John 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 2 One lying at the pool, 5 is healed of Christ on the Sabbath. 10 The Jews that rashly find fault with that his deed, 17 he convinceth with the authority of his Father, 19, 20 He proveth his divine power by many reasons, 45 and with Moses’ testimony.
1 After (A)that, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went to Jerusalem.
2 [a]And there is at Jerusalem by the place of the sheep, a [b]pool called in Hebrew [c]Bethesda, having five porches:
3 In the which lay a great multitude of sick folk, of blind, halt, and withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an Angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first, after the stirring of the water, stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5 And a certain man was there, which had been diseased eight and thirty years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he now long time had been diseased, he said unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus said unto him, Rise: take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and the same day was the Sabbath.
10 [d]The Jews therefore said to him that was made whole, It is the Sabbath day: (B)it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
11 He answered them, He that made me whole he said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13 And he that was healed, knew not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away from the multitude that was in that place.
14 And after that, Jesus found him in the Temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
15 ¶ The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus that had made him whole.
16 And therefore the Jews did persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day.
17 [e]But Jesus answered them, My father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 (C)Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him: not only because he had broken the Sabbath: but said also that God was [f]his Father, and made himself equal with God.
19 Then answered Jesus, and said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, The Son can do nothing [g]of himself, save that he [h]seeth the Father do: for whatsoever things he doeth, the same things doeth the Son [i]in like manner.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things, whatsoever he himself doeth, and he will show him greater works than these, that ye should marvel.
21 [j]For likewise as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
22 For the Father [k]judgeth [l]no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son,
23 Because that all men should honor the Son, as they honor the Father: he that honoreth not the Son, the same honoreth not the Father which hath sent him.
24 [m]Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but hath passed from death to life.
25 [n]Verily, verily I say unto you, the hour shall come, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear it shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself, so likewise hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.
27 And hath given him [o]power also to execute judgment, in that he is the [p]Son of man.
28 [q]Marvel not at this: for the hour shall come, in the which all that are in the graves, shall hear his voice.
29 [r]And they shall come [s]forth, (D)that have done good, unto the [t]resurrection of life: but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of condemnation.
30 [u]I can [v]do nothing of mine own self: [w]as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent me.
31 If I (E)should bear witness of myself, my witness were not [x]true.
32 (F)There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness, which he beareth of me, is true.
33 (G)[y]Ye sent unto John, and he bore witness unto the truth.
34 But I receive not the record of man: nevertheless these things I say, that ye might be saved.
35 He was a burning and a shining candle: and ye would for [z]a season have rejoiced in his light.
36 But I have greater witness than the witness of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father sent me.
37 And the (H)Father himself, which hath sent me, beareth witness of me. Ye have not heard his voice at any time, (I)neither have ye seen his shape.
38 And his word have you not abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believed not.
39 (J)Search the Scriptures: for in them ye think to have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.
40 But ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
41 I receive not the praise of men.
42 But I know you, that ye have not the [aa]love of God in you.
43 I am come in my Father’s Name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him will ye receive.
44 How can ye believe, which receive (K)honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh of God alone?
45 [ab]Do not think that I will accuse you to my Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he (L)wrote of me.
47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words.
Footnotes
- John 5:2 There is no disease so old, which Christ cannot heal.
- John 5:2 Whereof cattle drank, and used to be plunged in; whereof there could not be but great store at Jerusalem.
- John 5:2 That is to say, the house of pouring out, because great store of water was poured out into that place.
- John 5:10 True religion is no more cruelly assaulted by any means, than by the pretence of religion itself.
- John 5:17 The work of God was never the breach of the Sabbath: but the works of Christ are the works of the Father, both because they are one God, and also because the Father doth not work but in the Son.
- John 5:18 That is, his only and no man’s else, which they gather by that, that he saith, (And I work) applying this word (work) to himself, which is proper to God, and therefore maketh himself equal to God.
- John 5:19 Not only without his Father’s authority, but also without his mighty working and power.
- John 5:19 This must be understood of Christ’s person, which consisteth of two natures, and not simply of his Godhead: so then he saith that his Father moveth and governeth him in all things, but yet notwithstanding, when he saith he worketh with his Father, he voucheth his Godhead.
- John 5:19 In like sort, jointly and together. Not for that the Father doeth some things, and then the son worketh after him, and doeth the like, but because the might and power of the Father and the Son do work equally and jointly together.
- John 5:21 The Father maketh no man partaker of everlasting life, but in Christ, in whom only also he is truly worshipped.
