John 5:1-15

English Standard Version

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

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

²Now there is in Jerusalem by ^(B)the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic^[a] called Bethesda,^[b] which has five roofed colonnades. ³In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and ^(C)paralyzed.^[c] ⁵One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶When 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?” ⁷The 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.” ⁸Jesus said to him, ^(D)“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ⁹^(E)And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

^(F)Now that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰So the Jews^[d] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and ^(G)it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” ¹¹But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” ¹²They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” ¹³Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for ^(H)Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. ¹⁴Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! ^(I)Sin no more, ^(J)that nothing worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

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Footnotes

John 5:2 Or Hebrew
John 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethsaida
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
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

John 5:1-15

New Living Translation

Jesus Heals a Lame Man

5 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. ²Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda,^[a] with five covered porches. ³Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.^[b] ⁵One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

⁸Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

⁹Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, ¹⁰so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

¹¹But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

¹²“Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.

¹³The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. ¹⁴But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

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Footnotes

5:2 Other manuscripts read Beth-zatha; still others read Bethsaida.
5:3 Some manuscripts add an expanded conclusion to verse 3 and all of verse 4: waiting for a certain movement of the water, ⁴for an angel of the Lord came from time to time and stirred up the water. And the first person to step in after the water was stirred was healed of whatever disease he had.

John 5:1-15

Amplified Bible

The Healing at Bethesda

5 Later on there was a Jewish feast (festival), and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

²Now in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a ^[a]pool, which is called in Hebrew (Jewish Aramaic) Bethesda, having five porticoes (alcoves, colonnades). ³In these porticoes lay a great number of people who were sick, blind, lame, withered, ^[b][waiting for the stirring of the water; ⁴for an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at appointed seasons and stirred up the water; the first one to go in after the water was stirred was healed of his disease.] ⁵There was a certain man there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?” ⁷The invalid answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am coming [to get into it myself], someone else steps down ahead of me.” ⁸Jesus said to him, “Get up; pick up your pallet and walk.” ⁹Immediately the man was healed and recovered his strength, and ^[c]picked up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰So the Jews kept saying to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not ^[d]permitted to pick up your pallet [because it is unlawful].” ¹¹He answered them, “The Man who healed me and gave me back my strength was the One who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” ¹²They asked him, “Who is the Man who told you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” ¹³Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away [unnoticed] since there was a crowd in that place. ¹⁴Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

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Footnotes

John 5:2 In 1888, the location of this pool with its porticoes, as described in this verse, was uncovered.
John 5:3 Early mss do not contain the remainder of v 3, nor v 4.
John 5:9 Under Jewish tradition regarding the Sabbath, the man could have been stoned to death for this act.
John 5:10 The complex Jewish restrictions regarding work on the Sabbath were man-made rules and most were not supported by OT Scripture.

John 5:1-16

The Message

Even on the Sabbath

5 ^1-6Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.”

^8-9Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.

^9-10That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, “It’s the Sabbath. You can’t carry your bedroll around. It’s against the rules.”

¹¹But he told them, “The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.’”

^12-13They asked, “Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?” But the healed man didn’t know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd.

¹⁴A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.”

^15-16The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath.

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