John 5:30-35
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Witnesses to Jesus
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.(A)
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.(B) 32 There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true.(C) 33 You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth.(D) 34 Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.(E)
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John 5:30-35
New English Translation
30 I can do nothing on my own initiative.[a] Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just,[b] because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.[c]
More Testimony About Jesus
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another[d] who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true. 33 You have sent to John,[e] and he has testified to the truth. 34 (I do not accept[f] human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining,[g] and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time[h] in his light.
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- John 5:30 tn Grk “nothing from myself.”
- John 5:30 tn Or “righteous,” or “proper.”
- John 5:30 tn That is, “the will of the Father who sent me.”
- John 5:32 sn To whom does another refer? To John the Baptist or to the Father? In the nearer context, v. 33, it would seem to be John the Baptist. But v. 34 seems to indicate that Jesus does not receive testimony from men. Probably it is better to view v. 32 as identical to v. 37, with the comments about the Baptist as a parenthetical digression.
- John 5:33 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
- John 5:34 tn Or “I do not receive.”
- John 5:35 sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah “burned like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.
- John 5:35 tn Grk “for an hour.”
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