John 7
Lexham English Bible
Jesus’ Brothers Do Not Believe in Him
7 And after these things Jesus was going about in Galilee. For he did not want to go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews—the feast of Tabernacles—was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Depart from here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also can see your works that you are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret and yet he himself desires to be publicly recognized.[a] If you are doing these things, reveal yourself to the world!” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)
Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
6 So Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it, that its deeds are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not[b] going up to this feast, because my time is not yet completed.[c] 9 And when he[d] had said these things, he remained in Galilee.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not openly, but (as it were) in secret. 11 So the Jews were looking for him at the feast, and were saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was a lot of grumbling concerning him among the crowds; some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others were saying, “No, but he deceives the crowd.” 13 However, no one was speaking openly about him for fear of the Jews.
14 Now when the feast was already half over,[e] Jesus went to the temple courts[f] and began to teach.[g] 15 Then the Jews were astonished, saying, “How does this man possess knowledge,[h] because he[i] has not been taught?” 16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not mine, but is from the one who sent me. 17 If anyone wants to do his will, he will know about my[j] teaching, whether it is from God or I am speaking from myself. 18 The one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory. But the one who seeks the glory of the one who sent him—this one is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law, and none of you carries out the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”
20 The crowd replied, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I performed one work, and you are all astonished. 22 Because of this Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses would not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a whole man well[k] on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to outward appearance, but judge according to righteous judgment!”
Is Jesus the Christ?
25 Then some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem began to say,[l] “Is this not the one whom they are seeking to kill? 26 And behold, he is speaking openly and they are saying nothing to him! Can it be that the rulers truly know that this man is the Christ? 27 Yet we know where this man is from, but the Christ, whenever he comes—no one knows where he is from!”
28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple courts,[m] teaching and saying, “You both know me and you know where I am from! And I have not come from myself, but the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know. 29 I know him, because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 So they were seeking to seize him, and no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 But from the crowd many believed in him and were saying, “Whenever the Christ comes, he will not perform more signs than this man has done, will he?”[n]
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers in order to take him into custody .[o] 33 Then Jesus said, “Yet a little time I am with you, and I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will seek me and will not find me,[p][q] and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 So the Jews said to one another, “Where is this one going to go, that we will not find him? He is not going to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he?[r] 36 What is this saying that he said, ‘You will seek me and will not find me,[s][t] and where I am, you cannot come’?”
The Promise of the Spirit
37 Now on the last day of the feast—the great day—Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let him drink, 38 the one who believes in me.[u] Just as the scripture said, ‘Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.’”[v] 39 Now he said this concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. For the Spirit was not yet given,[w] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)
Different Opinions About Jesus
40 Then, when they[x] heard these words, some from the crowd began to say,[y] “This man is truly the Prophet!” 41 Others were saying, “This man is the Christ!” But others were saying, “No, for the Christ does not come from Galilee, does he?[z] 42 Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 And some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 So the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees. And they said to them, “Why[aa] did you not bring him?” 46 The officers replied, “Never has a man spoken like this!” 47 Then the Pharisees replied to them, “You have not also been deceived, have you?[ab] 48 None[ac] of the rulers or of the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?[ad] 49 But this crowd who does not know the law is accursed!”
50 Nicodemus, the one who came to him previously—who was one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law does not condemn a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?”[ae] 52 They answered and said to him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you?[af] Investigate and see that a prophet does not arise from Galilee!” [[53 And each one went to his own house.[ag]
Footnotes
- John 7:4 Literally “with openness”
- John 7:8 Most manuscripts read “not yet” here, but this is obviously an easier reading intended to reconcile the statement with Jesus’ later actions
- John 7:8 Or “fulfilled”
- John 7:9 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had said”) which is understood as temporal
- John 7:14 Literally “now it being already in the middle of the feast”
- John 7:14 Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- John 7:14 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to teach”)
- John 7:15 Literally “know letters”
- John 7:15 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“been taught”) which is understood as causal
- John 7:17 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- John 7:23 Or “a man entirely well”
- John 7:25 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
- John 7:28 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- John 7:31 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “will he”
- John 7:32 Literally “that they could seize him”
- John 7:34 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 7:34 Some manuscripts explicitly state “me”
- John 7:35 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “is he”
- John 7:36 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 7:36 Some manuscripts explicitly state “me”
- John 7:38 An alternative punctuation of vv. 37–38 reads: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and let him drink. 38 The one who believes in me, just as the scripture said, ‘Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.’”
