John 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5[a]
Cure on a Sabbath. 1 After this, there was a feast[b] of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(A) 2 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep [Gate][c] a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.(B) 3 In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.[d] [4 ][e] 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”(C) 9 Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.(D)
Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”(E) 11 He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13 The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.(F) 14 [f]After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,(G) “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.(H) 17 [g]But Jesus answered them,(I) “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.(J)
The Work of the Son. 19 [h]Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing;(K) for what he does, his son will do also. 20 For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.(L) 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,[i] so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.(M) 22 Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment[j] to his Son,(N) 23 so 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. 24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.(O) 25 Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.(P) 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself.(Q) 27 And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man.(R) 28 [k]Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice(S) 29 and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.(T)
30 “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.(U)
Witnesses to Jesus. 31 (V)“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. 32 But there is another[l] who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. 33 You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.(W) 34 I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved.(X) 35 He was a burning and shining lamp,[m] and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.(Y) 36 But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.(Z) 37 Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,(AA) 38 and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.(AB) 39 You search[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf.(AC) 40 But you do not want to come to me to have life.
Unbelief of Jesus’ Hearers. 41 “I do not accept human praise;[o] 42 moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.(AD) 43 I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.(AE) 44 How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?(AF) 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.(AG) 46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.(AH) 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Footnotes
- 5:1–47 The self-revelation of Jesus continues in Jerusalem at a feast. The third sign (cf. Jn 2:11; 4:54) is performed, the cure of a paralytic by Jesus’ life-giving word. The water of the pool fails to bring life; Jesus’ word does.
- 5:1 The reference in Jn 5:45–46 to Moses suggests that the feast was Pentecost. The connection of that feast with the giving of the law to Moses on Sinai, attested in later Judaism, may already have been made in the first century. The feast could also be Passover (cf. Jn 6:4). John stresses that the day was a sabbath (Jn 5:9).
- 5:2 There is no noun with Sheep. “Gate” is supplied on the grounds that there must have been a gate in the NE wall of the temple area where animals for sacrifice were brought in; cf. Neh 3:1, 32; 12:39. Hebrew: more precisely, Aramaic. Bethesda: preferred to variants “Be(th)zatha” and “Bethsaida”; bêt-’ešdatayīn is given as the name of a double pool northeast of the temple area in the Qumran Copper Roll. Five porticoes: a pool excavated in Jerusalem actually has five porticoes.
- 5:3 The Caesarean and Western recensions, followed by the Vulgate, add “waiting for the movement of the water.” Apparently an intermittent spring in the pool bubbled up occasionally (see Jn 5:7). This turbulence was believed to cure.
- 5:4 Toward the end of the second century in the West and among the fourth-century Greek Fathers, an additional verse was known: “For [from time to time] an angel of the Lord used to come down into the pool; and the water was stirred up, so the first one to get in [after the stirring of the water] was healed of whatever disease afflicted him.” The angel was a popular explanation of the turbulence and the healing powers attributed to it. This verse is missing from all early Greek manuscripts and the earliest versions, including the original Vulgate. Its vocabulary is markedly non-Johannine.
- 5:14 While the cure of the paralytic in Mk 2:1–12 is associated with the forgiveness of sins, Jesus never drew a one-to-one connection between sin and suffering (cf. Jn 9:3; Lk 12:1–5), as did Ez 18:20.
- 5:17 Sabbath observance (Jn 5:10) was based on God’s resting on the seventh day (cf. Gn 2:2–3; Ex 20:11). Philo and some rabbis insisted that God’s providence remains active on the sabbath, keeping all things in existence, giving life in birth and taking it away in death. Other rabbis taught that God rested from creating, but not from judging (= ruling, governing). Jesus here claims the same authority to work as the Father, and, in the discourse that follows, the same divine prerogatives: power over life and death (Jn 5:21, 24–26) and judgment (Jn 5:22, 27).
- 5:19 This proverb or parable is taken from apprenticeship in a trade: the activity of a son is modeled on that of his father. Jesus’ dependence on the Father is justification for doing what the Father does.
- 5:21 Gives life: in the Old Testament, a divine prerogative (Dt 32:39; 1 Sm 2:6; 2 Kgs 5:7; Tb 13:2; Is 26:19; Dn 12:2).
- 5:22 Judgment: another divine prerogative, often expressed as acquittal or condemnation (Dt 32:36; Ps 43:1).
- 5:28–29 While Jn 5:19–27 present realized eschatology, Jn 5:28–29 are future eschatology; cf. Dn 12:2.
- 5:32 Another: likely the Father, who in four different ways gives testimony to Jesus, as indicated in the verse groupings Jn 5:33–34, 36, 37–38, 39–40.
- 5:35 Lamp: cf. Ps 132:17—“I will place a lamp for my anointed (= David),” and possibly the description of Elijah in Sir 48:1. But only for a while, indicating the temporary and subordinate nature of John’s mission.
- 5:39 You search: this may be an imperative: “Search the scriptures, because you think that you have eternal life through them.”
- 5:41 Praise: the same Greek word means “praise” or “honor” (from others) and “glory” (from God). There is a play on this in Jn 5:44.
John 5
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.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by (B)the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic[a] called Bethesda,[b] which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and (C)paralyzed.[c] 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?” 7 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.” 8 Jesus 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. 10 So 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.” 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 (H)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! (I)Sin no more, (J)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 (K)were persecuting Jesus, (L)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 (M)were seeking all the more to kill him, (N)because not only was he (O)breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God (P)his own Father, (Q)making himself equal with God.
The Authority of the Son
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (R)the Son (S)can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[e] does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For (T)the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And (U)greater works than these will he show him, so that (V)you may marvel. 21 For as the Father (W)raises the dead and (X)gives them life, so (Y)also the Son gives life (Z)to whom he will. 22 (AA)For the Father judges no one, but (AB)has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they (AC)honor the Father. (AD)Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, (AE)whoever hears my word and (AF)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He (AG)does not come into judgment, but (AH)has passed from death to life.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, (AI)an hour is coming, and is now here, when (AJ)the dead will hear (AK)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear (AL)will live. 26 (AM)For as the Father has life in himself, (AN)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he (AO)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for (AP)an hour is coming when (AQ)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, (AR)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 (AS)“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and (AT)my judgment is just, because (AU)I seek not my own will (AV)but the will of him who sent me. 31 (AW)If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is (AX)another who bears witness about me, and (AY)I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 (AZ)You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that (BA)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 (BB)shining lamp, and (BC)you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But (BD)the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For (BE)the works that the Father has given me (BF)to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, (BG)bear witness about me that (BH)the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me (BI)has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, (BJ)his form you have never seen, 38 and (BK)you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 (BL)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and (BM)it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet (BN)you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 (BO)I do not receive glory from people. 42 But (BP)I know that you do not have (BQ)the love of God within you. 43 I have come (BR)in my Father's name, and (BS)you do not receive me. (BT)If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and (BU)do not seek the glory that comes from (BV)the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, (BW)on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for (BX)he wrote of me. 47 But (BY)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
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 5:19 Greek he
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
