John 5
Common English Bible
Sabbath healing
5 After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate in the north city wall is a pool with the Aramaic name Bethsaida. It had five covered porches, 3 and a crowd of people who were sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed sat there.[a] 5 A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, knowing that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 The sick man answered him, “Sir,[b] I don’t have anyone who can put me in the water when it is stirred up. When I’m trying to get to it, someone else has gotten in ahead of me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 Immediately the man was well, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
10 The Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It’s the Sabbath; you aren’t allowed to carry your mat.”
11 He answered, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 They inquired, “Who is this man who said to you, ‘Pick it up and walk’?” 13 The man who had been cured didn’t know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away from the crowd gathered there.
14 Later Jesus found him in the temple and said, “See! You have been made well. Don’t sin anymore in case something worse happens to you.” 15 The man went and proclaimed to the Jewish leaders that Jesus was the man who had made him well.
16 As a result, the Jewish leaders were harassing Jesus, since he had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 Jesus replied, “My Father is still working, and I am working too.” 18 For this reason the Jewish leaders wanted even more to kill him—not only because he was doing away with the Sabbath but also because he called God his own Father, thereby making himself equal with God.
Work of the Father and the Son
19 Jesus responded to the Jewish leaders, “I assure you that the Son can’t do anything by himself except what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he does. He will show him greater works than these so that you will marvel. 21 As the Father raises the dead and gives life, so too does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. 22 The Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son 23 so that everyone will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
24 “I assure you that whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and won’t come under judgment but has passed from death into life.
25 “I assure you that the time is coming—and is here!—when the dead will hear the voice of God’s Son, and those who hear it will live. 26 Just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 He gives the Son authority to judge, because he is the Human One.[c] 28 Don’t be surprised by this, because the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. 29 Those who did good things will come out into the resurrection of life, and those who did wicked things into the resurrection of judgment. 30 I can’t do anything by myself. Whatever I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just. I don’t seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.
Witnesses to Jesus
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony isn’t true. 32 There is someone else who testifies about me, and I know his testimony about me is true. 33 You sent a delegation to John, and he testified to the truth. 34 Although I don’t accept human testimony, I say these things so that you can be saved. 35 John was a burning and shining lamp, and, at least for a while, you were willing to celebrate in his light.
36 “I have a witness greater than John’s testimony. The Father has given me works to do so that I might complete them. These works I do testify about me that the Father sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me testifies about me. You have never even heard his voice or seen his form, 38 and you don’t have his word dwelling with you because you don’t believe the one whom he has sent. 39 Examine the scriptures, since you think that in them you have eternal life. They also testify about me, 40 yet you don’t want to come to me so that you can have life.
41 “I don’t accept praise from people, 42 but I know you, that you don’t have God’s love in you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t receive me. If others come in their own name, you receive them. 44 How can you believe when you receive praise from each other but don’t seek the praise that comes from the only God?
45 “Don’t think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, the one in whom your hope rests. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because Moses wrote about me. 47 If you don’t believe the writings of Moses, how will you believe my words?”
Footnotes
- John 5:3 Critical editions of the Gk New Testament do not include the following addition waiting for the water to move. 4 Sometimes an angel would come down to the pool and stir up the water. Then the first one going into the water after it had been stirred up was cured of any sickness.
- John 5:7 Or Lord
- John 5:27 Or Son of Man
John 5
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus Heals a Man at a Pool
5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special Jewish festival. 2 In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches. In Aramaic it is called Bethzatha.[a] This pool is near the Sheep Gate. 3 Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some of them were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed.[b] 4 [c] 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. 6 Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been sick for a very long time. So he asked him, “Do you want to be well?”
7 The sick man answered, “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the water when it starts moving. I try to be the first one into the water. But when I try, someone else always goes in before I can.”
8 Then Jesus said, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 Immediately the man was well. He picked up his mat and started walking.
The day all this happened was a Sabbath day. 10 So some Jews said to the man who had been healed, “Today is the Sabbath. It is against our law for you to carry your mat on the Sabbath day.”
11 But he answered, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick up your mat and walk?”
13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was. There were many people there, and Jesus had left.
14 Later, Jesus found the man at the Temple and said to him, “See, you are well now. But stop sinning or something worse may happen to you!”
15 Then the man left and went back to the Jews who questioned him. He told them that Jesus was the one who made him well.
16 Jesus was doing all this on the Sabbath day. So these Jews began trying to make him stop. 17 But he said to them, “My Father never stops working, and so I work too.”
18 This made them even more determined to kill him. They thought it was bad enough that he was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. And now he was saying that God is his Father, making himself equal with God!
Jesus Has God’s Authority
19 But Jesus answered, “I assure you that the Son can do nothing alone. He does only what he sees his Father doing. The Son does the same things that the Father does. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does. This man was healed. But the Father will show the Son greater things than this to do. Then you will all be amazed. 21 The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to those he wants to.
22 “Also, the Father judges no one. He has given the Son power to do all the judging. 23 God did this so that all people will respect the Son the same as they respect the Father. Anyone who does not respect the Son does not respect the Father. He is the one who sent the Son.
