John 7
New Matthew Bible
Jesus comes to Jerusalem at the feast, teaches the Jews, and reproves them. There are different opinions of him among the people. The Pharisees rebuke the temple officers because they have not seized him, and chide Nicodemus for taking his part.
7 After that, Jesus went about in Galilee, and would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 The Jews’ tabernacle feast was at hand. 3 His brethren therefore said to him, Go on, and go into Judea, so that your disciples can see the works that you do. 4 For there is no man who does anything secretly when he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do such things, show yourself to the world. 5 (For as yet his brethren did not believe in him.)
6 Then Jesus said to them, My time is not yet come, but your time is always at hand. 7 The world cannot hate you, but me it hates, because I testify of it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to this feast. I will not go up yet to this feast, for my time is not yet full come.
9 These words he said to them, and remained still in Galilee. 10 But as soon as his brethren had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were, privately.
11 Then the Jews were looking for him at the feast, and said, Where is he? 12 And there was much murmuring concerning him among the people. Some said, He is good, and others said, No, but he deceives the people. 13 However no one spoke openly about him, for fear of the Jews.
14 Midway through the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How does he know the scriptures, seeing that he was never taught?
16 Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If any person desires to do his will, he will know concerning the doctrine, whether it is of God or whether I speak of myself. 18 He who speaks of himself seeks his own glory. But he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him, such a person is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. 19 Did not Moses give you a law? And yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you going about to kill me?
20 The people answered and said, You have a devil. Who is going about to kill you?
21 Jesus answered and said to them, I have done one work, and you are all troubled. 22 Moses gave you circumcision, not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers. And yet you on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. 23 If a man on the Sabbath day may receive circumcision without breaking the law of Moses, do you take offence at me because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day? 24 Do not judge according to the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
25 Then some of the people of Jerusalem said, Is this not the man they are going about to kill? 26 Look, he speaks boldly, but they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? 27 But we know this man, where he is from, and when Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.
28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple as he taught, saying, You know me; and where I am from, you know. And yet I am not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. 29 I know him, for I am of him, and he has sent me.
30 Then they would have apprehended him, but no man laid hands on him, because his time was not yet come. 31 Many of the people believed on him and said, When Christ comes, will he do more miracles than this man has done?
32 The Pharisees heard that the people rumoured such things about him. So then the Pharisees and high priests sent officers forth to seize him. 33 Then Jesus said to them, Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me, and will not find me; and where I am, there you cannot come.
35 Then the Jews said between themselves, Where will he go, that we will not find him? Will he go among the Gentiles, who are scattered all abroad, and teach the Gentiles? 36 What manner of saying is this that he said: You will seek me, and will not find me, and where I am, there you cannot come?
37 In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. 38 He who believes on me, as says the scripture, out of his belly shall flow rivers of the water of life.
39 He spoke this of the Spirit, which those who believed on him would receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet there, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40 Many of the people, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth, this is a prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. Some said, Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Does the scripture not say that Christ will come of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
43 So was there dissension among the people about him. 44 And some of them wanted to seize him, but no man laid hands on him.
45 Then the officers went to the high priests and Pharisees, who said to them, Why have you not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never did any man speak as this man does. 47 Then the Pharisees answered them, Are you also deceived? 48 Do any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believe on him? 49 But the common people, who do not know the law, are cursed.
50 Nicodemus (he who had come to Jesus by night, and was one of them) said to them, 51 Does our law judge any man before it hears him and knows what he has done? 52 They answered and said to him, Are you also of Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet arises out of Galilee.
53 And every man went to his own house.
Yochanan 7
Orthodox Jewish Bible
7 And after these things Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach itinerated in the Galil, for he was not wanting to move about in Yehudah, because those of Yehudah were seeking to kill him.
2 Now the Chag of Sukkot was near. [VAYIKRA 23:34; DEVARIM 16:16]
3 His achim then said to him, Leave here and go away into the land of Yehudah, that also your talmidim will see your ma’asim which you do.
