John 7
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
7 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
2 Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.
3 And his brethren said to him: Pass from hence, and go into Judea; that thy disciples also may see thy works which thou dost.
4 For there is no man that doth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, manifest thyself to the world.
5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.
6 Then Jesus said to them: My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready.
7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth: because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil.
8 Go you up to this festival day, but I go not up to this festival day: because my time is not accomplished.
9 When he had said these things, he himself stayed in Galilee.
10 But after his brethren were gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but, as it were, in secret.
11 The Jews therefore sought him on the festival day, and said: Where is he?
12 And there was much murmuring among the multitude concerning him. For some said: He is a good man. And others said: No, but he seduceth the people.
13 Yet no man spoke openly of him, for fear of the Jews.
14 Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.
15 And the Jews wondered, saying: How doth this man know letters, having never learned?
16 Jesus answered them, and said: My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
17 If any man do the will of him; he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
18 He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true, and there is no injustice in him.
19 Did Moses not give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?
20 Why seek you to kill me? The multitude answered, and said: Thou hast a devil; who seeketh to kill thee?
21 Jesus answered, and said to them: One work I have done; and you all wonder:
22 Therefore, Moses gave you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and on the sabbath day you circumcise a man.
23 If a man receive circumcision on the sabbath day, that the law of Moses may not be broken; are you angry at me because I have healed the whole man on the sabbath day?
24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge just judgment.
25 Some therefore of Jerusalem said: Is not this he whom they seek to kill?
26 And behold, he speaketh openly, and they say nothing to him. Have the rulers known for a truth, that this is the Christ?
27 But we know this man, whence he is: but when the Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
28 Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching, and saying: You both know me, and you know whence I am: and I am not come of myself; but he that sent me, is true, whom you know not.
29 I know him, because I am from him, and he hath sent me.
30 They sought therefore to apprehend him: and no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.
31 But of the people many believed in him, and said: When the Christ cometh, shall he do more miracles, than these which this man doth?
32 The Pharisees heard the people murmuring these things concerning him: and the rulers and Pharisees sent ministers to apprehend him.
33 Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while I am with you: and then I go to him that sent me.
34 You shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither you cannot come.
35 The Jews therefore said among themselves: Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?
36 What is this saying that he hath said: You shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, you cannot come?
37 And on the last, and great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink.
38 He that believeth in me, as the scripture saith, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 Now this he said of the Spirit which they should receive, who believed in him: for as yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Of that multitude therefore, when they had heard these words of his, some said: This is the prophet indeed.
41 Others said: This is the Christ. But some said: Doth the Christ come out of Galilee?
42 Doth not the scripture say: That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem the town where David was?
43 So there arose a dissension among the people because of him.
44 And some of them would have apprehended him: but no man laid hands on him.
45 The ministers therefore came to the chief priests and the Pharisees. And they said to them: Why have you not brought him?
46 The ministers answered: Never did man speak like this man.
47 The Pharisees therefore answered them: Are you also seduced?
48 Hath any one of the rulers believed in him, or of the Pharisees?
49 But this multitude, that knoweth not the law, are accursed.
50 Nicodemus said to them, (he that came to him by night, who was one of them:)
51 Doth our law judge any man, unless it first hear him, and know what he doth?
52 They answered, and said to him: Art thou also a Galilean? Search the scriptures, and see, that out of Galilee a prophet riseth not.
53 And every man returned to his own house.
John 7
New Living Translation
Jesus and His Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.
6 Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. 8 You go on. I’m not going[a] to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” 9 After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.
Jesus Teaches Openly at the Temple
10 But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. 11 The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. 12 There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” 13 But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The people[b] were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.
16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. 19 Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”
20 The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. 22 But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23 For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? 24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”
Is Jesus the Messiah?
25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? 27 But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”
28 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. 29 But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” 30 Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time[c] had not yet come.
31 Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. 33 But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me. 34 You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”
35 The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands?[d] Maybe he will even teach the Greeks! 36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”
Jesus Promises Living Water
37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”[e] 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given,[f] because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
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.”[g] 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.”[h] 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[i] 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.
Footnotes
- 7:8 Some manuscripts read not yet going.
- 7:15 Greek Jewish people.
- 7:30 Greek his hour.
- 7:35 Or the Jews who live among the Greeks?
- 7:37-38 Or “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from the heart of anyone who believes in me.’”
- 7:39 Several early manuscripts read But as yet there was no Spirit. Still others read But as yet there was no Holy Spirit.
- 7:40 See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
- 7:42 See Mic 5:2.
- 7:52 Some manuscripts read the prophet does not come.
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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.
