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John 7
Young's Literal Translation
John 7
Young's Literal Translation
7 And Jesus was walking after these things in Galilee, for he did not wish to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him,
2 and the feast of the Jews was nigh -- that of tabernacles --
3 his brethren, therefore, said unto him, `Remove hence, and go away to Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works that thou dost;
4 for no one in secret doth anything, and himself seeketh to be in public; if thou dost these things -- manifest thyself to the world;'
5 for not even were his brethren believing in him.
6 Jesus, therefore, saith to them, `My time is not yet present, but your time is always ready;
7 the world is not able to hate you, but me it doth hate, because I testify concerning it that its works are evil.
8 Ye -- go ye up to this feast; I do not yet go up to this feast, because my time hath not yet been fulfilled;'
9 and saying these things to them, he remained in Galilee.
10 And when his brethren went up, then also he himself went up to the feast, not manifestly, but as in secret;
11 the Jews, therefore, were seeking him, in the feast, and said, `Where is that one?'
12 and there was much murmuring about him among the multitudes, some indeed said -- `He is good;' and others said, `No, but he leadeth astray the multitude;'
13 no one, however, was speaking freely about him, through fear of the Jews.
14 And it being now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple, and he was teaching,
15 and the Jews were wondering, saying, `How hath this one known letters -- not having learned?'
16 Jesus answered them and said, `My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me;
17 if any one may will to do His will, he shall know concerning the teaching, whether it is of God, or -- I do speak from myself.
18 `He who is speaking from himself his own glory doth seek, but he who is seeking the glory of him who sent him, this one is true, and unrighteousness is not in him;
19 hath not Moses given you the law? and none of you doth the law; why me do ye seek to kill?'
20 The multitude answered and said, `Thou hast a demon, who doth seek to kill thee?'
21 Jesus answered and said to them, `One work I did, and ye all wonder,
22 because of this, Moses hath given you the circumcision -- not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers -- and on a sabbath ye circumcise a man;
23 if a man doth receive circumcision on a sabbath that the law of Moses may not be broken, are ye wroth with me that I made a man all whole on a sabbath?
24 judge not according to appearance, but the righteous judgment judge.'
25 Certain, therefore, of the Jerusalemites said, `Is not this he whom they are seeking to kill?
26 and, lo, he doth speak freely, and they say nothing to him; did the rulers at all know truly that this is truly the Christ?
27 but this one -- we have known whence he is; and the Christ, when he doth come, no one doth know whence he is.'
28 Jesus cried, therefore, in the temple, teaching and saying, `Ye have both known me, and ye have known whence I am; and I have not come of myself, but He who sent me is true, whom ye have not known;
29 and I have known Him, because I am from Him, and He did send me.'
30 They were seeking, therefore, to seize him, and no one laid the hand on him, because his hour had not yet come,
31 and many out of the multitude did believe in him, and said -- `The Christ -- when he may come -- will he do more signs than these that this one did?'
32 The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers that they may take him;
33 Jesus, therefore, said to them, `Yet a little time I am with you, and I go away unto Him who sent me;
34 ye will seek me, and ye shall not find; and where I am, ye are not able to come.'
35 The Jews, therefore, said among themselves, `Whither is this one about to go that we shall not find him? -- to the dispersion of the Greeks is he about to go? and to teach the Greeks;
36 what is this word that he said, Ye will seek me, and ye shall not find? and, Where I am, ye are not able to come?'
37 And in the last, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, `If any one doth thirst, let him come unto me and drink;
38 he who is believing in me, according as the Writing said, Rivers out of his belly shall flow of living water;'
39 and this he said of the Spirit, which those believing in him were about to receive; for not yet was the Holy Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Many, therefore out of the multitude, having heard the word, said, `This is truly the Prophet;'
41 others said, `This is the Christ;' and others said, `Why, out of Galilee doth the Christ come?
42 Did not the Writing say, that out of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem -- the village where David was -- the Christ doth come?'
43 A division, therefore, arose among the multitude because of him.
44 And certain of them were willing to seize him, but no one laid hands on him;
45 the officers came, therefore, unto the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, `Wherefore did ye not bring him?'
46 The officers answered, `Never so spake man -- as this man.'
47 The Pharisees, therefore, answered them, `Have ye also been led astray?
48 did any one out of the rulers believe in him? or out of the Pharisees?
