You Must Be Born Again

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named (A)Nicodemus, (B)a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus[a] (C)by night and said to him, (D)“Rabbi, (E)we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do (F)unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is (G)born (H)again[b] he cannot (I)see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born (J)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (K)That which is born of the flesh is (L)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c] (M)Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born (N)again.’ (O)The wind[e] blows (P)where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, (Q)“How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel (R)and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, (S)we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but (T)you[f] do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 (U)No one has (V)ascended into heaven except (W)he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.[g] 14 And (X)as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man (Y)be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes (Z)in him (AA)may have eternal life.[h]

For God So Loved the World

16 “For (AB)God so loved (AC)the world,[i] (AD)that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not (AE)perish but have eternal life. 17 For (AF)God did not send his Son into the world (AG)to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 (AH)Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not (AI)believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 (AJ)And this is the judgment: (AK)the light has come into the world, and (AL)people loved the darkness rather than the light because (AM)their works were evil. 20 (AN)For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, (AO)lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever (AP)does what is true (AQ)comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and (AR)was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for (AS)John had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over (AT)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, (AU)“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, (AV)to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and (AW)all are going to him.” 27 John answered, (AX)“A person cannot receive even one thing (AY)unless it is given him (AZ)from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (BA)‘I am not the Christ, but (BB)I have been sent before him.’ 29 (BC)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. (BD)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, (BE)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 (BF)He must increase, but I must decrease.”[j]

31 (BG)He who comes from above (BH)is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and (BI)speaks in an earthly way. (BJ)He who comes from heaven (BK)is above all. 32 (BL)He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, (BM)yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony (BN)sets his seal to this, (BO)that God is true. 34 For he whom (BP)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit (BQ)without measure. 35 (BR)The Father loves the Son and (BS)has given all things into his hand. 36 (BT)Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; (BU)whoever does not obey the Son shall not (BV)see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and (BW)baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed (BX)again for Galilee. (BY)And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field (BZ)that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, (CA)wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.[k]

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, (CB)“Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” ((CC)For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you (CD)living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 (CE)Are you greater than our father Jacob? (CF)He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but (CG)whoever drinks of the water that I will give him (CH)will never be thirsty again.[l] The water that I will give him will become (CI)in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, (CJ)give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, (CK)call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that (CL)you are (CM)a prophet. 20 (CN)Our fathers worshiped on (CO)this mountain, but you say that (CP)in Jerusalem is (CQ)the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, (CR)“Woman, believe me, (CS)the hour is coming when (CT)neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 (CU)You worship what you do not know; (CV)we worship what we know, for (CW)salvation is (CX)from the Jews. 23 But (CY)the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father (CZ)in spirit and (DA)truth, for the Father (DB)is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that (DC)Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, (DD)he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, (DE)“I who speak to you am he.”

27 Just then (DF)his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man (DG)who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, (DH)“Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, (DI)“Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, (DJ)“My food is (DK)to do the will of him who sent me and (DL)to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that (DM)the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that (DN)sower and (DO)reaper (DP)may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, (DQ)‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap (DR)that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, (DS)and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans (DT)from that town believed in him (DU)because of (DV)the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed (DW)because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, (DX)and we know that this is indeed (DY)the Savior (DZ)of the world.”

43 After (EA)the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified (EB)that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, (EC)having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For (ED)they too had gone to the feast.

Jesus Heals an Official's Son

46 So he came again to (EE)Cana in Galilee, (EF)where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus (EG)had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, (EH)“Unless you[m] see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down (EI)before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants[n] met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour[o] the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, (EJ)and all his household. 54 (EK)This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

After this there was a (EL)feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by (EM)the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic[p] called Bethesda,[q] which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and (EN)paralyzed.[r] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, (EO)“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” (EP)And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

(EQ)Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews[s] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and (ER)it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for (ES)Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! (ET)Sin no more, (EU)that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews (EV)were persecuting Jesus, (EW)because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

18 This was why the Jews (EX)were seeking all the more to kill him, (EY)because not only was he (EZ)breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God (FA)his own Father, (FB)making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (FC)the Son (FD)can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[t] does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For (FE)the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And (FF)greater works than these will he show him, so that (FG)you may marvel. 21 For as the Father (FH)raises the dead and (FI)gives them life, so (FJ)also the Son gives life (FK)to whom he will. 22 (FL)For the Father judges no one, but (FM)has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they (FN)honor the Father. (FO)Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, (FP)whoever hears my word and (FQ)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He (FR)does not come into judgment, but (FS)has passed from death to life.

