Rivers of Living Water

37 (A)On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, (B)“If anyone thirsts, let him (C)come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, (D)as[a] the Scripture has said, (E)‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of (F)living water.’” 39 Now (G)this he said about the Spirit, (H)whom those who believed in him were to receive, (I)for as yet the Spirit had not been (J)given, (K)because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

40 When they heard these words, (L)some of the people said, “This really is (M)the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is (N)the Christ.” But some said, (O)“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes (P)from the offspring of David, and comes (Q)from Bethlehem, the village (R)where David was?” 43 So there was (S)a division among the people over him. 44 (T)Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 (U)The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, (V)“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, (W)“Have you also been deceived? 48 (X)Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 (Y)Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 (Z)“Does our law judge a man without first (AA)giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, (AB)“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that (AC)no prophet arises from Galilee.”

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.][b]

The Woman Caught in Adultery

53 [[They went each to his own house,

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Footnotes

  1. John 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As
  2. John 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

44 And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.

45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?

46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)

51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

53 And every man went unto his own house.

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The Promise of the Holy Spirit

37 (A)On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, (B)“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 (C)He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, (D)out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 (E)But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those [a]believing in Him would receive; for the [b]Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet (F)glorified.

Who Is He?

40 Therefore [c]many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is (G)the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is (H)the Christ.”

But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 (I)Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, (J)where David was?” 43 So (K)there was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now (L)some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Rejected by the Authorities

45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”

46 The officers answered, (M)“No man ever spoke like this Man!”

47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

50 Nicodemus (N)(he who came to [d]Jesus [e]by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 (O)“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”

52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for (P)no prophet [f]has arisen out of Galilee.”

An Adulteress Faces the Light of the World

53 [g]And everyone went to his own house.

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Footnotes

  1. John 7:39 NU who believed
  2. John 7:39 NU omits Holy
  3. John 7:40 NU some
  4. John 7:50 Lit. Him
  5. John 7:50 NU before
  6. John 7:52 NU is to rise
  7. John 7:53 NU brackets 7:53 through 8:11 as not in the original text. They are present in over 900 mss. of John.

37 Now on (A)the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, (B)If anyone is thirsty, [a]let him come to Me and drink. 38 The one who believes in Me, (C)as the Scripture said, ‘[b]From his innermost being will flow rivers of (D)living water.’” 39 But this He said (E)in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for (F)the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet (G)glorified.

People’s Division over Jesus

40 Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is (H)the Prophet.” 41 Others were saying, “This is the [c]Christ.” But others were saying, “(I)Surely the [d]Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? 42 Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from (J)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So (K)a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. 44 And (L)some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

45 The (M)officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” 46 The (N)officers answered, “(O)Never has a man spoken in this way!” 47 The Pharisees then replied to them, “(P)You have not been led astray too, have you? 48 (Q)Not one of (R)the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!” 50 (S)Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, 51 (T)Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” 52 They answered and said to him, “(U)You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” 53 [[[e]And everyone went to his home.

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Footnotes

  1. John 7:37 Or come to Me and drink
  2. John 7:38 Lit Out of his belly
  3. John 7:41 I.e., Messiah
  4. John 7:41 I.e., Messiah
  5. John 7:53 Later mss add the story of the adulterous woman, numbering it as John 7:53-8:11

The Promise of the Spirit

37 On the last and most important day of the festival,(A) Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me[a](B) and drink.(C) 38 The one who believes in me,(D) as the Scripture(E) has said, will have streams of living water(F) flow(G) from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit.(H) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,(I) for the Spirit[b] had not yet been given[c] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The People Are Divided over Jesus

40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”(J) 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture(K) say that the Messiah comes from David’s(L) offspring[d] and from the town of Bethlehem,(M) where David lived?” 43 So the crowd was divided(N) because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize him,(O) but no one laid hands on him.

Debate over Jesus’s Claims

45 Then the servants(P) came to the chief priests(Q) and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”

46 The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!” [e](R)

47 Then the Pharisees responded to them, “Are you fooled(S) too? 48 Have any of the rulers(T) or Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”

50 Nicodemus(U)—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?” (V)

52 “You aren’t from Galilee(W) too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”(X)

[The earliest mss do not include 7:53–8:11.]

[53 Then each one went to his house.[f]

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Footnotes

  1. 7:37 Other mss omit to me
  2. 7:39 Other mss read Holy Spirit
  3. 7:39 Lit the Spirit was not yet
  4. 7:42 Lit seed
  5. 7:46 Other mss read like this man
  6. 7:53–8:11 Other mss include all or some of the passage after Jn 7:36,44,52; 21:25; or Lk 21:38.