- John 7:38 A quotation from the Old Testament of uncertain origin; texts most often suggested are Isa 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Zech 14:8
- John 7:39 A few manuscripts supply the participle “given” here; while it is unlikely this represents the original reading, many English versions nevertheless supply “given” to avoid the impression that the Spirit did not exist prior to this point
- John 7:40 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- John 7:40 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
- John 7:41 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “does he”
- John 7:45 Literally “because of what”
- John 7:47 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “have you”
- John 7:48 Literally “not anyone”
- John 7:48 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “have they”
- John 7:51 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “does it”
- John 7:52 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “are you”
- John 7:53 John 7:53–8:11 is not found in the earliest and best manuscripts and was almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John; one significant group of Greek manuscripts places it after Luke 21:38
John 7
English Standard Version
Jesus at the Feast of Booths
7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because (A)the Jews[a] were seeking to kill him. 2 Now (B)the Jews' Feast of (C)Booths was at hand. 3 (D)So his brothers[b] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, (E)show yourself to the world.” 5 (F)For not even (G)his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, (H)“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but (I)it hates me because I testify about it that (J)its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not[c] going up to this feast, for (K)my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after (L)his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 (M)The Jews (N)were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much (O)muttering about him among the people. (P)While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, (Q)he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet (R)for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up (S)into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore (T)marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,[d] when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, (U)“My teaching is not mine, but his (V)who sent me. 17 (W)If anyone's will is to do God's[e] will, (X)he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I (Y)am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority (Z)seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 (AA)Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. (AB)Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, (AC)“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did (AD)one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 (AE)Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but (AF)from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, (AG)are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 (AH)Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Can This Be the Christ?
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom (AI)they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, (AJ)speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that (AK)the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But (AL)we know (AM)where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, (AN)no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, (AO)as he taught in the temple, (AP)“You know me, and you know where I come from. But (AQ)I have not come of my own accord. (AR)He who sent me is true, (AS)and him you do not know. 29 (AT)I know him, for I come (AU)from him, and (AV)he sent me.” 30 (AW)So they were seeking to arrest him, but (AX)no one laid a hand on him, (AY)because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet (AZ)many of the people believed in him. They said, (BA)“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd (BB)muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent (BC)officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, (BD)“I will be with you a little longer, and then (BE)I am going to him who sent me. 34 (BF)You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? (BG)Does he intend to go to (BH)the Dispersion among (BI)the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, (BJ)‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
Rivers of Living Water
37 (BK)On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, (BL)“If anyone thirsts, let him (BM)come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, (BN)as[f] the Scripture has said, (BO)‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of (BP)living water.’” 39 Now (BQ)this he said about the Spirit, (BR)whom those who believed in him were to receive, (BS)for as yet the Spirit had not been (BT)given, (BU)because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Division Among the People
40 When they heard these words, (BV)some of the people said, “This really is (BW)the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is (BX)the Christ.” But some said, (BY)“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes (BZ)from the offspring of David, and comes (CA)from Bethlehem, the village (CB)where David was?” 43 So there was (CC)a division among the people over him. 44 (CD)Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 (CE)The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, (CF)“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, (CG)“Have you also been deceived? 48 (CH)Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 (CI)Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 (CJ)“Does our law judge a man without first (CK)giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, (CL)“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that (CM)no prophet arises from Galilee.”
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.][g]
The Woman Caught in Adultery
53 [[They went each to his own house,
Footnotes
- John 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time
- John 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10
- John 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet
- John 7:15 Or this man knows his letters
- John 7:17 Greek his
- John 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As
- 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
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