49 but this multitude, that is not knowing the law, is accursed.'
50 Nicodemus saith unto them -- he who came by night unto him -- being one of them,
51 `Doth our law judge the man, if it may not hear from him first, and know what he doth?'
52 They answered and said to him, `Art thou also out of Galilee? search and see, that a prophet out of Galilee hath not risen;'
53 and each one went on to his house, but Jesus went on to the mount of the Olives.
John 7
New Catholic Bible
John 7
New Catholic Bible
The Light of the World[a]
Jesus, Sign of Contradiction
Chapter 7
Jesus’ Time Has Not Yet Been Fulfilled.[b] 1 After this, Jesus resumed his travels throughout Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
2 However, when the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was drawing near, 3 his brethren[c] said to him, “Depart from here and go into Judea so that your disciples can perceive the works you are doing. 4 No one who wishes to be publicly known acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, reveal yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brethren believed in him. 6 Jesus answered them,
“My time has not yet come,
but your time is always right.
7 The world cannot hate you,
but it does hate me
because I testify against it
that its works are evil.
8 Go up to the feast yourselves.
I am not going to this feast,
because my time has not yet fully come.”
9 After he had said this, he stayed behind in Galilee. 10 Later, however, after his brethren had gone up to the feast, he himself also went, not publicly, but in secret.
11 During the feast the Jews were looking for him and asking, “Where is he?” 12 There was widespread murmuring about him among the crowds. Some maintained, “He is a good man,” but others insisted, “No, for he is leading the people astray.” 13 However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jews.
14 Do Not Judge by Appearances.[d] When the feast was half over, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. 15 The Jews were astonished, and they wondered, “How has this man acquired such knowledge when he has never studied?”[e] 16 Jesus answered them,
“My teaching is not my own;
rather, it comes from him who sent me.
17 Anyone who resolves to do his will
will know whether my teaching comes from God
or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
18 Whoever speaks on his own authority
is simply seeking his own glory,
but whoever seeks the glory
of the one who sent him
is a truthful person,
and there is no dishonesty in him.
19 “Did not Moses give you the Law?
And not one of you keeps the Law.
Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The crowd shouted, “You are possessed! Who is trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus replied,
“I performed a single work,[f]
and all of you are astonished.
22 Moses gave you circumcision
—although it did not originate with Moses
but with the patriarchs—
and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
23 Now if a man can be circumcised on the Sabbath
so that the Law of Moses may not be broken,
why are you angry with me
for making a man’s entire body
completely healthy on the Sabbath?
24 Do not base your judgment on appearances;
judge according to what is right.”
25 Where Is Jesus from and Where Is He Going?[g] Then some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is this not the man they are trying to kill? 26 And yet he is speaking publicly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities realize that he is the Christ? 27 And yet we know where this man is from. But when the Christ appears, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple,
“You know me,
and you also know where I am from.
Yet I have not come of my own accord,
but he who sent me is true.
You do not know him,
29 but I know him
because I am from him
and it was he who sent me.”
30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many in the crowd believed in him, and they said, “When the Christ comes, will he perform more signs than this man has accomplished?”
32 When the Pharisees overheard the crowd murmuring about him, the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said,
“I will remain with you
only for a short time longer,
and then I shall return
to him who sent me.
34 You will search for me,
but you will not find me,
for where I am you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not be able to find him? Will he go abroad to the people who are dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me, but you will be unable to find me,’ and ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
37 Streams of Living Water.[h][i]On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried out,
“If anyone is thirsty,
let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me,
as Scripture has said,
‘Streams of living water
shall flow from within him.’ ”
39 Now he was referring here to the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive. As yet the Spirit had not been bestowed because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 People Are Divided concerning Jesus.[j] On hearing these words, some in the crowd said, “This must truly be the Prophet.” 41 Others thought, “This is the Christ.” But still others retorted, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture assert that the Christ will be of the seed of David and come from Bethlehem, the city where David lived?” 43 As a result, the crowd was sharply divided because of him. 44 Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 Then the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” 46 The guards answered, “No one has ever spoken as this man has.” 47 Then the Pharisees said, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees come to believe in him? 49 As for this crowd, they do not know the Law—they are cursed.”
