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John 5
New Testament for Everyone
John 5
New Testament for Everyone
The healing of the disabled man
5 After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 In Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a pool which is called, in Hebrew, Bethesda. It has five porticoes, 3 where several sick people were lying. They were blind, lame and paralyzed.
5 There was a man who had been there, in the same sick state, for thirty-eight years. 6 Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been there a long time already.
“Do you want to get well?” he asked him.
7 “Well, sir,” the sick man replied, “I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water gets stirred up. While I’m on my way there, someone else gets down before me.”
8 “Get up,” said Jesus, “pick up your mattress and walk!”
9 At once the man was healed. He picked up his mattress and walked.
God’s son breaks the sabbath!
The day all this happened was a sabbath. 10 So the Judaeans confronted the man who had been healed.
“It’s the sabbath!” they said. “You shouldn’t be carrying your mattress!”
11 “Well,” he replied, “the man who cured me told me to pick up my mattress and walk!”
12 “Oh, really?” they said. “And who is this man, who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 But the man who’d been healed didn’t know who it was. Jesus had gone away, and the place was crowded.
14 After this Jesus found the man in the Temple.
“Look!” he said. “You’re better again! Don’t sin anymore, or something worse might happen to you!”
15 The man went off and told the Judaeans that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 That was why the Judaeans began to persecute Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath.
17 This was Jesus’ response to them.
“My father,” he said, “is going on working, and so am I!”
18 So for this reason the Judaeans were all the more eager to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath, but spoke of God as his own father, making himself equal to God.
The coming judgment
19 So Jesus made this response to them.
“I’m telling you the solemn truth,” he said. “The son can do nothing by himself. He can only do what he sees the father doing. Whatever the father does, the son does too, and in the same way. 20 The father loves the son, you see, and shows him all the things that he’s doing. Yes: he will show him even greater things than these, and that’ll amaze you! 21 For, just as the father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the son gives life to anyone he chooses.
22 “The father doesn’t judge anyone, you see; he has handed over all judgment to the son, 23 so that everyone should honor the son just as they honor the father. Anyone who doesn’t honor the son doesn’t honor the father who sent him.
24 “I’m telling you the solemn truth: anyone who hears my word, and believes in the one who sent me, has the life of God’s coming age. Such a person won’t come into judgment; they will have passed out of death into life. 25 I’m telling you the solemn truth: the time is coming—in fact, it’s here already!—when the dead will hear the voice of God’s son, and those who hear it will live. 26 You see, just as the father has life in himself, in the same way he has given the son the privilege of having life in himself. 27 He has even given him authority to pass judgment, because he is the son of man.
28 “Don’t be surprised at this. The time is coming, you see, when everyone in the tombs will hear his voice. 29 They will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.”
The evidence in support of Jesus
30 “I can’t do anything on my own authority,” Jesus went on. “I judge on the basis of what I hear. And my judgment is just, because I’m not trying to carry out my own wishes, but the wishes of the one who sent me.
31 “If I give evidence about myself, my evidence isn’t true. 32 There is someone else who gives evidence about me, and I know that the evidence he brings about me is true. 33 You sent messengers to John, and he gave evidence about the truth. 34 Not that I need evidence from human beings; but I’m saying this so that you may be saved.
35 “John was a burning, bright lamp, and you were happy to celebrate in his light for a while. 36 But I have greater evidence on my side than that of John. The works which the father has given me to complete—these works, which I’m doing, will provide evidence about me, evidence that the father has sent me. 37 And the father who sent me has given evidence about me. You’ve never heard his voice; you’ve never seen his form. 38 What’s more, you haven’t got his word abiding in you, because you don’t believe in the one he sent.”
Jesus and Moses
39 “You study the Bible,” Jesus continued, “because you suppose that you’ll discover the life of God’s coming age in it. In fact, it’s the Bible which gives evidence about me! 40 But you won’t come to me so that you can have life.
41 “I’m not accepting glory from human beings; 42 but I know that you haven’t got the love of God within you. 43 I have come in the name of my father, and you won’t receive me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him! 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you’re not looking for the glory which comes from the one and only God?
45 “Don’t think that I’m going to accuse you to the father. There is someone who accuses you, namely Moses, the one you look to in hope! 46 You see, if you’d believed Moses, you would have believed me—because it was me he was writing about. 47 But if you don’t believe his writings, how are you going to believe my words?”
