John 1:1-11:22

Christian Standard Bible Anglicised

Prologue

1 In the beginning^(A) was the Word,^(B) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.^{(C) 2} He was with God in the beginning.^{(D) 3} All things were created^(E) through him,^(F) and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. ⁴ In him was life,^[a](G) and that life was the light^(H) of men. ⁵ That light shines^(I) in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome^[b] it.^(J)

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John.^{(K) 7} He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.^{[c] 8} He was not the light, but he came to testify^(L) about the light. ⁹ The true light^(M) that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.^[d](N)

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was created^(O) through him, and yet the world did not recognise him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive^(P) him,^(Q) he gave them the right^(R) to be^[e] children^(S) of God,^(T) to those who believe^(U) in his name,^{(V) 13} who were born,^(W) not of natural descent,^[f] or of the will^(X) of the flesh,^(Y) or of the will of man,^[g] but of God.^(Z)

¹⁴ The Word^(AA) became flesh^(AB) and dwelt^[h] among us. We observed his glory,^(AC) the glory as the one and only^(AD) Son^[i] from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, ‘This was the one of whom I said, “The one coming after me^(AE) ranks ahead of me,^(AF) because he existed before me.” ’)^{(AG) 16} Indeed, we have all received grace^(AH) upon^[j] grace from his fullness, ¹⁷ for the law was given through Moses;^(AI) grace and truth^(AJ) came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The one and only^(AK) Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s^(AL) side^[k] – he has revealed him.^(AM)

John the Baptist’s Testimony

¹⁹ This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem^(AN) sent priests^(AO) and Levites^(AP) to ask him, ‘Who are you? ’

²⁰ He didn’t deny it but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’^(AQ)

²¹ ‘What then? ’ they asked him. ‘Are you Elijah? ’^(AR)

‘I am not,’ he said.

‘Are you the Prophet? ’^(AS)

‘No,’ he answered.

²² ‘Who are you, then? ’ they asked. ‘We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself? ’

²³ He said, ‘I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord^[l](AT) – just as Isaiah^(AU) the prophet said.’

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.^{(AV) 25} So they asked him, ‘Why then do you baptise if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet? ’

²⁶ ‘I baptise with^[m] water,’^(AW) John answered them. ‘Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him. ²⁷ He is the one coming after me,^[n](AX) whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.’ ²⁸ All this happened in Bethany^[o] across the Jordan,^(AY) where John was baptising.

The Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God,^(AZ) who takes away the sin^(BA) of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I told you about: “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.” ³¹ I didn’t know him,^(BB) but I came baptising with water so that he might be revealed^(BC) to Israel.’ ³² And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit^(BD) descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him.^{(BE) 33} I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptise with water told me, “The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on – he is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit.”^{(BF) 34} I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.’^[p](BG)

³⁵ The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God! ’

³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. ³⁸ When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, ‘What are you looking for? ’

They said to him, ‘Rabbi’^(BH) (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying? ’

³⁹ ‘Come and you’ll see,’ he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.^[q]

⁴⁰ Andrew,^(BI) Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah’^[r](BJ) (which is translated ‘the Christ’),^{(BK) 42} and he brought Simon to Jesus.

When Jesus saw him, he said, ‘You are Simon, son of John.^[s] You will be called Cephas’^(BL) (which is translated ‘Peter’^[t]).

Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus^[u] decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip^(BM) and told him, ‘Follow me.’

⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida,^(BN) the home town of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael^(BO) and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets^(BP)): Jesus the son of Joseph,^(BQ) from Nazareth.’^(BR)

⁴⁶ ‘Can anything good^(BS) come out of Nazareth? ’ Nathanael asked him.

‘Come and see,’ Philip answered.

⁴⁷ Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him and said about him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite^(BT) in whom there is no deceit.’

⁴⁸ ‘How do you know me? ’ Nathanael asked.

‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,’ Jesus answered.

⁴⁹ ‘Rabbi,’^(BU) Nathanael replied, ‘You are the Son^(BV) of God; you are the King of Israel! ’^(BW)

⁵⁰ Jesus responded to him, ‘Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.’ ⁵¹ Then he said, ‘Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God^(BX) ascending and descending^(BY) on the Son of Man.’^(BZ)

The First Sign: Turning Water into Wine

2 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana^(CA) of Galilee.^(CB) Jesus’s mother^(CC) was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well. ³ When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, ‘They don’t have any wine.’

⁴ ‘What has this concern of yours to do with me,^[v](CD) woman? ’^(CE) Jesus asked. ‘My hour has not yet come.’