4 For no one who seeks public notice does anything besod (secretly). If these things you do, then manifest yourself to HaOlam.
5 For not even the achim of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach were believing in him. [TEHILLIM 69:8]
6 Therefore, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach says to them, My sha’ah has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
7 The Olam Hazeh is not capable of sin’ah (hatred) toward you, but the Olam Hazeh hates me, and for this reason: I give solemn edut (testimony) about it because the ma’asim of the Olam Hazeh are ra’'im (evil).
8 You make aliyah leregel up to the Chag (Feast). I am not going up to this Chag (Feast), because my time has not yet been fulfilled.
9 And having said these things, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach remained in the Galil.
10 But when the achim of him made aliyah leregel to the Chag (Feast), then also Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach went up [Yochanan 5:30] not publicly but besod (secretly).
11 Then those of Yehudah were seeking Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach in the Chag (Feast) and were saying, Where is that man?
12 And there was much telunnah (murmuring) about Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach among the multitudes. Some were saying, He is tov (good), but others were saying, Lo (no), he deceives the multitude.
13 No one, however, was speaking openly about Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach because of the fear of those of Yehudah.
14 But around the middle period of the Chag (Feast), Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach went up to the Beis Hamikdash and was saying shiurim (teaching torah).
15 Therefore, those of Yehudah were marveling, saying, How has this man binah (understanding) of a Yeshiva yode’a sefer (scholar), not having learned?
16 Therefore, in reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, My Torah (teaching) is not mine but of the One having sent me.
17 If anyone wants to do the ratzon Hashem, he will have da’as about my Torah, whether it is of Hashem or I speak only from myself. [TEHILLIM 25:14; 92:16; BAMIDBAR 16:28]
18 The one speaking from himself seeks his own kavod (glory), but he who is seeking the kavod of the One having sent him, this one is ne’eman and there is no avlah (injustice) in him.
19 Has not Moshe given you the Torah? None of you is able to be shomer chukkat Torah. Why are you seeking to kill me? [DEVARIM 32:46; MISHLE 20:9; KOHELET 7:20; YESHAYAH 53:6]
20 The multitude said, You have a shed (demon). Who is seeking to kill you?
21 In reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Of the Pe’ulot of Hashem, I accomplished echad, one pe’ulah, and everyone marvels.
22 Moshe has given you bris milah not that bris milah is of Moshe, but it is of the Avot, and on a Shabbos you perpetually perform bris milah. [BERESHIS 17:10-14; 21:4; VAYIKRA 12:3]
23 If a man receives bris milah on Shabbos and lo tufar Torat Moshe (the Torah of Moses may not be broken, BERESHIS 17:14) are you angry with me because I gave a man refu’ah shleimah on Shabbos?
24 Do not judge according to appearance but judge with mishpat tzedek. [ZECHARYAH 7:9; SHMUEL ALEF 16:7; YESHAYAH 11:3 4; VAYIKRA 19:15]
25 Therefore, some of the ones of Yerushalayim were saying, Is it not this man whom they are seeking to kill?
26 And, hinei, he speaks publicly and they say nothing to him. Perhaps the manhigim (the gedolim of Judaism) have da’as that this man is the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach?
27 But this man, we have da’as where he is from; but the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, whenever he comes, no one has da’as where he is from.
28 Therefore, in the Beis Hamikdash while teaching, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach cried out, saying, You have da’as of me, and you have da’as of where I am from. I have not come on my own, but the One Who sent me is ne’eman. He is the One of Whom you do not have da’as.
29 I have da’as of Him, because from Him Ani Hu, and He is the One Who sent me.
30 Therefore, they were seeking to arrest him, and no one laid a hand on him, because his sha’ah (hour, time) had not yet come.
31 From the multitude, however, many put their emunah, their bitachon, in him, and were saying, The Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, whenever he comes, surely he will not do more otot (miraculous signs) than the things which this man did?
32 The Perushim heard the telunnah (murmuring) of these things from the multitude, the talk about Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, and they sent the Rashei Hakohanim and the mesharetim of the Perushim that they might arrest him.
