John 2
Amplified Bible
Miracle at Cana
2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “[a]They have no more wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “[Dear] woman, [b]what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.”(A) 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification (ceremonial washing), containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 Then He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter [of the banquet].” So they took it to him. 9 And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had turned into wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew) he called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, “Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have [c]drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of His signs (attesting miracles), Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly], and His disciples believed [confidently] in Him [as the Messiah—they adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him].(B)
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
First Passover—Cleansing the Temple
13 Now the Passover of the Jews was approaching, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And in the temple [enclosure] He found the [d]people who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at their tables.(C) 15 He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 then to those who sold the doves He said, “Take these things away! Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!”(D) 17 His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Scriptures], “Zeal (love, concern) for Your house [and its honor] will consume Me.”(E) 18 Then the Jews retorted, “What sign (attesting miracle) can You show us as [proof of] your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple which was His body. 22 So when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said. And they believed and trusted in and relied on the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.(F)
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name [identifying themselves with Him] after seeing His signs (attesting miracles) which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, for His part, did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people [and understood the [e]superficiality and fickleness of human nature], 25 and He did not need anyone to testify concerning man [and human nature], for He Himself knew what was in man [in their hearts—in the very core of their being].(G)
Footnotes
- John 2:3 To fail to provide for the wedding guests would bring disgrace on the groom.
- John 2:4 Lit what to Me and to you (a Hebrew idiom).
- John 2:10 Or have become intoxicated.
- John 2:14 These were vendors profiting from the sale of certain animals for sacrifice, or from the exchange of foreign or pagan coins for temple currency (money approved by the priests to present as offerings).
- John 2:24 For some people this display of “belief” was not an abiding trust or true faith in Jesus as Savior (Messiah), but merely a temporary belief based on the excitement caused by witnessing His miracles. These people, whose belief was fleeting and superficial, were representative of the followers who abandoned Him later.
John 2
Expanded Bible
The Wedding at Cana
2 ·Two days later [L On the third day] there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee [C of uncertain location, probably near Nazareth]. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] were also invited to the wedding. 3 When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 Jesus answered, “·Dear woman [L Woman; C a respectful form of address in that culture], ·why come to me [what concern is that to me and to you; L what to me and to you]? My ·time [L hour; C here and throughout John, Jesus’ “hour” refers to his messianic sacrifice on the cross] has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”
6 In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in their washing ceremony [C a Jewish ritual before eating, before worshiping in the Temple, and at other special times]. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons [C Greek: two or three metretai; each about nine gallons or forty liters].
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the ·top [brim].
8 Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the ·master of the feast [chief steward; headwaiter].”
So they took the water to the master. 9 When he tasted it, the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who had brought the water knew. The ·master of the wedding [chief steward; headwaiter] called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “People always serve the ·best [expensive] wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking awhile [C and are less discriminating], they serve the ·cheaper [inferior] wine. But you have saved the ·best [expensive] wine till now.”
11 So in Cana of Galilee [see 2:1] Jesus did his first ·miracle [L sign; C Jesus’ miracles are called semeia, “signs,” in John’s Gospel]. There he ·showed [revealed; manifested] his ·glory [majesty], and his ·followers [disciples] believed in him.
Jesus in the Temple(A)
12 After this, Jesus went to the town of Capernaum [C a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee] with his mother, brothers, and ·followers [disciples]. They stayed there for just a few days. 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast [C annual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12], Jesus ·went [L went up] to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple [area; C not in the Temple proper, but in the outer courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles] he found people selling cattle, sheep, and ·doves [or pigeons; C for sacrifices in the Temple]. ·He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging different kinds of money [L …and moneychangers sitting; C the annual temple tax (Ex. 30:11–16) had to be paid in Tyrian shekels, because of their high quality silver]. 15 Jesus made a whip out of cords and forced all of them, ·both [with] the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of ·those who were exchanging it [L the moneychangers]. 16 Then he said to those who were selling ·doves [or pigeons], “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house [C the Temple was God’s home on earth; 1 Kin. 8] a ·place for buying and selling [L a house of market/trade]!”
17 When this happened, the ·followers [disciples] remembered what was written [C in the Scriptures]: ·“My strong love for your Temple completely controls me [L “Zeal for your house will consume me”; Ps. 69:9].”
18 Some of ·his people [L the Jews] ·said to [responded to; demanded of] Jesus, “Show us a ·miracle [L sign] to ·prove you have the right to do these things [justify your actions].”
19 Jesus ·answered [replied to] them, “Destroy this temple, and I will ·build [L raise] it again in three days [C an allusion to his resurrection; 2:22; Matt. 26:61; 27:40].”
20 ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] answered, “It took forty-six years [C Herod the Great began a reconstruction and expansion of the Temple complex in 20 bc, thus dating this statement to about ad 27] to ·build [reconstruct] this Temple! Do you really believe you can ·build [raise] it again in three days?”
21 (But the temple Jesus meant was his own body [C Jesus was claiming divinity, his body corresponding with the Temple, the home/dwelling place of God; 1:14]. 22 After Jesus was raised from the dead, his ·followers [disciples] remembered that Jesus had said this. Then they believed the Scripture [compare Ps. 16:10] and the words Jesus had said.)
23 When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast [see 2:13], many people ·believed [put their faith; trusted] in ·him [L his name] because they saw the ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] he did [4:48; Mark 8:11–13]. 24 But Jesus did not ·believe in [entrust/commit himself to] them because he knew them all. 25 He did not need anyone to ·tell [testify/witness to] him about ·people [human nature], because he knew what was in ·people’s minds [people’s hearts; L people].
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.