⁵ ‘Do whatever he tells you,’ his mother told the servants.

⁶ Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification.^(CF) Each contained eighty or one hundred and twenty litres.^[w]

⁷ ‘Fill the jars with water,’ Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. ⁸ Then he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the head waiter.’^[x] And they did.

⁹ When the head waiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from – though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom ¹⁰ and told him, ‘Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.’

¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana^(CG) of Galilee.^(CH) He revealed^(CI) his glory,^(CJ) and his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this, he went down to Capernaum,^(CK) together with his mother, his brothers,^(CL) and his disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.

Cleansing the Temple

¹³ The Jewish Passover^(CM) was near, and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.^{(CN) 14} In the temple^(CO) he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ After making a whip out of cords,^(CP) he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep^(CQ) and oxen. He also poured out the money-changers’ coins and overturned the tables. ¹⁶ He told those who were selling doves, ‘Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s^(CR) house^(CS) into a marketplace! ’^[y](CT)

¹⁷ And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal^(CU) for your house will consume^(CV) me.^[z](CW)

¹⁸ So the Jews replied to him, ‘What sign will you show us for doing these things? ’

¹⁹ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this temple,^[aa](CX) and I will raise it up in three days.’^(CY)

²⁰ Therefore the Jews said, ‘This temple took forty-six years to build,^[ab] and will you raise it up in three days? ’^(CZ)

²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body.^{(DA) 22} So when he was raised from the dead,^(DB) his disciples remembered that he had said this,^(DC) and they believed the Scripture^(DD) and the statement Jesus had made.

²³ While he was in Jerusalem^(DE) during the Passover Festival,^(DF) many believed in his name^(DG) when they saw the signs he was doing. ²⁴ Jesus, however, would not entrust himself to them, since he knew them all ²⁵ and because he did not need anyone to testify about man; for he himself knew what was in man.^(DH)

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a man from the Pharisees^(DI) named Nicodemus,^(DJ) a ruler^(DK) of the Jews. ² This man came to him at night and said, ‘Rabbi,^(DL) we know that you are a teacher^(DM) who has come from God,^(DN) for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.’^(DO)

³ Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again,^[ac](DP) he cannot see the kingdom of God.’^(DQ)

⁴ ‘How can anyone be born when he is old? ’ Nicodemus asked him. ‘Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born? ’

⁵ Jesus answered, ‘Truly I tell you, unless someone is born^(DR) of water and the Spirit,^(DS) he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ Whatever is born of the flesh^(DT) is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit^(DU) is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born^(DV) again. ⁸ The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.^(DW) So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’^(DX)

⁹ ‘How can these things be? ’ asked Nicodemus.

¹⁰ ‘Are you a teacher^[ad] of Israel and don’t know these things? ’ Jesus replied. ¹¹ ‘Truly I tell you,^(DY) we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended^(DZ) into heaven^(EA) except the one who descended from heaven^(EB) #– #the Son of Man.^[ae](EC)

¹⁴ ‘Just as Moses^(ED) lifted up the snake in the wilderness,^(EE) so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him may^[af] have eternal life.^{(EF) 16} For God loved^(EG) the world in this way:^[ag] He gave^[ah] his one and only^(EH) Son,^(EI) so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.^{(EJ) 17} For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn^(EK) the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned,^(EL) because he has not believed in the name^(EM) of the one and only Son^(EN) of God. ¹⁹ This is the judgement: The light^(EO) has come into the world,^(EP) and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates^(EQ) the light and avoids it,^[ai] so that his deeds^(ER) may not be exposed. ²¹ But anyone who lives by^[aj] the truth comes to the light, so that his works^(ES) may be shown to be accomplished by God.’

Jesus and John the Baptist

²² After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent time with them and baptised.

²³ John^(ET) also was baptising in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptised, ²⁴ since John had not yet been thrown into prison.^(EU)

²⁵ Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples^(EV) and a Jew^[ak] about purification.^{(EW) 26} So they came to John and told him, ‘Rabbi,^(EX) the one you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan,^(EY) is baptising – and everyone is going to him.’^(EZ)

²⁷ John responded, ‘No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, “I am not the Messiah,^(FA) but I’ve been sent ahead of him.”^{(FB) 29} He who has the bride^(FC) is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly^[al] at the groom’s voice. So this joy^(FD) of mine is complete. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.’

