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John 5
J.B. Phillips New Testament
John 5
J.B. Phillips New Testament
Jesus heals in Jerusalem
5 1-6 Some time later came one of the Jewish feast-days and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. There is in Jerusalem near the sheep-gate a pool surrounded by five arches, which has the Hebrew name of Bethzatha (the Pool of Bethesda). Under these arches a great many sick people were in the habit of lying; some of them were blind, some lame, and some had withered limbs. (They used to wait there for the “moving of the water”, for at certain times an angel used to come down into the pool and disturb the water, and then the first person who stepped into the water after the disturbance would be healed of whatever he was suffering from.) One particular man had been there ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there on his back—knowing that he had been like that for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well again?”
7 “Sir,” replied the sick man, “I just haven’t got anybody to put me into the pool when the water is all stirred up. While I’m trying to get there somebody else gets down into it first.”
8 “Get up,” said Jesus, “pick up your bed and walk!”
9 At once the man recovered, picked up his bed and walked.
10 This happened on a Sabbath day, which made the Jews keep on telling the man who had been healed, “It’s the Sabbath, you know; it’s not right for you to carry your bed.”
11 “The man who made me well,” he replied, “was the one who told me, ‘Pick up your bed and walk.’”
12 Then they asked him, “And who is the man who told you to do that?”
13-14 But the one who had been healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away in the dense crowd. Later Jesus found him in the Temple and said to him, “Look: you are a fit man now. Do not sin again or something worse might happen to you!”
15 Then the man went off and informed the Jews that the one who had made him well was Jesus.
16-17 It was because Jesus did such things on the Sabbath day that the Jews persecuted him. But Jesus’ answer to them was this, “My Father is still at work and therefore I work as well.”
18 This remark made the Jews all the more determined to kill him, because not only did he break the Sabbath but he referred to God as his own Father, so putting himself on equal terms with God.
Jesus makes his tremendous claim
19-29 Jesus said to them, “I assure you that the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. What the Son does is always modelled on what the Father does, for the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he does himself, Yes, and he will show him even greater things than these to fill you with wonder. For just as the Father raises the dead and makes them live, so does the Son give life to any man he chooses. The Father is no man’s judge: he has put judgment entirely into the Son’s hands, so that all men may honour the Son equally with the Father. The man who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. I solemnly assure you that the man who hears what I have to say and believes in the one who has sent me has eternal life. He does not have to face judgment; he has already passed from death into life. Yes, I assure you that a time is coming, in fact has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and when they have heard it they will live! For just as the Father has life in himself, so by the Father’s gift, the Son also has life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is Son of Man. No, do not be surprised—the time is coming when all those who are dead and buried will hear his voice and out they will come—those who have done right will rise again to life, but those who have done wrong will rise to face judgment!
30-37a “By myself I can do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is true because I do not live to please myself but to do the will of the Father who sent me. You may say that I am bearing witness about myself, that therefore what I say about myself has no value, but I would remind you that there is one who witnesses about me and I know that his witness about me is absolutely true. You sent to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that it is man’s testimony that I accept—I only tell you this to help you to be saved. John certainly was a lamp that burned and shone, and for a time you were willing to enjoy the light that he gave. But I have a higher testimony than John’s. The work that the Father gave me to complete, yes, these very actions which I do are my witness that the Father has sent me. This is how the Father who has sent me has given his own personal testimony to me.
37b-47 “Now you have never at any time heard what he says or seen what he is like. Nor do you really believe his word in your hearts, for you refuse to believe the man who he has sent. You pore over the scriptures for you imagine that you will find eternal life in them. And all the time they give their testimony to me! But you are not willing to come to me to have real life! Men’s approval or disapproval means nothing to me, but I can tell that you have none of the love of God in your hearts. I have come in the name of my Father and you will not accept me. Yet if another man comes simply in his own name, you will accept him. How on earth can you believe while you are for ever looking for each other’s approval and not for the glory that comes from the one God? There is no need for you to think that I have come to accuse you before the Father. You already have an accuser—Moses, in whom you put all your confidence! For if you really believed Moses, you would be bound to believe me; for is was about me that he wrote. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say”?
John 5
Worldwide English (New Testament)
John 5
Worldwide English (New Testament)
5 After that, the Jews had a feast and Jesus went to Jerusalem.
2 In Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a wide water hole. The Jews called this water hole Bethesda. It had five places with roofs for people to stand under.
3 Many sick people were lying on these places. Some of them were blind. Some were lame. Some were very thin and stiff so that they could not move by themselves. All of them were waiting for the water to move.
