John 12
Modern English Version
The Anointing at Bethany(A)
12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 They prepared a supper for Him there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pint[a] of very costly 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 ointment.
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[b] and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. And having the money box, he used to steal what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
The Plot Against Lazarus
9 When many of the Jews learned that He was there, they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem(B)
12 On the next day a great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 They took branches of palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[c]
The King of Israel!”
14 Then Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written:
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
see, your King is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt.”[d]
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first. But when Jesus was glorified, they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
17 Now the crowd that was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. 18 The crowd went and met Him for this reason: They heard that He had performed this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said among themselves, “See, you are gaining nothing! Look, the world has followed Him!”
Some Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 He who loves his life will lose it. And he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
27 “Now My soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? Instead, for this reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice came not for My sake, but for your sakes. 31 Now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.” 33 He said this to signify by what kind of death He would die.
34 The crowd answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. Why do You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Then Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said these things, and departed and hid Himself from them.
The Unbelief of the Jews
37 Though He had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in Him. 38 This fulfilled the word spoken by Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our report,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”[e]
39 Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah said again:
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
lest they should see with their eyes
and perceive with their hearts and turn,
and I would heal them.”[f]
41 Isaiah said this when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
42 Yet many of the rulers also believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Judgment by Jesus’ Word
44 Jesus cried out, “He who believes in Me believes not only in Me, but in Him who sent Me. 45 He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not remain in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him. The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 I know that His command is eternal life. Therefore what I say, I say as the Father tells me.”
Footnotes
- John 12:3 Gk. a litra, or half a liter.
- John 12:5 About a year’s wages.
- John 12:13 Ps 118:25–26.
- John 12:15 Zec 9:9.
- John 12:38 Isa 53:1.
- John 12:40 Isa 6:10.
John 12
Lexham English Bible
Jesus Is Anointed at Bethany
12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made him a dinner there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of the ones reclining at table with him. 3 Then Mary took a pound[a] of ointment of very valuable genuine nard and[b] anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said, 5 “Why[c] was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 (Now he said this not because he was concerned[d] about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, he used to steal what was put into it.)[e] 7 So Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my preparation for burial. 8 For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have me.”
The Decision to Kill Lazarus
9 Now a large crowd[f] of Jews found out that he was there, and they came, not only because of Jesus, but so that they could see Lazarus also, whom he raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests decided that they would kill Lazarus also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going and believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they[g] heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and began crying out,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,[h]
even the king of Israel!”
14 So Jesus found a young donkey and[i] sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion!
Behold, your king is coming,
seated on the foal of a donkey!”[j]
16 (His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and they did these things to him.) 17 So the crowd who was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify. 18 Because of this also the crowd went to meet him, for they had heard that he had performed this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing! Behold, the world has gone after him.”
Greeks Seeking Jesus
20 Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up in order to worship at the feast. 21 So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man will be glorified. 24 Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and[k] dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world preserves it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Jesus Predicts His Death
27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? But for this reason I have come to this hour! 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have both glorified it,[l] and I will glorify it[m] again.” 29 Now the crowd that stood there and heard it[n] said it had thundered.[o] Others were saying, “An angel has spoken to him!” 30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not happened for my sake, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world! Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out! 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 (Now he said this to indicate by what sort of death he was going to die.)
34 Then the crowd replied to him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever![p] And how do you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “Yet a little time the light is with you! Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness does not overtake you! And the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said these things, and then he went away and[q] was hidden from them.
The People Still Refuse to Believe
37 But as many signs as he had performed before them, they did not believe in him, 38 in order that the word of the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
“Lord, who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”[r]
39 For this reason they were not able to believe, because again Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
lest they see with their[s] eyes
and understand with their[t] hearts
and turn, and I heal them.”[u]
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory, and he spoke about him.
42 Yet despite that, even many of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it,[v] so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue. 43 For they loved the praise of men more than praise from God.
Jesus’ Final Public Appeal
44 But Jesus cried out and said, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, 45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, in order that everyone who believes in me will not remain in the darkness. 47 And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,[w] I will not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has one who judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken from myself, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me[x] what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So the things that I say, just as the Father said to me, thus I say.”
Footnotes
- John 12:3 The Greek term refers to a Roman pound, 327.45 grams (approximately 12 ounces)
- John 12:3 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“took”) has been translated as a finite verb
- John 12:5 Literally “because of what”
- John 12:6 Literally “it was a concern to him”
- John 12:6 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 12:9 Some manuscripts have “the large crowd”
- John 12:12 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- John 12:13 A quotation from Ps 118:25–26
- John 12:14 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“found”) has been translated as a finite verb
- John 12:15 A quotation from Zech 9:9
- John 12:24 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“falls”) has been translated as a finite verb
- John 12:28 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 12:28 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 12:29 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 12:29 Literally “thunder had happened”
- John 12:34 Literally “for the age”; probably an allusion to Ps 89:35–37 (in common usage “law” could refer to the entire Old Testament)
- John 12:36 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went away”) has been translated as a finite verb
- John 12:38 A quotation from Isa 53:1
- John 12:40 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- John 12:40 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- John 12:40 A quotation from Isa 6:10
- John 12:42 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 12:47 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 12:49 Literally “has given me commandment”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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