The One from Heaven

³¹ The one who comes from above^(FE) is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms.^[am] The one who comes from heaven is above all.^{(FF) 32} He testifies^(FG) to what he has seen and heard, and yet no one accepts his testimony. ³³ The one who has accepted his testimony has affirmed that God is true.^{(FH) 34} For the one whom God sent speaks God’s words, since he^[an] gives the Spirit^(FI) without measure. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son^(FJ) and has given all things into his hands.^{(FK) 36} The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son^[ao] will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.^(FL)

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

4 When Jesus^[ap] learned that the Pharisees^(FM) had heard he was making^(FN) and baptising more disciples than John^{(FO) 2} (though Jesus himself was not baptising, but his disciples were), ³ he left Judea^(FP) and went again to Galilee.^{(FQ) 4} He had to travel through Samaria;^{(FR) 5} so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property^[aq] that Jacob^(FS) had given his son Joseph.^{(FT) 6} Jacob’s well^(FU) was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon.^[ar]

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water.^(FV)

‘Give me a drink,’ Jesus said to her, ⁸ because his disciples had gone into town to buy food.

⁹ ‘How is it that you, a Jew,^(FW) ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan^(FX) woman? ’ she asked him. For Jews do not associate with^[as] Samaritans.^[at]

¹⁰ Jesus answered, ‘If you knew the gift of God,^(FY) and who is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would ask him, and he would give you living water.’^(FZ)

¹¹ ‘Sir,’^(GA) said the woman, ‘you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this “living water”? ¹² You aren’t greater than our father Jacob,^(GB) are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.’

¹³ Jesus said, ‘Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. ¹⁴ But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again.^(GC) In fact, the water I will give him will become a well^[au](GD) of water springing up in him for eternal life.’^(GE)

¹⁵ ‘Sir,’ the woman said to him, ‘give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.’

¹⁶ ‘Go and call your husband,’ he told her, ‘and come back here.’

¹⁷ ‘I don’t have a husband,’ she answered.

‘You have correctly said, “I don’t have a husband,” ’ Jesus said. ¹⁸ ‘For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.’

¹⁹ ‘Sir,’ the woman replied, ‘I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain,^(GF) but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.’^(GG)

²¹ Jesus told her, ‘Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews.^{(GH) 23} But an hour is coming, and is now here,^(GI) when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.^[av] Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. ²⁴ God is spirit,^(GJ) and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.’^(GK)

²⁵ The woman said to him, ‘I know that the Messiah^(GL) is coming’ (who is called Christ^(GM)). ‘When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’

²⁶ Jesus told her, ‘I, the one speaking to you, am he.’^(GN)

The Ripened Harvest

²⁷ Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, ‘What do you want? ’ or ‘Why are you talking with her? ’

²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, ²⁹ ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah? ’^{(GO) 30} They left the town and made their way to him.^(GP)

³¹ In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, ‘Rabbi,^(GQ) eat something.’

³² But he said, ‘I have food to eat that you don’t know about.’

³³ The disciples said to one another, ‘Could someone have brought him something to eat? ’

³⁴ ‘My food is to do the will of him^(GR) who sent me^(GS) and to finish his work,’^(GT) Jesus told them. ³⁵ ‘Don’t you say, “There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest”? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open^[aw] your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready^[ax] for harvest. ³⁶ The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life,^(GU) so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this case the saying is true: “One sows and another reaps.”^{(GV) 38} I sent you to reap what you didn’t labour for; others have laboured, and you have benefited from^[ay] their labour.’

The Saviour of the World

³⁹ Now many Samaritans^(GW) from that town believed in him because of what the woman said^[az] when she testified,^(GX) ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him,^(GY) they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there for two days. ⁴¹ Many more believed because of what he said.^{[ba] 42} And they told the woman, ‘We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Saviour^(GZ) of the world.’^[bb]

A Galilean Welcome

⁴³ After two days he left there for Galilee.^{(HA) 44} (Jesus himself had testified^(HB) that a prophet has no honour in his own country.^(HC)) ⁴⁵ When^(HD) they entered Galilee, the Galileans^(HE) welcomed him because they had seen everything he did in Jerusalem^(HF) during the festival.^(HG) For they also had gone to the festival.

The Second Sign: Healing an Official’s Son

⁴⁶ He went again to Cana^(HH) of Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum.^{(HI) 47} When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea^(HJ) into Galilee, he went to him and pleaded with him to come down and heal his son, since he was about to die.

⁴⁸ Jesus told him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders,^(HK) you will not believe.’^(HL)

⁴⁹ ‘Sir,’^(HM) the official said to him, ‘come down before my boy dies.’

⁵⁰ ‘Go,’ Jesus told him, ‘your son will live.’ The man believed what^[bc] Jesus said to him and departed.

⁵¹ While he was still going down, his servants met him saying that his boy was alive. ⁵² He asked them at what time he got better. ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon^[bd] the fever left him,’ they answered. ⁵³ The father^(HN) realised this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household.

