 1:5-9. Also, it is a symbol of goodness and truth, qualities associated with Christ and his kingdom.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International