- John 5:22 This word (judgeth) is taken by the figure Synecdoche, for all government.
- John 5:22 These words are not so to be taken, as though they simply denied that God governeth the world, but as the Jews imagined it, which separate the Father from the Son, whereas indeed, the Father doth not govern the world but only in the person of his Son, being made manifest in the flesh: so saith he afterward, verse 30, that he came not to do his own will: that his doctrine is not his own, John 7:16, that the blind man and his parents sinned not, etc., John 9:3.
- John 5:24 The Father is not worshipped but by his Son’s word apprehended by faith, which is the only way that leadeth to eternal life.
- John 5:25 We are all dead in sin and cannot be quickened by any other means, than by the word of Christ apprehended by faith.
- John 5:27 That is, high and sovereign power to rule and govern all things, insomuch that he hath power of life and death.
- John 5:27 That is, he shall not only judge the world as he is God, but also as he is man, he received this of his Father to be judge of the world.
- John 5:28 All shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ at length to be judged.
- John 5:29 Faith and infidelity shall be judged by their fruits.
- John 5:29 Of their graves.
- John 5:29 To that resurrection which had life everlasting following it: against which is set the resurrection of condemnation: that is, which condemnation followeth.
- John 5:30 The father is the author and approver of all things which Christ doeth.
- John 5:30 See verse 22.
- John 5:30 As my father directeth me, who dwelleth in me.
- John 5:31 Faithful, that is, worthy to be credited, see John 8:14.
- John 5:33 Christ is declared to be the only Savior by John’s voice, and infinite miracles, and by the testimonies of all the Prophets. But the world notwithstanding being addicted to false prophets, and desirous to seem religious, seeth none of all these things.
- John 5:35 A little while.
- John 5:42 Love toward God.
- John 5:45 This denial doth not put away that which is here said, but correcteth it, as if Christ said, the Jews shall have no sorer an accuser than Moses.
John 5
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool
5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.
2 Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. 3 Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie.[a] 5 One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. 6 Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”
7 The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”
8 Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” 9 The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.
That happened on a day of rest—a holy day. 10 So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of rest—a holy day. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”
11 The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”
12 The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” 13 But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)
14 Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”
15 The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.
The Son Is Equal to the Father
16 The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of rest—a holy day. 17 Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”
18 His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of rest—a holy day, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.
19 Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. 21 In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.
22 “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son 23 so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. 24 I can guarantee this truth: Those who listen to what I say and believe in the one who sent me will have eternal life. They won’t be judged because they have already passed from death to life.
25 “I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live. 26 The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too.
27 “He has also given the Son authority to pass judgment because he is the Son of Man.[b] 28 Don’t be surprised at what I’ve just said. A time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice, 29 and they will come out of their tombs. Those who have done good will come back to life and live. But those who have done evil will come back to life and will be judged. 30 I can’t do anything on my own. As I listen ⌞to the Father⌟, I make my judgments. My judgments are right because I don’t try to do what I want but what the one who sent me wants.
31 “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say isn’t true. 32 Someone else testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. 33 You sent people to John ⌞the Baptizer⌟, and he testified to the truth. 34 But I don’t depend on human testimony. I’m telling you this to save you. 35 John was a lamp that gave off brilliant light. For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light. 36 But I have something that testifies more favorably on my behalf than John’s testimony. The tasks that the Father gave me to carry out, these tasks which I perform, testify on my behalf. They prove that the Father has sent me. 37 The Father who sent me testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice, and you have never seen his form. 38 So you don’t have the Father’s message within you, because you don’t believe in the person he has sent. 39 You study the Scriptures in detail because you think you have the source of eternal life in them. These Scriptures testify on my behalf. 40 Yet, you don’t want to come to me to get ⌞eternal⌟ life.
41 “I don’t accept praise from humans. 42 But I know what kind of people you are. You don’t have any love for God. 43 I have come with the authority my Father has given me, but you don’t accept me. If someone else comes with his own authority, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and don’t look for the praise that comes from the only God?
45 “Don’t think that I will accuse you in the presence of the Father. Moses, the one you trust, is already accusing you. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me. Moses wrote about me. 47 If you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how will you ever believe what I say?”
Footnotes
- 5:3 Some manuscripts and translations add verses 3b–4: “They would wait for the water to move. People believed that at a certain time an angel from the Lord would go into the pool and stir up the water. The first person who would step into the water after it was stirred up would be cured from whatever disease he had.”
- 5:27 “Son of Man ” is a name Jesus called himself to show that he was not only God’s Son but also human.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.