4 An angel came down into the water at a certain time and made it move. The first person who stepped into the water when it moved was healed of any sickness that he had.
5 A man was there who had been sick for thirty eight years.
6 Jesus saw the man lying there. He knew that he had been sick for a long time. He said to him, `Do you want to be healed?'
7 The sick man said to him, `Sir, I have no man to put me into the water when it moves. While I am trying to get in, some other person comes and gets in before me.'
8 Jesus said, `Get up. Take up your bed and walk!'
9 The man was healed right away. He took up his bed and walked. This happened on the Sabbath day.
10 So the leaders of the Jews talked to the man who was healed. They said, `It is the Sabbath day. It is not right for you to carry your bed.'
11 But he answered them, `The man who healed me said to me, "Take up your bed and walk." '
12 They asked him, `Who is the man who told you to take up your bed and walk?'
13 The man who was healed said, `I do not know who he is.' Many people were at the place and Jesus had gone away.
14 After that, Jesus saw the man in the temple. He said to him, `See, you are healed. Do no more wrong things. If you do, something worse may happen to you.'
15 The man went away and told the leaders of the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
16 The Jewish leaders made trouble for Jesus because he did this on the Sabbath day.
17 But Jesus answered them, `My Father is still working and I am working also.'
18 This was why the leaders of the Jews tried much more to kill Jesus. He had broken the law of the Sabbath day. And also he called God his Father. In that way, he was making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus said to them, `l tell you the truth. The Son cannot do anything alone. He sees what his Father is doing and he does the same.
20 My Father loves his Son. He shows him all that he himself is doing. He will show his Son bigger works than these so that you may be surprised.
21 My Father raises people who were dead, and gives them life. So his Son gives life to anyone he wants to.
22 My Father judges no one, but he has made his Son to be the judge of everything.
23 He did this so that all people would respect the Son, just as they respect his Father. My Father has sent his Son. Anyone who does not respect his Son does not respect the Father.
24 `I tell you the truth. The person who hears what I say and believes in him that sent me will live for ever. He will not be judged. He has already passed from death to life.
25 `I tell you the truth. The time is coming. Yes, the time is here when the dead people will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear his voice will live.
26 My Father has life in himself. And so he has made his Son to have life in himself.
27 He has given his Son power also to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 Do not be surprised at what I say. The time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice.
29 They will come out of the graves. Those who have done what is good will come out to live. But those who have done what is wrong will come out to be punished.
30 `I have no right to do anything myself. I judge the way I am told to judge. The way I judge people is right. I do not do what I myself want to do, but I do what my Father wants me to do. He sent me.
31 `If I talk about myself, then what I say is not true.
32 But someone else also speaks about me. I know what he says about me is true.
33 You sent someone to John and he has told you the truth about me.
34 I do not need to listen to what a person says about me. But I tell you this so that you may be saved.
35 John was a light burning and shining. For a while you were happy to be in his light.
36 But I have something greater than John to talk for me. It is the works that I do. My Father has given me works to finish. The works that I do tell that he sent me.
37 And my Father who sent me has himself talked about me. You have never heard him speak and you do not know what he is like.
38 The word he talks is not in your hearts, because you do not believe the one he sent to you.
39 `You read holy writings carefully. You think that there you will find out how to live for ever. In the same writings you will read about me.
40 And yet you will not come to me for that life.
41 I do not want people to call me great.
42 But I know that you do not love God in your hearts.
43 I have come in my Father's name, but you will not receive me. If another person comes in his own name, then you will receive him.
44 How can you believe? You are always calling each other great, but you do not want the only God to make you great.
45 Do not think that I will carry a complaint against you to my Father. Moses has already carried the complaint against you. He is the very one you trust.
46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me too, because he wrote about me.
47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?'
John 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
John 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5[a]
Cure on a Sabbath. 1 After this, there was a feast[b] of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(A) 2 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep [Gate][c] a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.(B) 3 In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.[d] [4 ][e] 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”(C) 9 Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.(D)
Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”(E) 11 He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13 The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.(F) 14 [f]After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,(G) “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.(H) 17 [g]But Jesus answered them,(I) “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.(J)
The Work of the Son. 19 [h]Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing;(K) for what he does, his son will do also. 20 For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.(L) 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,[i] so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.(M) 22 Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment[j] to his Son,(N) 23 so 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. 24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.(O) 25 Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.(P) 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself.(Q) 27 And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man.(R) 28 [k]Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice(S) 29 and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.(T)
30 “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.(U)
Witnesses to Jesus. 31 (V)“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. 32 But there is another[l] who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. 33 You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.(W) 34 I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved.(X) 35 He was a burning and shining lamp,[m] and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.(Y) 36 But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.(Z) 37 Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,(AA) 38 and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.(AB) 39 You search[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf.(AC) 40 But you do not want to come to me to have life.