33 Therefore, he said, Yet a little time I am with you and I go away to the One having sent me.
34 You will seek me and not find me and where Ani Hu you are not able to come.
35 Therefore, those of Yehudah said to themselves, Where is this man about to journey that we will not find him? Surely he is not about to sojourn to the Golus of the Yevanim (Greeks) to teach the Yevanim? [MISHLE 1:28]
36 What is this dvar which he said, You will seek me and will not find me and where Ani Hu, you are not able to come?
37 Now on the last day of the Chag, Hoshana Rabbah, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink. [Lv 23:36; Isa 55:1; 12:3; 49:10]
38 The one with emunah in me, as the Kitvei Hakodesh said, ‘Out of the midst of him, rivers of MAYIM CHAYYIM [Zech 14:8] will flow.’ [Prov 18:4; Isa 44:3; 58:11; 43:19f, Ezek 47:1-12; Joel 4:18; Song 4:15].
39 But this he said about the Ruach Hakodesh which the ones having emunah (faith) in him were about to receive, for the Ruach Hakodesh had not yet been given, because he had not yet received kavod. [YOEL 2:28 (3:1)]
40 Some of the multitude, therefore, having heard these dvarim were saying, This man is beemes the Navi.
41 Others were saying, This man is the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. But some were saying, Surely the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach comes not from the Galil, does he?
42 Has not the Kitvei Hakodesh said that the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach is from the zera Dovid and from Beit-Lechem, the shtetl where Dovid lived? [2Sm 7:12; Psa 89:3-4; Mic 5:1(2); Jer 23:5]
43 A machloket (controversy), therefore, occurred among the multitude because of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
44 And some of them were wanting to arrest him, but no one laid his hands on him.
45 Then the avadim of the Rashei Hakohanim and Perushim came and the Rashei Hakohanim and Perushim said to them, Why did you not bring him?
46 In reply, the avadim said, Never Ish spoke like this Ish.
47 In reply, therefore, the Perushim said, Surely not you also have been deceived?
48 Has any of the manhigim put their emunah (faith) in him, or any of the Perushim [T.N.but cf Yn 7:50; 19:39]?
49 But this am ha’aretz crowd has no da’as of Torah and is cursed. [DEVARIM 27:26]
50 Rav Nakdimon, the one having come to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach earlier, being one of their own, says to them,
51 Surely Torateinu (Our Torah) judges not the Man unless it hears first from the Man himself and has da’as of what he does, does it? [Dt 1:16; 17:6; Ex 23:1]
52 They answered and said to Rav Nakdimon, Surely not you also are from the Galil, are you? Search [the Kitvei Hakodesh] and see that from the Galil a Navi does not arise. [T.N. but cf 2Kgs 14:25; Isa 9:1,2]
53 And they went each one to his bais.
John 7
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus and His Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled around the country of Galilee. He did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jewish leaders there wanted to kill him. 2 It was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters. 3 So his brothers said to him, “You should leave here and go to the festival in Judea. Then your followers there can see the miracles you do. 4 If you want to be well known, you must not hide what you do. So, if you can do such amazing things, let the whole world see you do them.” 5 Jesus’ brothers said this because even they did not believe in him.
6 Jesus said to them, “The right time for me has not yet come, but any time is right for you to go. 7 The world cannot hate you. But the world hates me, because I tell the people in the world that they do evil things. 8 So you go to the festival. I will not go now, because the right time for me has not yet come.” 9 After Jesus said this, he stayed in Galilee.
10 So his brothers left to go to the festival. After they left, Jesus went too, but he did not let people see him. 11 At the festival the Jewish leaders were looking for him. They said, “Where is that man?”
12 There was a large group of people there. Many of them were talking secretly to each other about Jesus. Some people said, “He is a good man.” But others said, “No, he fools the people.” 13 But no one was brave enough to talk about him openly. They were afraid of the Jewish leaders.