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, (FT)an hour is coming, and is now here, when (FU)the dead will hear (FV)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear (FW)will live. 26 (FX)For as the Father has life in himself, (FY)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he (FZ)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for (GA)an hour is coming when (GB)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, (GC)those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

30 (GD)“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and (GE)my judgment is just, because (GF)I seek not my own will (GG)but the will of him who sent me. 31 (GH)If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is (GI)another who bears witness about me, and (GJ)I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 (GK)You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that (GL)the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and (GM)shining lamp, and (GN)you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But (GO)the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For (GP)the works that the Father has given me (GQ)to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, (GR)bear witness about me that (GS)the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me (GT)has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, (GU)his form you have never seen, 38 and (GV)you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 (GW)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and (GX)it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet (GY)you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 (GZ)I do not receive glory from people. 42 But (HA)I know that you do not have (HB)the love of God within you. 43 I have come (HC)in my Father's name, and (HD)you do not receive me. (HE)If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and (HF)do not seek the glory that comes from (HG)the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, (HH)on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for (HI)he wrote of me. 47 But (HJ)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

After this (HK)Jesus went away to the other side of (HL)the Sea of Galilee, which is (HM)the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on (HN)the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now (HO)the Passover, the (HP)feast of the Jews, was at hand. (HQ)Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to (HR)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. (HS)Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[u] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, (HT)Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five (HU)barley loaves and two fish, but (HV)what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” (HW)Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and (HX)when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, (HY)“This is indeed (HZ)the Prophet (IA)who is to come into the world!”

15 (IB)Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus (IC)withdrew again to (ID)the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on Water

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[v] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 (IE)But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

I Am the Bread of Life

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only (IF)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord (IG)had given thanks. 24 (IH)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and (II)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, (IJ)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (IK)you are seeking me, not because you saw (IL)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 (IM)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for (IN)the food that endures to eternal life, which (IO)the Son of Man will give to you. For on (IP)him God the Father has (IQ)set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing (IR)the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, (IS)that you believe in him whom (IT)he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, (IU)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 (IV)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, (IW)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is (IX)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, (IY)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, (IZ)“I am the bread of life; (JA)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 (JB)All that (JC)the Father gives me will come to me, and (JD)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For (JE)I have come down from heaven, not to do (JF)my own will but (JG)the will of him (JH)who sent me. 39 And (JI)this is the will of him who sent me, (JJ)that I should lose nothing of (JK)all that he has given me, but (JL)raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who (JM)looks on the Son and (JN)believes in him (JO)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, (JP)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, (JQ)“Is not this Jesus, (JR)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother (JS)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me (JT)draws him. And (JU)I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, (JV)‘And they will all be (JW)taught by God.’ (JX)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 (JY)not that anyone has seen the Father except (JZ)he who is from God; he (KA)has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, (KB)whoever believes has eternal life. 48 (KC)I am the bread of life. 49 (KD)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and (KE)they died. 50 (KF)This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it (KG)and not die. 51 I am the living bread (KH)that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give (KI)for the life of the world is (KJ)my flesh.”