⁵⁴ Now this was also the second sign^(HO) Jesus performed after he came from Judea to Galilee.^(HP)

The Third Sign: Healing the Sick

5 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.^{(HQ) 2} By the Sheep Gate^(HR) in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda^[be] in Aramaic, which has five colonnades. ³ Within these lay a large number of the disabled – blind, lame, and paralysed.^[bf]

⁵ One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and realised he had already been there a long time,^(HS) he said to him, ‘Do you want to get well? ’

⁷ ‘Sir,’^(HT) the disabled man answered, ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.’

⁸ ‘Get up,’ Jesus told him, ‘pick up your mat and walk.’ ⁹ Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

Now that day was the Sabbath,^{(HU) 10} and so the Jews^(HV) said to the man who had been healed, ‘This is the Sabbath.^(HW) The law prohibits you from picking up your mat.’

¹¹ He replied, ‘The man who made me well^(HX) told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.” ’

¹² ‘Who is this man who told you, “Pick up your mat and walk”? ’ they asked. ¹³ But the man who was healed did not know who it was,^(HY) because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.^[bg]

¹⁴ After this, Jesus found him in the temple^(HZ) and said to him, ‘See, you are well. Do not sin any more, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.’ ¹⁵ The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.^{(IA) 16} Therefore, the Jews began persecuting^(IB) Jesus^[bh] because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.^(IC)

Honouring the Father and the Son

¹⁷ Jesus responded to them, ‘My Father^(ID) is still working, and I am working also.’ ¹⁸ This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him:^(IE) Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.

¹⁹ Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[bi] does, the Son likewise does these things.^{(IF) 20} For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works^(IG) than these so that you will be amazed. ²¹ And just as the Father raises^(IH) the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants.^{(II) 22} The Father,^(IJ) in fact, judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son, ²³ so that all people may honour the Son just as they honour the Father.^(IK) Anyone who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him.^(IL)

Life and Judgement

²⁴ ‘Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life^(IM) and will not come under judgement but has passed from death to life.

²⁵ ‘Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here,^(IN) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.^{(IO) 26} For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son^(IP) to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has granted him the right to pass judgement,^(IQ) because he is the Son of Man.^{(IR) 28} Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out – those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.

³⁰ ‘I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgement^(IS) is just,^(IT) because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.^(IU)

Witnesses to Jesus

³¹ ‘If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true.^{(IV) 33} You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth.^{(IW) 34} I don’t receive human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ John^[bj](IX) was a burning and shining lamp,^(IY) and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.^(IZ)

³⁶ ‘But I have a greater testimony than John’s because of the works that the Father has given me to accomplish.^(JA) These very works I am doing testify about me that the Father has sent^(JB) me. ³⁷ The Father who sent me has himself testified^(JC) about me. You have not heard his voice at any time, and you haven’t seen his form.^{(JD) 38} You don’t have his word residing in you, because you don’t believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You pore over the Scriptures^(JE) because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me.^{(JF) 40} But you are not willing^(JG) to come to me^(JH) so that you may have life.

⁴¹ ‘I do not accept glory^(JI) from people, ⁴² but I know you – that you have no love for God^(JJ) within you. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name,^(JK) and yet you don’t accept me.^(JL) If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, since you accept glory from one another but don’t seek the glory that comes from the only^(JM) God?^{(JN) 45} Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses,^(JO) on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But if you don’t believe what he wrote,^(JP) how will you believe my words? ’^(JQ)

The Fourth Sign: Feeding of the Five Thousand

6 After^(JR) this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee^(JS) (or Tiberias^(JT)). ² A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. ³ Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with his disciples.

⁴ Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. ⁵ So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming towards him,^(JU) he asked Philip,^(JV) ‘Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat? ’ ⁶ He asked this to test him,^(JW) for he himself knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred denarii^[bk](JX) worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.’

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew,^(JY) Simon^(JZ) Peter’s^(KA) brother, said to him, ⁹ ‘There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish – but what are they for so many? ’

¹⁰ Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’

There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand.^{(KB) 11} Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated – so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.^(KC)

¹² When they were full, he told his disciples, ‘Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.’^{(KD) 13} So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ When the people saw the sign^[bl] he had done, they said, ‘This truly is the Prophet^(KE) who is to come^(KF) into the world.’^(KG)

¹⁵ Therefore, when Jesus realised that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king,^(KH) he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

The Fifth Sign: Walking on Water

¹⁶ When^(KI) evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.^(KJ) Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ A high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. ¹⁹ After they had rowed about five or six kilometres,^[bm] they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. ²⁰ But he said to them, ‘It is I.^[bn](KK) Don’t be afraid.’ ²¹ Then they were willing to take him aboard, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading.

