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John 7:32-53
New Living Translation
John 7:32-53
New Living Translation
32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. 33 But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me. 34 You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”
35 The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands?[a] Maybe he will even teach the Greeks! 36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”
Jesus Promises Living Water
37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”[b] 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given,[c] because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
Division and Unbelief
40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”[d] 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”[e] 43 So the crowd was divided about him. 44 Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.
47 “Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. 48 “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? 49 This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”
50 Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. 51 “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes[f] from Galilee!”
[The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]
53 Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 7:35 Or the Jews who live among the Greeks?
- 7:37-38 Or “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from the heart of anyone who believes in me.’”
- 7:39 Several early manuscripts read But as yet there was no Spirit. Still others read But as yet there was no Holy Spirit.
- 7:40 See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
- 7:42 See Mic 5:2.
- 7:52 Some manuscripts read the prophet does not come.
John 7:32-53
New International Version
John 7:32-53
New International Version
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,(A) and then I am going to the one who sent me.(B) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(C)
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(D) among the Greeks,(E) 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’?”(F)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival,(G) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.(H) 38 Whoever believes(I) in me, as Scripture has said,(J) rivers of living water(K) will flow from within them.”[a](L) 39 By this he meant the Spirit,(M) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.(N) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.(O)
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”(P)
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?(Q) 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants(R) and from Bethlehem,(S) the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided(T) because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.(U)
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,”(V) the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?”(W) the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?(X) 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus,(Y) who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”(Z)
[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]
53 Then they all went home,
Footnotes
- 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.”
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.