52 The Jews then (KK)disputed among themselves, saying, (KL)“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of (KM)the Son of Man and drink his blood, you (KN)have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood (KO)has eternal life, and (KP)I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood (KQ)abides in me, and I in him. 57 As (KR)the living Father (KS)sent me, and (KT)I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 (KU)This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread[w] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus[x] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught (KV)at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

60 (KW)When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, (KX)knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see (KY)the Son of Man (KZ)ascending to (LA)where he was before? 63 (LB)It is the Spirit who gives life; (LC)the flesh is no help at all. (LD)The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But (LE)there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus (LF)knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and (LG)who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you (LH)that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

66 (LI)After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to (LJ)the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have (LK)the words of eternal life, 69 and (LL)we have believed, and have come to know, that (LM)you are (LN)the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, (LO)“Did I not choose you, (LP)the twelve? And yet one of you is (LQ)a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas (LR)the son of Simon Iscariot, for (LS)he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Jesus at the Feast of Booths

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because (LT)the Jews[y] were seeking to kill him. Now (LU)the Jews' Feast of (LV)Booths was at hand. (LW)So his brothers[z] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, (LX)show yourself to the world.” (LY)For not even (LZ)his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, (MA)“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but (MB)it hates me because I testify about it that (MC)its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not[aa] going up to this feast, for (MD)my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after (ME)his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 (MF)The Jews (MG)were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much (MH)muttering about him among the people. (MI)While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, (MJ)he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet (MK)for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up (ML)into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore (MM)marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,[ab] when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, (MN)“My teaching is not mine, but his (MO)who sent me. 17 (MP)If anyone's will is to do God's[ac] will, (MQ)he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I (MR)am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority (MS)seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 (MT)Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. (MU)Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, (MV)“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did (MW)one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 (MX)Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but (MY)from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, (MZ)are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 (NA)Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Can This Be the Christ?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom (NB)they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, (NC)speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that (ND)the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But (NE)we know (NF)where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, (NG)no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, (NH)as he taught in the temple, (NI)“You know me, and you know where I come from. But (NJ)I have not come of my own accord. (NK)He who sent me is true, (NL)and him you do not know. 29 (NM)I know him, for I come (NN)from him, and (NO)he sent me.” 30 (NP)So they were seeking to arrest him, but (NQ)no one laid a hand on him, (NR)because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet (NS)many of the people believed in him. They said, (NT)“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd (NU)muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent (NV)officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, (NW)“I will be with you a little longer, and then (NX)I am going to him who sent me. 34 (NY)You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? (NZ)Does he intend to go to (OA)the Dispersion among (OB)the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, (OC)‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Rivers of Living Water

37 (OD)On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, (OE)“If anyone thirsts, let him (OF)come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, (OG)as[ad] the Scripture has said, (OH)‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of (OI)living water.’” 39 Now (OJ)this he said about the Spirit, (OK)whom those who believed in him were to receive, (OL)for as yet the Spirit had not been (OM)given, (ON)because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

40 When they heard these words, (OO)some of the people said, “This really is (OP)the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is (OQ)the Christ.” But some said, (OR)“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes (OS)from the offspring of David, and comes (OT)from Bethlehem, the village (OU)where David was?” 43 So there was (OV)a division among the people over him.

Footnotes

  1. John 3:2 Greek him
  2. John 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7
  3. John 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
  4. John 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here
  5. John 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
  6. John 3:11 The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12
  7. John 3:13 Some manuscripts add who is in heaven
  8. John 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15
  9. John 3:16 Or For this is how God loved the world
  10. John 3:30 Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36
  11. John 4:6 That is, about noon
  12. John 4:14 Greek forever
  13. John 4:48 The Greek for you is plural; twice in this verse
  14. John 4:51 Or bondservants
  15. John 4:52 That is, at 1 p.m.
  16. John 5:2 Or Hebrew
  17. John 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethsaida
  18. John 5:3 Some manuscripts insert, wholly or in part, waiting for the moving of the water; 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had
  19. John 5:10 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed Jesus in that time; also verses 15, 16, 18
  20. John 5:19 Greek he
  21. John 6:7 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
  22. John 6:19 Greek twenty-five or thirty stadia; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters
  23. John 6:58 Greek lacks the bread
  24. John 6:59 Greek He
  25. John 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time
  26. John 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10
  27. John 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet
  28. John 7:15 Or this man knows his letters
  29. John 7:17 Greek his
  30. John 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus(A) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.(B) He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,(C) we know(D) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs(E) you are doing if God were not with him.”(F)

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a](G)

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.(H) Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit.(I) You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d](J)