Unbelief of Jesus’ Hearers. 41 “I do not accept human praise;[o] 42 moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.(AD) 43 I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.(AE) 44 How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?(AF) 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.(AG) 46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.(AH) 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Footnotes
- 5:1–47 The self-revelation of Jesus continues in Jerusalem at a feast. The third sign (cf. Jn 2:11; 4:54) is performed, the cure of a paralytic by Jesus’ life-giving word. The water of the pool fails to bring life; Jesus’ word does.
- 5:1 The reference in Jn 5:45–46 to Moses suggests that the feast was Pentecost. The connection of that feast with the giving of the law to Moses on Sinai, attested in later Judaism, may already have been made in the first century. The feast could also be Passover (cf. Jn 6:4). John stresses that the day was a sabbath (Jn 5:9).
- 5:2 There is no noun with Sheep. “Gate” is supplied on the grounds that there must have been a gate in the NE wall of the temple area where animals for sacrifice were brought in; cf. Neh 3:1, 32; 12:39. Hebrew: more precisely, Aramaic. Bethesda: preferred to variants “Be(th)zatha” and “Bethsaida”; bêt-’ešdatayīn is given as the name of a double pool northeast of the temple area in the Qumran Copper Roll. Five porticoes: a pool excavated in Jerusalem actually has five porticoes.
- 5:3 The Caesarean and Western recensions, followed by the Vulgate, add “waiting for the movement of the water.” Apparently an intermittent spring in the pool bubbled up occasionally (see Jn 5:7). This turbulence was believed to cure.
- 5:4 Toward the end of the second century in the West and among the fourth-century Greek Fathers, an additional verse was known: “For [from time to time] an angel of the Lord used to come down into the pool; and the water was stirred up, so the first one to get in [after the stirring of the water] was healed of whatever disease afflicted him.” The angel was a popular explanation of the turbulence and the healing powers attributed to it. This verse is missing from all early Greek manuscripts and the earliest versions, including the original Vulgate. Its vocabulary is markedly non-Johannine.
- 5:14 While the cure of the paralytic in Mk 2:1–12 is associated with the forgiveness of sins, Jesus never drew a one-to-one connection between sin and suffering (cf. Jn 9:3; Lk 12:1–5), as did Ez 18:20.
- 5:17 Sabbath observance (Jn 5:10) was based on God’s resting on the seventh day (cf. Gn 2:2–3; Ex 20:11). Philo and some rabbis insisted that God’s providence remains active on the sabbath, keeping all things in existence, giving life in birth and taking it away in death. Other rabbis taught that God rested from creating, but not from judging (= ruling, governing). Jesus here claims the same authority to work as the Father, and, in the discourse that follows, the same divine prerogatives: power over life and death (Jn 5:21, 24–26) and judgment (Jn 5:22, 27).
- 5:19 This proverb or parable is taken from apprenticeship in a trade: the activity of a son is modeled on that of his father. Jesus’ dependence on the Father is justification for doing what the Father does.
- 5:21 Gives life: in the Old Testament, a divine prerogative (Dt 32:39; 1 Sm 2:6; 2 Kgs 5:7; Tb 13:2; Is 26:19; Dn 12:2).
- 5:22 Judgment: another divine prerogative, often expressed as acquittal or condemnation (Dt 32:36; Ps 43:1).
- 5:28–29 While Jn 5:19–27 present realized eschatology, Jn 5:28–29 are future eschatology; cf. Dn 12:2.
- 5:32 Another: likely the Father, who in four different ways gives testimony to Jesus, as indicated in the verse groupings Jn 5:33–34, 36, 37–38, 39–40.
- 5:35 Lamp: cf. Ps 132:17—“I will place a lamp for my anointed (= David),” and possibly the description of Elijah in Sir 48:1. But only for a while, indicating the temporary and subordinate nature of John’s mission.
- 5:39 You search: this may be an imperative: “Search the scriptures, because you think that you have eternal life through them.”
- 5:41 Praise: the same Greek word means “praise” or “honor” (from others) and “glory” (from God). There is a play on this in Jn 5:44.
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
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
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