Jesus Teaches in Jerusalem
14 When the festival was about half finished, Jesus went to the Temple area and began to teach. 15 The Jewish leaders were amazed and said, “How did this man learn so much? He never had the kind of teaching we had!”
16 Jesus answered, “What I teach is not my own. My teaching comes from the one who sent me. 17 People who really want to do what God wants will know that my teaching comes from God. They will know that this teaching is not my own. 18 If I taught my own ideas, I would just be trying to get honor for myself. But if I am trying to bring honor to the one who sent me, I can be trusted. Anyone doing that is not going to lie. 19 Moses gave you the law, right? But you don’t obey that law. If you do, then why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The people answered, “A demon is making you crazy! We are not trying to kill you.”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle on a Sabbath day, and you were all surprised. 22 But you obey the law Moses gave you about circumcision—and sometimes you do it on a Sabbath day. (Really, Moses is not the one who gave you circumcision. It came from our ancestors who lived before Moses.) Yes, you often circumcise baby boys on a Sabbath day. 23 This shows that someone can be circumcised on a Sabbath day to obey the Law of Moses. So why are you angry with me for healing a person’s whole body on the Sabbath day? 24 Stop judging by the way things look. Be fair and judge by what is really right.”
People Wonder if Jesus Is the Messiah
25 Then some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “This is the man they are trying to kill. 26 But he is teaching where everyone can see and hear him. And no one is trying to stop him from teaching. Maybe the leaders have decided that he really is the Messiah. 27 But when the real Messiah comes, no one will know where he comes from. And we know where this man’s home is.”
28 Jesus was still teaching in the Temple area when he said loudly, “Do you really know me and where I am from? I am here, but not by my own decision. I was sent by one who is very real. But you don’t know him. 29 I know him because I am from him. He is the one who sent me.”
30 When Jesus said this, the people tried to grab him. But no one was able even to touch him, because the right time for him had not yet come. 31 But many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, “We are waiting for the Messiah to come. When he comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
The Jewish Leaders Try to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard what the people were saying about Jesus. So the leading priests and the Pharisees sent some Temple police to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer. Then I will go back to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come where I am.”
35 These Jews said to each other, “Where will this man go that we cannot find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live? Will he teach the Greek people there? 36 He says, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me.’ He also says, ‘You cannot come where I am.’ What does this mean?”
Jesus Talks About the Holy Spirit
37 The last day of the festival came. It was the most important day. On that day Jesus stood up and said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty may come to me and drink. 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from their heart. That is what the Scriptures say.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given to people, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The People Argue About Jesus
40 When the people heard the things that Jesus said, some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet.[a]”
41 Other people said, “He is the Messiah.”
And others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee. 42 The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of David. And they say that he will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” 43 So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. 44 Some of the people wanted to arrest him. But no one tried to do it.
The Jewish Leaders Refuse to Believe
45 The Temple police went back to the leading priests and the Pharisees. The priests and the Pharisees asked, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”
46 The Temple police answered, “We have never heard anyone say such amazing things!”
47 The Pharisees answered, “So he has fooled you too! 48 You don’t see any of the leaders or any of us Pharisees believing in him, do you? 49 But those people out there know nothing about the law. They are under God’s curse!”
50 But Nicodemus was there in that group. He was the one who had gone to see Jesus before.[b] He said, 51 “Our law will not let us judge anyone without first hearing them and finding out what they have done.”
52 The Jewish leaders answered, “You must be from Galilee too! Study the Scriptures. You will find nothing about a prophet[c] coming from Galilee.”
A Woman Caught in Adultery
53 Then they all left and went home.
Footnotes
- John 7:40 Prophet They probably meant the prophet that God told Moses he would send. See Deut. 18:15-19.
- John 7:50 He was the one … before The story about Nicodemus going and talking to Jesus is in Jn. 3:1-21.
- John 7:52 a prophet Two early Greek copies have “the Prophet,” which would mean the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut. 18:15. In Acts 3:22 and 7:37 this is understood to be the Messiah, as in verse 40 above.
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International