“How can this be?”(K) Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,”(L) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,(M) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.(N) 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven(O) except the one who came from heaven(P)—the Son of Man.[e](Q) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,(R) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f](S) 15 that everyone who believes(T) may have eternal life in him.”[g](U)

16 For God so loved(V) the world that he gave(W) his one and only Son,(X) that whoever believes(Y) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(Z) 17 For God did not send his Son into the world(AA) to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.(AB) 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,(AC) but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.(AD) 19 This is the verdict: Light(AE) has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.(AF) 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.(AG) 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

John Testifies Again About Jesus

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.(AH) 23 Now John(AI) also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)(AJ) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.(AK) 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi,(AL) that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified(AM) about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’(AN) 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom.(AO) The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.(AP) 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[h]

31 The one who comes from above(AQ) is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.(AR) The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard,(AS) but no one accepts his testimony.(AT) 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent(AU) speaks the words of God, for God[i] gives the Spirit(AV) without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.(AW) 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,(AX) but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John(AY) although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea(AZ) and went back once more to Galilee.

Now he had to go through Samaria.(BA) So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.(BB) Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”(BC) (His disciples had gone into the town(BD) to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan(BE) woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[j])

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”(BF)

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well(BG) and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.(BH) Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water(BI) welling up to eternal life.”(BJ)

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty(BK) and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.(BL) 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,(BM) but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”(BN)

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming(BO) when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.(BP) 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know;(BQ) we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.(BR) 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come(BS) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit(BT) and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit,(BU) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)(BV) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”(BW)

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

27 Just then his disciples returned(BX) and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.(BY) Could this be the Messiah?”(BZ) 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi,(CA) eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat(CB) that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will(CC) of him who sent me and to finish his work.(CD) 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.(CE) 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests(CF) a crop for eternal life,(CG) so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’(CH) is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town(CI) believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”(CJ) 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”(CK)

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

43 After the two days(CL) he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)(CM) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival,(CN) for they also had been there.

46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.(CO) And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,(CP) he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,”(CQ) Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household(CR) believed.

54 This was the second sign(CS) Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

The Healing at the Pool

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate(CT) a pool, which in Aramaic(CU) is called Bethesda[k] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] [l] One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”(CV) At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,(CW) 10 and so the Jewish leaders(CX) said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”(CY)

11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’

12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning(CZ) or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders(DA) that it was Jesus who had made him well.

The Authority of the Son

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father(DB) is always at his work(DC) to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him;(DD) not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.(DE)

19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself;(DF) he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son(DG) and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these,(DH) so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,(DI) even so the Son gives life(DJ) to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,(DK) 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.(DL)

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me(DM) has eternal life(DN) and will not be judged(DO) but has crossed over from death to life.(DP) 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come(DQ) when the dead will hear(DR) the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life(DS) in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge(DT) because he is the Son of Man.

28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming(DU) when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.(DV) 30 By myself I can do nothing;(DW) I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just,(DX) for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.(DY)

Testimonies About Jesus

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.(DZ) 32 There is another who testifies in my favor,(EA) and I know that his testimony about me is true.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified(EB) to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony;(EC) but I mention it that you may be saved.(ED) 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light,(EE) and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John.(EF) For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing(EG)—testify that the Father has sent me.(EH) 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me.(EI) You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,(EJ) 38 nor does his word dwell in you,(EK) for you do not believe(EL) the one he sent.(EM) 39 You study[m] the Scriptures(EN) diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life.(EO) These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,(EP) 40 yet you refuse to come to me(EQ) to have life.

41 “I do not accept glory from human beings,(ER) 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[n]?(ES)

45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses,(ET) on whom your hopes are set.(EU) 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.(EV) 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”(EW)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand(EX)

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

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

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

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

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,(FE) 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(FF) Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”(FG) 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king(FH) by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.(FI)

Jesus Walks on the Water(FJ)

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,[p] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water;(FK) and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”(FL) 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(FM) 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.(FN) 23 Then some boats from Tiberias(FO) landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.(FP) 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,(FQ) when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me,(FR) not because you saw the signs(FS) 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(FT) to eternal life,(FU) which the Son of Man(FV) will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal(FW) 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(FX) in the one he has sent.”(FY)

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

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(GD) and gives life to the world.”

