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John 7:40-53
New Living Translation
John 7:40-53
New Living Translation
Division and Unbelief
40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”[a] 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”[b] 43 So the crowd was divided about him. 44 Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.
47 “Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. 48 “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? 49 This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”
50 Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. 51 “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes[c] from Galilee!”
[The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]
53 Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.
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John 7:40-53
English Standard Version
John 7:40-53
English Standard Version
Division Among the People
40 When they heard these words, (A)some of the people said, “This really is (B)the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is (C)the Christ.” But some said, (D)“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes (E)from the offspring of David, and comes (F)from Bethlehem, the village (G)where David was?” 43 So there was (H)a division among the people over him. 44 (I)Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 (J)The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, (K)“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, (L)“Have you also been deceived? 48 (M)Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 (N)Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 (O)“Does our law judge a man without first (P)giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, (Q)“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that (R)no prophet arises from Galilee.”
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.][a]
The Woman Caught in Adultery
53 [[They went each to his own house,
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- John 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text
John 7:40-53
Amplified Bible
John 7:40-53
Amplified Bible
Division of People over Jesus
40 Listening to these words, some of the people said, “This is certainly the Prophet!”(A) 41 Others said, “This is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!” But others said, “Surely the Christ is not going to come out of Galilee, is He? 42 Does the Scripture not say that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”(B) 43 So the crowd was divided because of Him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
45 Then the guards went [back] to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring Him [here with you]?” 46 The guards replied, “Never [at any time] has a man talked the way this Man talks!” 47 Then the Pharisees said to them, “Have you also been deluded and swept off your feet? 48 Has any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this [ignorant, contemptible] crowd that does not know the Law is accursed and doomed!” 50 Nicodemus (the one who came to Jesus before and was one of them) asked, 51 “Does our Law convict someone without first giving him a hearing and finding out what he is [accused of] doing?” 52 They responded, “Are you also from Galilee? Search [and read the Scriptures], and see [for yourself] that no prophet comes from Galilee!” 53 [a][And everyone went to his own house.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 7:53 Most late mss include the story of the adulterous woman, numbering it as 7:53-8:11, though some mss place it elsewhere in the text. The story is considered authentic as part of the oral tradition of the early church, and perhaps for that reason it was inserted in John’s Gospel.
John 7:40-53
The Message
John 7:40-53
The Message
40-44 Those in the crowd who heard these words were saying, “This has to be the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Messiah!” But others were saying, “The Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? Don’t the Scriptures tell us that the Messiah comes from David’s line and from Bethlehem, David’s village?” So there was a split in the crowd over him. Some went so far as wanting to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 That’s when the Temple police reported back to the high priests and Pharisees, who demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him with you?”
46 The police answered, “Have you heard the way he talks? We’ve never heard anyone speak like this man.”
47-49 The Pharisees said, “Are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? You don’t see any of the leaders believing in him, do you? Or any from the Pharisees? It’s only this crowd, ignorant of God’s Law, that is taken in by him—and damned.”
50-51 Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus earlier and was both a ruler and a Pharisee, spoke up. “Does our Law decide about a man’s guilt without first listening to him and finding out what he is doing?”
52-53 But they cut him off. “Are you also campaigning for the Galilean? Examine the evidence. See if any prophet ever comes from Galilee.”
[Then they all went home.
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John 7:40-53
New International Version
John 7:40-53
New International Version
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”(A)
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?(B) 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants(C) and from Bethlehem,(D) the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided(E) because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.(F)
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,”(G) the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?”(H) the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?(I) 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus,(J) who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”(K)
[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]
53 Then they all went home,
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.