50 One of them, Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus, said to them, 51 “Does our Law allow us to pass judgment on someone without first giving him a hearing to ascertain what he is doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you too a Galilean? Look it up, and you will find that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”
Chapter 8
Jesus, Savior of Sinners
A Woman Caught in Adultery.[k] [7:53Then each of them returned home.
Footnotes
- John 7:1 The feast of Tabernacles, one of the most important Jewish solemnities, was a harvest festival. There was also a commemoration of the miraculous deeds that God had done for his people in the wilderness, with a joyous feast of lamps, a festival of lights. The feast was the ideal setting in which to present Christ as the Word of God who had come to enlighten and save everyone.
- John 7:1 From now on the threat of death hangs over Jesus and creates tension for him. The tension has to be relieved as quickly as possible. A gathering of people in Jerusalem would be a good occasion for rallying them and neutralizing the adversaries. An impressive public manifestation by Jesus would also be helpful; people would at least know what to make of him. So reason the “brethren” of Jesus—that is, the relatives if not the disciples.
But these perspectives of glory have no hold on Jesus. He has come to fulfill God’s plan; this is not the same as looking for a temporary success. He also has come to turn back the course of evil, falsehood, and hatred in the world. Jesus overcame the hatred of the world by handing himself over to it. - John 7:3 Brethren: i.e., according to Hebrew idiom, close relatives. See note on Mt 12:46.
- John 7:14 Personal success is never the motive for an action of Jesus. His words and his miracles testify that he is the messenger of the Father. Jesus lives by this testimony, of which he is convinced, and does not defend any doctrine of a school or group; one care alone impels him: that the Father’s plan for us be recognized and fulfilled.
Only those will understand Jesus who take the Law seriously in its deep inspiration and know the price of fidelity to God. But those who accuse Jesus of violating the Law and take upon themselves the authority to condemn him fail to recognize him. - John 7:15 The people want to know how Jesus can teach like a rabbi, when he was never trained by one and never quotes his teacher.
- John 7:21 A single work: the work of which Jesus speaks may be the cure of the paralytic that is recounted in Jn 5:1-15.
- John 7:25 The new prophet intrigues the people. He is one of theirs, yet claims an origin that does not cease to be mysterious. Some of the people are tempted to recognize him as the Messiah. The official authorities rebel against this temptation and want him arrested. In veiled words, Jesus announces his return to the Father (vv. 33-34). The authorities see this as an attempt to flee Palestine.
In all these contrasts there is perhaps some irony. Jesus escapes the people who want to place him in their preconceived ideas, just as he escapes the people who want to lay hands on him. Jesus can be talked about endlessly; it is quite another thing to accept his mystery. - John 7:37 The last day was for the pilgrims a festival of water. How many symbolic meanings water evokes! Water had flowed miraculously from the rock in the midst of the wilderness to slake the thirst of the Hebrews (Ex 17:1-7). The Prophets had foretold a spring that would some day open in the midst of the people (Ezek 47:1; Zec 14:8). In all areas affected by drought, water is a sign of life and joy; it is a gift of God. Christians think of Pentecost and Baptism.
- John 7:37 An alternative reading and translation is: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As Scripture has said. . . .” In this second reading, the Scripture passage refers to Jesus and not to the believer. See Ps 105:41; Isa 44:3; 48:21; Ezek 36:25; Joel 3:1; etc.
- John 7:40 The upper class felt only contempt for the ordinary people. How could one accept a Messiah who came from distant Galilee, where Jews mingled with Gentiles and were cut off from the heart of Jewish life? Some justified their rejection by citing passages of the Law, but there were others who appealed to the spirit of the Law.
- John 7:53 This story is missing in a number of ancient manuscripts and is inserted at other points in others; it does not seem to be from the author of the fourth Gospel, for it is written in quite a different style. However, it has been accepted by the Church as the work of an inspired author.
We are struck by the portrait of Jesus found herein: his silence, his sober gesture, his refusal to use religion as a pretext to spy on and judge others, and his courage to proclaim his own truth. It is pointless to ask what he wrote on the ground. Let us dwell on what he considered the Law to be: it condemns sin not so that people may judge one another but so that they may feel the need to be saved by God. And it is to this salvation that he bears witness.
John 7
New International Version
John 7
New International Version
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,
New International Version (NIV) 
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