John 5
EasyEnglish Bible
John 5
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus makes a man able to walk
5 Some time after that, Jesus went to Jerusalem, because it was time for one of the Jewish festivals.
2 There is a pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. Its name in the Jewish language is Bethesda. Round the pool, there is a building with five places that have a roof over them. 3 A large number of sick people were lying in these places. Some of them were blind. Some of them could not walk properly. Some of them could not move their legs or their arms. [[a] They were waiting for when the water started to move. 4 An angel would go down into the pool at certain times and move the water about. When that happened, all the sick people tried to get into the pool. The first person who got into the water became well, whatever his illness was.]
5 One man who was lying there had been ill for 38 years. 6 Jesus saw this man. He knew that the man had been ill like this for a very long time. So he asked the man, ‘Do you want to get well?’ 7 The sick man said, ‘Sir, I do not have anyone who will help me. I need somebody who will put me into the pool. When the water starts to move, I try to get in. But someone else always gets in before me.’ 8 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ 9 The man became well immediately. He picked up his mat and he walked.
The day when this happened was a Jewish day of rest.[b] 10 Because of this, the Jewish leaders spoke to the man that Jesus had made well. They said to him, ‘You must not carry your mat on our day of rest. You are not obeying the rules.’ 11 The man replied, ‘The man who made me well said to me, “Pick up your mat and walk.” ’ 12 So they asked him, ‘Who is this man? Who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ 13 The man did not know who had made him well. Jesus had gone away and joined the crowd that was there.
14 Some time after that, Jesus found the man in the temple. Jesus said to him, ‘See, you have become well. Stop doing wrong things. If you do not stop, something worse may happen to you.’ 15 Then the man went to the Jewish leaders. He told them that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 The Jewish leaders were angry because Jesus had made a man well on their day of rest.[c] As a result, they began to cause a lot of trouble for Jesus. 17 But Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is still working, and I too must work.’ 18 Because Jesus said this, the Jewish leaders became really angry. They wanted even more to kill him. Jesus not only worked on the day of rest. He was also calling God his own Father, so he was making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus answered them, ‘I tell you this: The Son can do nothing by himself. He sees what the Father does, and he can do only those same things. What the Father does, the Son also does. 20 The Father loves the Son. He shows the Son all the things that he himself does. And the Father will show the Son even greater things to do than these. Those greater things will surprise you even more than what you have already seen. 21 The Father raises dead people to make them alive again. In the same way, the Son gives life to whoever he chooses. 22 More than that, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given authority to the Son, so that the Son will judge all people. 23 Then all people will respect the Son as a great person. They will respect him in the way that they respect the Father. The Father sent the Son. So if people refuse to respect the Son, it shows that they do not respect the Father either.
24 I tell you this: Everyone who hears my message should believe in the Father who sent me. If they believe in me, they will have life for ever with God. God will not say that they are guilty. They are no longer under the power of death. Instead, they have life with God.
25 I tell you this: A time will soon come when those who are dead in their spirits will hear the voice of the Son of God. Yes, it is that time already. Those people who hear that message will receive true life. 26 The Father himself can give people life. In the same way, he has given authority to the Son to give people life. 27 The Father has also given authority to the Son to judge people. That is because I am the Son of Man. 28 Do not be surprised by this. There will be a time when all the dead people will hear the Son's voice. 29 They will come out from under the ground. Those people who have done good things will rise from death and they will live with God. Those people who have done evil things will also rise from death. But they will rise so that God can punish them as guilty people.’
The Father shows who Jesus really is
30 Then Jesus said, ‘I can do nothing by myself. I hear what the Father says to me. Then, because of what he says, I judge people. So I judge in a way that is fair. I am not trying to do what I want for myself. The Father sent me, and I want to do what he wants. 31 If I say great things about myself, nobody would know that my words are true. 32 But there is someone else who speaks about me. I know that what he says about me is true. 33 You have sent your people to ask John about me. What he has told you about me is true. 34 I do not need any man to speak on my behalf. But I am telling you this to help you. Then God will be able to save you. 35 John was like a light that shone brightly. For a certain time, you enjoyed the light that he gave.
36 But it is not only John who shows who I am. There are other things that show it more strongly. My Father has given work to me so that I could finish it. These are the things that I do, and they show who I am. They show clearly that the Father has sent me. 37 Also, the Father himself has spoken about me. You have never heard his voice. And you have never seen his shape. 38 I am the one that he has sent. You do not receive his message because you do not believe in me. 39 You study carefully what the Bible teaches. You think that those books will give you life with God. And it is true, those books do speak about who I am. 40 But then you refuse to come to me so that you may have life with God!