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

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am(GF) the bread of life.(GG) Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes(GH) in me will never be thirsty.(GI) 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me(GJ) will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven(GK) not to do my will but to do the will(GL) of him who sent me.(GM) 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,(GN) but raise them up at the last day.(GO) 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son(GP) and believes in him shall have eternal life,(GQ) 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,(GR) whose father and mother we know?(GS) How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”(GT)

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,(GU) and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’[r](GV) 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;(GW) only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.(GX) 48 I am the bread of life.(GY) 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.(GZ) 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,(HA) which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread(HB) that came down from heaven.(HC) Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”(HD)

52 Then the Jews(HE) began to argue sharply among themselves,(HF) “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(HG) of the Son of Man(HH) and drink his blood,(HI) 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.(HJ) 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.(HK) 57 Just as the living Father sent me(HL) 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.”(HM) 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

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

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?(HP) 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man(HQ) ascend to where he was before!(HR) 63 The Spirit gives life;(HS) the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[s] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known(HT) from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.(HU) 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.”(HV)

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

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

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

70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you,(IB) the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”(IC) 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,(ID) who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)(IE)

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want[t] to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders(IF) there were looking for a way to kill him.(IG) But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles(IH) was near, Jesus’ brothers(II) said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.(IJ)

Therefore Jesus told them, “My time(IK) is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me(IL) because I testify that its works are evil.(IM) You go to the festival. I am not[u] going up to this festival, because my time(IN) has not yet fully come.” 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(IO) 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.”(IP) 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.(IQ)

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.(IR) 15 The Jews(IS) there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning(IT) without having been taught?”(IU)

16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.(IV) 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out(IW) 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,(IX) 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?(IY) Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”(IZ)

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

21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle,(JB) and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision(JC) (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs),(JD) 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.”(JE)

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?(JF) 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities(JG) really concluded that he is the Messiah?(JH) 27 But we know where this man is from;(JI) when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts,(JJ) cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.(JK) I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.(JL) You do not know him, 29 but I know him(JM) because I am from him and he sent me.”(JN)

30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,(JO) because his hour had not yet come.(JP) 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him.(JQ) They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs(JR) 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,(JS) and then I am going to the one who sent me.(JT) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(JU)

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(JV) among the Greeks,(JW) 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’?”(JX)

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival,(JY) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.(JZ) 38 Whoever believes(KA) in me, as Scripture has said,(KB) rivers of living water(KC) will flow from within them.”[v](KD) 39 By this he meant the Spirit,(KE) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.(KF) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.(KG)

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

41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?(KI) 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants(KJ) and from Bethlehem,(KK) the town where David lived?”

Footnotes

  1. John 3:3 The Greek for again also means from above; also in verse 7.
  2. John 3:6 Or but spirit
  3. John 3:7 The Greek is plural.
  4. John 3:8 The Greek for Spirit is the same as that for wind.
  5. John 3:13 Some manuscripts Man, who is in heaven
  6. John 3:14 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
  7. John 3:15 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 21.
  8. John 3:30 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 36.
  9. John 3:34 Greek he
  10. John 4:9 Or do not use dishes Samaritans have used
  11. John 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethzatha; other manuscripts Bethsaida
  12. John 5:4 Some manuscripts include here, wholly or in part, paralyzed—and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.
  13. John 5:39 Or 39 Study
  14. John 5:44 Some early manuscripts the Only One
  15. John 6:7 Greek take two hundred denarii
  16. John 6:19 Or about 5 or 6 kilometers
  17. John 6:31 Exodus 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25
  18. John 6:45 Isaiah 54:13
  19. John 6:63 Or are Spirit; or are spirit
  20. John 7:1 Some manuscripts not have authority
  21. John 7:8 Some manuscripts not yet
  22. John 7:38 Or me. And let anyone drink 38 who believes in me.” As Scripture has said, “Out of him (or them) will flow rivers of living water.”