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John 7:28-53
Contemporary English Version
John 7:28-53
Contemporary English Version
28 As Jesus was teaching in the temple, he shouted, “Do you really think you know me and where I came from? I didn't come on my own! The one who sent me is truthful, and you don't know him. 29 But I know the one who sent me, because I came from him.”
30 Some of the people wanted to arrest Jesus right then. But no one even laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.[a] 31 A lot of people in the crowd put their faith in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he surely won't perform more miracles[b] than this man has done!”
Officers Sent To Arrest Jesus
32 When the Pharisees heard the crowd arguing about Jesus, they got together with the chief priests and sent some temple police to arrest him. 33 But Jesus told them, “I will be with you a little while longer, and then I will return to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you won't find me. You cannot go where I am going.”
35 The people asked each other, “Where can he go to keep us from finding him? Is he going to some foreign country where our people live? Is he going there to teach the Greeks?[c] 36 What did he mean by saying that we will look for him, but won't find him? Why can't we go where he is going?”
Streams of Life-Giving Water
37 (A) On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! 38 (B) Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory.[d]
The People Take Sides
40 When the crowd heard Jesus say this, some of them said, “He must be the Prophet!”[e] 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah!” Others even said, “Can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 (C) The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of King David. Doesn't this mean that he will be born in David's hometown of Bethlehem?” 43 The people started taking sides against each other because of Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.
The Leaders Refuse To Have Faith in Jesus
45 When the temple police returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, they were asked, “Why didn't you bring Jesus here?”
46 They answered, “No one has ever spoken like this man!”
47 The Pharisees said to them, “Have you also been fooled? 48 Not one of the chief priests or the Pharisees has faith in him. 49 And these people who don't know the Law are under God's curse anyway.”
50 (D) Nicodemus was there at the time. He was a member of the council, and was the same one who had earlier come to see Jesus.[f] He said, 51 “Our Law doesn't let us condemn people before we hear what they have to say. We cannot judge them before we know what they have done.”
52 Then they said, “Nicodemus, you must be from Galilee! Read the Scriptures, and you will find that no prophet is to come from Galilee.”
A Woman Caught in Sin
53 Everyone else went home,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 7.30 his time had not yet come: See the note at 2.4.
- 7.31 miracles: See the note at 2.11.
- 7.35 Greeks: Perhaps Gentiles or Jews who followed Greek customs.
- 7.39 had not yet been given his full glory: In the Gospel of John, Jesus is given his full glory both when he is nailed to the cross and when he is raised from death to sit beside his Father in heaven.
- 7.40 the Prophet: See the note at 1.21.
- 7.50 who had earlier come to see Jesus: See 3.1-21.
John 7:28-53
New International Version
John 7:28-53
New International Version
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts,(A) cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.(B) I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.(C) You do not know him, 29 but I know him(D) because I am from him and he sent me.”(E)
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,(F) because his hour had not yet come.(G) 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him.(H) They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs(I) than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time,(J) and then I am going to the one who sent me.(K) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(L)
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered(M) among the Greeks,(N) and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”(O)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival,(P) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.(Q) 38 Whoever believes(R) in me, as Scripture has said,(S) rivers of living water(T) will flow from within them.”[a](U) 39 By this he meant the Spirit,(V) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.(W) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.(X)
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”(Y)
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?(Z) 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants(AA) and from Bethlehem,(AB) the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided(AC) because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.(AD)
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,”(AE) the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?”(AF) the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?(AG) 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus,(AH) 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.”(AI)
[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,
Footnotes
- John 7:38 Or me. And let anyone drink 38 who believes in me.” As Scripture has said, “Out of him (or them) will flow rivers of living water.”
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