24 “I assure you, anyone who hears what I say and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged guilty. They have already left death and have entered into life. 25 Believe me, an important time is coming. That time is already here. People who are dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 Life comes from the Father himself. So the Father has also allowed the Son to give life. 27 And the Father has given him the power to judge all people because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Don’t be surprised at this. A time is coming when all people who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. 29 Then they will come out of their graves. Those who did good in this life will rise and have eternal life. But those who did evil will rise to be judged guilty.
30 “I can do nothing alone. I judge only the way I am told. And my judgment is right, because I am not trying to please myself. I want only to please the one who sent me.
Jesus Says More to the Jewish Leaders
31 “If I tell people about myself, they cannot be sure that what I say is true. 32 But there is someone else who tells people about me, and I know that what he says about me is true.
33 “You sent men to John, and he told you what is true. 34 I don’t need anyone to tell people about me, but I remind you of what John said so that you can be saved. 35 John was like a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were happy to enjoy his light for a while.
36 “But I have a proof about myself that is greater than anything John said. The things I do are my proof. These are what my Father gave me to do. They show that the Father sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has given proof about me himself. But you have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he looks like. 38 The Father’s teaching does not live in you, because you don’t believe in the one the Father sent. 39 You carefully study the Scriptures. You think that they give you eternal life. These same Scriptures tell about me! 40 But you refuse to come to me to have that life.
41 “I don’t want praise from you or any other human. 42 But I know you—I know that you have no love for God. 43 I have come from my Father and speak for him, but you don’t accept me. But when other people come speaking only for themselves, you accept them. 44 You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? 45 Don’t think that I will be the one to stand before the Father and accuse you. Moses is the one to accuse you. And he is the one you hoped would save you. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 47 But you don’t believe what he wrote, so you can’t believe what I say.”
Footnotes
- John 5:2 Bethzatha Also called Bethsaida or Bethesda, a pool of water north of the Temple in Jerusalem.
- John 5:3 At the end of verse 3, some Greek copies add “and they waited for the water to move.”
- John 5:4 A few later copies add verse 4: “Sometimes an angel of the Lord came down to the pool and shook the water. After this, the first person to go into the pool was healed from any sickness he had.”
John 5
New International Reader's Version
Jesus Heals a Man at the Pool
5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish feasts. 2 In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate is a pool. In the Aramaic language it is called Bethesda. It is surrounded by five rows of columns with a roof over them. 3-4 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie down. Among them were those who were blind, those who could not walk, and those who could hardly move. 5 One person was there who had not been able to walk for 38 years. 6 Jesus saw him lying there. He knew that the man had been in that condition for a long time. So he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the disabled man replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when an angel stirs up the water. I try to get in, but someone else always goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 The man was healed right away. He picked up his mat and walked.
This happened on a Sabbath day. 10 So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath day. The law does not allow you to carry your mat.”
11 But he replied, “The one who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
12 They asked him, “Who is this fellow? Who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 The one who was healed had no idea who it was. Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple. Jesus said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away. He told the Jewish leaders it was Jesus who had made him well.
The Authority of the Son
16 Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath day. So the Jewish leaders began to oppose him. 17 Jesus defended himself. He said to them, “My Father is always doing his work. He is working right up to this day. I am working too.” 18 For this reason the Jewish leaders tried even harder to kill him. According to them, Jesus was not only breaking the law of the Sabbath day. He was even calling God his own Father. He was making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. 20 This is because the Father loves the Son. The Father shows him everything he does. Yes, and the Father will show the Son even greater works than these. And you will be amazed. 21 The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to anyone he wants to. 22 Also, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given the Son the task of judging. 23 Then all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged. They have crossed over from death to life. 25 What I’m about to tell you is true. A time is coming for me to give life. In fact, it has already begun. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear it will live. 26 The Father has life in himself. He has allowed the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And the Father has given him the authority to judge. This is because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this. A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. 29 They will all come out of their graves. People who have done what is good will rise and live again. People who have done what is evil will rise and be found guilty. 30 I can do nothing by myself. I judge only as I hear. And my judging is fair. I do not try to please myself. I try to please the one who sent me.
Being a Witness About Jesus
31 “If I am a witness about myself, what I say is not true. 32 There is someone else who is a witness in my favor. And I know that what he says about me is true.
33 “You have sent people to John the Baptist. He has been a witness to the truth. 34 I do not accept what a person says. I only talk about what John says so that you can be saved. 35 John was like a lamp that burned and gave light. For a while you chose to enjoy his light.
36 “What I say about myself is more important than what John says about me. I am doing the works the Father gave me to finish. These works are a witness that the Father has sent me. 37 The Father who sent me is himself a witness about me. You have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he really looks like. 38 And his word does not live in you. That’s because you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures carefully. You study them because you think they will give you eternal life. The Scriptures you study are a witness about me. 40 But you refuse to come to me and receive life.
41 “I do not accept praise from human beings. 42 But I know you. I know that you do not have love for 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 You accept praise from one another. But you do not seek the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?
45 “Do not think I will bring charges against you in front of the Father. Moses is the one who does that. And he is the one you build your hopes on. 46 Do you believe Moses? Then you should believe me. He wrote about me. 47 But you do not believe what he wrote. So how are you going to believe what I say?”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