41 I do not think that it is important for people to praise me. 42 But I know what kind of people you are. I know that you do not really love God. 43 I have come with my Father's authority, but you do not accept me. But if someone else comes with his own authority, then you will accept him. 44 You like to praise each other. That makes you happy. But what about God himself? You do not try to do good things so that he will praise you. That is why you will never believe in me.
45 But I will not have to tell the Father that you are guilty. No, it is Moses who will do that. You think that Moses is the one who will show that you are right. But he is the one who will show that you are guilty. 46 Moses wrote about me. So, if you had really believed Moses, you would believe me. 47 But you do not believe what Moses wrote.[d] So you will never believe what I say.’
Footnotes
- 5:3 These words are not in all the copies of John's Gospel.
- 5:9 The Jewish day of rest was the seventh day of the week (Saturday). God had said that Israel's people must not work on that day.
- 5:16 Jesus was obeying his Father, God. And God chose to make the man well on the Jewish day of rest. The man was not really working when he carried his mat. It was not a big heavy thing.
- 5:47 The first five books of the Old Testament in the Bible are called the books of Moses.
John 5
New International Version
John 5
New International Version
The Healing at the Pool
5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate(A) a pool, which in Aramaic(B) is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] [b] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”(C) 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,(D) 10 and so the Jewish leaders(E) said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”(F)
11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning(G) or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders(H) that it was Jesus who had made him well.
The Authority of the Son
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father(I) is always at his work(J) to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him;(K) not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.(L)
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself;(M) he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son(N) and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these,(O) so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,(P) even so the Son gives life(Q) to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,(R) 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.(S)
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me(T) has eternal life(U) and will not be judged(V) but has crossed over from death to life.(W) 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come(X) when the dead will hear(Y) the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life(Z) in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge(AA) because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming(AB) when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.(AC) 30 By myself I can do nothing;(AD) I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just,(AE) for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.(AF)
Testimonies About Jesus
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.(AG) 32 There is another who testifies in my favor,(AH) and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified(AI) to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony;(AJ) but I mention it that you may be saved.(AK) 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light,(AL) and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John.(AM) For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing(AN)—testify that the Father has sent me.(AO) 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me.(AP) You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,(AQ) 38 nor does his word dwell in you,(AR) for you do not believe(AS) the one he sent.(AT) 39 You study[c] the Scriptures(AU) diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life.(AV) These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,(AW) 40 yet you refuse to come to me(AX) to have life.
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings,(AY) 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[d]?(AZ)
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses,(BA) on whom your hopes are set.(BB) 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.(BC) 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”(BD)
Footnotes
- John 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethzatha; other manuscripts Bethsaida
- John 5:4 Some manuscripts include here, wholly or in part, paralyzed—and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.
- John 5:39 Or 39 Study
- John 5:44 Some early manuscripts the Only One
John 5
New King James Version
John 5
New King James Version
A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda
5 After (A)this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus (B)went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem (C)by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, [a]Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, [b]paralyzed, [c]waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, (D)“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
And (E)that day was the Sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; (F)it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was (G)healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. (H)Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Honor the Father and the Son
16 For this reason the Jews (I)persecuted Jesus, [d]and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, (J)“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
18 Therefore the Jews (K)sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, (L)making Himself equal with God. 19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (M)the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For (N)the Father loves the Son, and (O)shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, (P)even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but (Q)has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. (R)He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Life and Judgment Are Through the Son
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, (S)he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, (T)but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when (U)the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For (V)as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have (W)life in Himself, 27 and (X)has given Him authority to execute judgment also, (Y)because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will (Z)hear His voice 29 (AA)and come forth—(AB)those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 (AC)I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because (AD)I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
The Fourfold Witness
31 (AE)“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not [e]true. 32 (AF)There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, (AG)and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and (AH)shining lamp, and (AI)you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But (AJ)I have a greater witness than John’s; for (AK)the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very (AL)works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, (AM)has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, (AN)nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 (AO)You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and (AP)these are they which testify of Me. 40 (AQ)But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
41 (AR)“I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 (AS)How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek (AT)the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; (AU)there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; (AV)for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you (AW)do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
New Testament for Everyone (NTFE) 
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. 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.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.