John 7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
The Feast of Tabernacles. 1 [a]After this, Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him.(A) 2 But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.(B) 3 So his brothers[b] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world.”(C) 5 For his brothers did not believe in him. 6 [c]So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but the time is always right for you. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify to it that its works are evil.(D) 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up[d] to this feast, because my time has not yet been fulfilled.” 9 After he had said this, he stayed on in Galilee.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but [as it were] in secret. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was considerable murmuring about him in the crowds. Some said, “He is a good man,” [while] others said, “No; on the contrary, he misleads the crowd.” 13 Still, no one spoke openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews.(E)
The First Dialogue.[e] 14 When the feast was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple area and began to teach. 15 [f](F)The Jews were amazed and said, “How does he know scripture without having studied?” 16 Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not my own but is from the one who sent me. 17 Whoever chooses to do his will[g] shall know whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own.(G) 18 Whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory, but whoever seeks the glory of the one who sent him is truthful, and there is no wrong in him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”(H) 20 The crowd answered, “You are possessed![h] Who is trying to kill you?”(I) 21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I performed one work[i] and all of you are amazed(J) 22 because of it. Moses gave you circumcision—not that it came from Moses but rather from the patriarchs—and you circumcise a man on the sabbath.(K) 23 If a man can receive circumcision on a sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a whole person well on a sabbath?(L) 24 Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly.”(M)
25 So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? 26 And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities[j] have realized that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where he is from. When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”(N) 28 So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.(O) 29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”(P) 30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.(Q) 31 But many of the crowd began to believe in him, and said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man has done?”(R)
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus.[k] 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring about him to this effect, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent guards to arrest him. 33 So Jesus said, “I will be with you only a little while longer, and then I will go to the one who sent me.(S) 34 You will look for me but not find [me], and where I am you cannot come.”(T) 35 So the Jews said to one another, “Where is he going that we will not find him? Surely he is not going to the dispersion[l] among the Greeks to teach the Greeks, is he? 36 What is the meaning of his saying, ‘You will look for me and not find [me], and where I am you cannot come’?”
Rivers of Living Water.[m] 37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.(U) 38 Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:
39 He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,[o] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.(W)
Discussion About the Origins of the Messiah.[p] 40 Some in the crowd who heard these words said, “This is truly the Prophet.”(X) 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he? 42 Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”(Y) 43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” 47 So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?(Z) 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,(AA) 51 “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?”(AB) 52 They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Chapter 8
A Woman Caught in Adultery.[q] [53 Then each went to his own house,
Footnotes
- 7–8 These chapters contain events about the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth, Ingathering: Ex 23:16; Tents, Booths: Dt 16:13–16), with its symbols of booths (originally built to shelter harvesters), rain (water from Siloam poured on the temple altar), and lights (illumination of the four torches in the Court of the Women). They continue the theme of the replacement of feasts (Passover, Jn 2:13; 6:4; Hanukkah, Jn 10:22; Pentecost, Jn 5:1), here accomplished by Jesus as the Living Water. These chapters comprise seven miscellaneous controversies and dialogues. There is a literary inclusion with Jesus in hiding in Jn 7:4, 10; 8:59. There are frequent references to attempts on his life: Jn 7:1, 13, 19, 25, 30, 32, 44; 8:37, 40, 59.
- 7:3 Brothers: these relatives (cf. Jn 2:12 and see note on Mk 6:3) are never portrayed as disciples until after the resurrection (Acts 1:14). Mt 13:55 and Mk 6:3 give the names of four of them. Jesus has already performed works/signs in Judea; cf. Jn 2:23; 3:2; 4:45; 5:8.
- 7:6 Time: the Greek word means “opportune time,” here a synonym for Jesus’ “hour” (see note on Jn 2:4), his death and resurrection. In the wordplay, any time is suitable for Jesus’ brothers, because they are not dependent on God’s will.
- 7:8 I am not going up: an early attested reading “not yet” seems a correction, since Jesus in the story does go up to the feast. “Go up,” in a play on words, refers not only to going up to Jerusalem but also to exaltation at the cross, resurrection, and ascension; cf. Jn 3:14; 6:62; 20:17.
- 7:14–31 Jesus teaches in the temple; debate with the Jews.
- 7:15 Without having studied: literally, “How does he know letters without having learned?” Children were taught to read and write by means of the scriptures. But here more than Jesus’ literacy is being discussed; the people are wondering how he can teach like a rabbi. Rabbis were trained by other rabbis and traditionally quoted their teachers.
- 7:17 To do his will: presumably a reference back to the “work” of Jn 6:29: belief in the one whom God has sent.
- 7:20 You are possessed: literally, “You have a demon.” The insane were thought to be possessed by a demoniacal spirit.
- 7:21 One work: the cure of the paralytic (Jn 5:1–9) because of the reference to the sabbath (Jn 7:22; 5:9–10).
- 7:26 The authorities: the members of the Sanhedrin (same term as Jn 3:1).
- 7:32–36 Jesus announces his approaching departure (cf. also Jn 8:21; 12:36; 13:33) and complete control over his destiny.
- 7:35 Dispersion: or “diaspora”: Jews living outside Palestine. Greeks: probably refers to the Gentiles in the Mediterranean area; cf. Jn 12:20.
- 7:37, 39 Promise of living water through the Spirit.
- 7:38 Living water: not an exact quotation from any Old Testament passage; in the gospel context the gift of the Spirit is meant; cf. Jn 3:5. From within him: either Jesus or the believer; if Jesus, it continues the Jesus-Moses motif (water from the rock, Ex 17:6; Nm 20:11) as well as Jesus as the new temple (cf. Ez 47:1). Grammatically, it goes better with the believer.
- 7:39 No Spirit yet: Codex Vaticanus and early Latin, Syriac, and Coptic versions add “given.” In this gospel, the sending of the Spirit cannot take place until Jesus’ glorification through his death, resurrection, and ascension; cf. Jn 20:22.
- 7:40–53 Discussion of the Davidic lineage of the Messiah.
- 7:53–8:11 The story of the woman caught in adultery is a later insertion here, missing from all early Greek manuscripts. A Western text-type insertion, attested mainly in Old Latin translations, it is found in different places in different manuscripts: here, or after Jn 7:36 or at the end of this gospel, or after Lk 21:38, or at the end of that gospel. There are many non-Johannine features in the language, and there are also many doubtful readings within the passage. The style and motifs are similar to those of Luke, and it fits better with the general situation at the end of Lk 21, but it was probably inserted here because of the allusion to Jer 17:13 (cf. note on Jn 8:6) and the statement, “I do not judge anyone,” in Jn 8:15. The Catholic Church accepts this passage as canonical scripture.
John 7
English Standard Version
Jesus at the Feast of Booths
7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because (A)the Jews[a] were seeking to kill him. 2 Now (B)the Jews' Feast of (C)Booths was at hand. 3 (D)So his brothers[b] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, (E)show yourself to the world.” 5 (F)For not even (G)his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, (H)“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but (I)it hates me because I testify about it that (J)its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not[c] going up to this feast, for (K)my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after (L)his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 (M)The Jews (N)were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much (O)muttering about him among the people. (P)While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, (Q)he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet (R)for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up (S)into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore (T)marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,[d] when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, (U)“My teaching is not mine, but his (V)who sent me. 17 (W)If anyone's will is to do God's[e] will, (X)he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I (Y)am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority (Z)seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 (AA)Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. (AB)Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, (AC)“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did (AD)one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 (AE)Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but (AF)from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, (AG)are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 (AH)Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Can This Be the Christ?
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom (AI)they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, (AJ)speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that (AK)the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But (AL)we know (AM)where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, (AN)no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, (AO)as he taught in the temple, (AP)“You know me, and you know where I come from. But (AQ)I have not come of my own accord. (AR)He who sent me is true, (AS)and him you do not know. 29 (AT)I know him, for I come (AU)from him, and (AV)he sent me.” 30 (AW)So they were seeking to arrest him, but (AX)no one laid a hand on him, (AY)because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet (AZ)many of the people believed in him. They said, (BA)“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd (BB)muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent (BC)officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, (BD)“I will be with you a little longer, and then (BE)I am going to him who sent me. 34 (BF)You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? (BG)Does he intend to go to (BH)the Dispersion among (BI)the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, (BJ)‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
Rivers of Living Water
37 (BK)On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, (BL)“If anyone thirsts, let him (BM)come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, (BN)as[f] the Scripture has said, (BO)‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of (BP)living water.’” 39 Now (BQ)this he said about the Spirit, (BR)whom those who believed in him were to receive, (BS)for as yet the Spirit had not been (BT)given, (BU)because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Division Among the People
40 When they heard these words, (BV)some of the people said, “This really is (BW)the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is (BX)the Christ.” But some said, (BY)“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes (BZ)from the offspring of David, and comes (CA)from Bethlehem, the village (CB)where David was?” 43 So there was (CC)a division among the people over him. 44 (CD)Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 (CE)The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, (CF)“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, (CG)“Have you also been deceived? 48 (CH)Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 (CI)Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 (CJ)“Does our law judge a man without first (CK)giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, (CL)“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that (CM)no prophet arises from Galilee.”
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.][g]
The Woman Caught in Adultery
53 [[They went each to his own house,
Footnotes
- John 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time
- John 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10
- John 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet
- John 7:15 Or this man knows his letters
- John 7:17 Greek his
- John 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As
- 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
John 7
New Living Translation
Jesus and His Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.
6 Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. 8 You go on. I’m not going[a] to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” 9 After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.
Jesus Teaches Openly at the Temple
10 But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. 11 The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. 12 There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” 13 But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The people[b] were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.
16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. 19 Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”
20 The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. 22 But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23 For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? 24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”
Is Jesus the Messiah?
25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? 27 But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”
28 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. 29 But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” 30 Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time[c] had not yet come.
31 Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
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?[d] 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.’”[e] 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,[f] 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.”[g] 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.”[h] 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[i] 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.
Footnotes
- 7:8 Some manuscripts read not yet going.
- 7:15 Greek Jewish people.
- 7:30 Greek his hour.
- 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.
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.
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.