The Bread of Life

²² The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat.^[bo](KL) They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone. ²³ Some boats from Tiberias^(KM) came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. ²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi,^(KN) when did you get here? ’

²⁶ Jesus answered, ‘Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw^[bp] the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Don’t work for the food that perishes^(KO) but for the food that lasts for eternal life,^(KP) which the Son of Man^(KQ) will give you, because God the Father^(KR) has set his seal of approval on him.’

²⁸ ‘What can we do to perform the works of God? ’ they asked.

²⁹ Jesus replied, ‘This is the work^(KS) of God – that you believe in the one he has sent.’^(KT)

³⁰ ‘What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you? ’ they asked. ‘What are you going to perform? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna^(KU) in the wilderness,^(KV) just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[bq](KW)

³² Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, Moses^(KX) didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’

³⁴ Then they said, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

³⁵ ‘I am^(KY) the bread of life,’ Jesus told them. ‘No one who comes to me^(KZ) will ever be hungry,^(LA) and no one who believes in me^(LB) will ever be thirsty^(LC) again. ³⁶ But as I told you, you’ve seen me,^[br] and yet you do not believe. ³⁷ Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.^{(LD) 38} For I have come down from heaven,^(LE) not to do my own will, but the will of him^(LF) who sent me. ³⁹ This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise^(LG) them up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father:^(LH) that everyone who sees the Son^(LI) and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise^(LJ) him up on the last day.’

⁴¹ Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ⁴² They were saying, ‘Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph,^(LK) whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”? ’

⁴³ Jesus answered them, ‘Stop grumbling among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws^[bs] him, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets:^(LL) And they will all be taught by God.^[bt](LM) Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father^(LN) comes to me –  ⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father^(LO) except the one who is from God.^(LP) He has seen the Father.^(LQ)

⁴⁷ ‘Truly I tell you, anyone who believes^[bu] has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna^(LR) in the wilderness,^(LS) and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die.^{(LT) 51} I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live^(LU) for ever.^(LV) The bread that I will give for the life^(LW) of the world is my flesh.’^(LX)

⁵² At that, the Jews argued^(LY) among themselves,^(LZ) ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat? ’

⁵³ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man^(MA) and drink his blood,^(MB) you do not have life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood^(MC) has eternal life, and I will raise^(MD) him up on the last day, ⁵⁵ because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.^{(ME) 57} Just as the living^(MF) Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live^(MG) because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna^[bv] your ancestors ate – and they died. The one who eats this bread will live for ever.’^(MH)

⁵⁹ He said these things while teaching in the synagogue^(MI) in Capernaum.^(MJ)

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰ Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, ‘This teaching is hard. Who can accept^[bw] it? ’

⁶¹ Jesus, knowing in himself^(MK) that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, ‘Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man^(ML) ascending^(MM) to where he was before? ⁶³ The Spirit^(MN) is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some among you who don’t believe.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning^(MO) those who did not^[bx] believe and the one who would betray^(MP) him.) ⁶⁵ He said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me^(MQ) unless it is granted to him by the Father.’

⁶⁶ From that moment^[by] many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the Twelve,^(MR) ‘You don’t want to go away too, do you? ’

⁶⁸ Simon Peter^(MS) answered, ‘Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’^[bz](MT)

⁷⁰ Jesus replied to them, ‘Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve?^(MU) Yet one of you is a devil.’^{(MV) 71} He was referring to Judas,^(MW) Simon Iscariot’s son,^[ca] one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray^(MX) him.

The Unbelief of Jesus’s Brothers

7 After this, Jesus travelled in Galilee,^(MY) since he did not want to travel in Judea^(MZ) because the Jews^(NA) were trying to kill him.^{(NB) 2} The Jewish Festival of Shelters^[cb](NC) was near. ³ So his brothers^(ND) said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works^(NE) that you are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ ⁵ (For not even his brothers believed in him.)

⁶ Jesus told them, ‘My time^(NF) has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. ⁷ The world cannot hate^(NG) you, but it does hate me because I testify about it – that its works are evil. ⁸ Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival,^[cc] because my time has not yet fully come.’ ⁹ After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.

Jesus at the Festival of Shelters

¹⁰ After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly. ¹¹ The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, ‘Where is he? ’ ¹² And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, ‘He’s a good^(NH) man.’ Others were saying, ‘No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving^(NI) the people.’ ¹³ Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

¹⁴ When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple^(NJ) and began to teach. ¹⁵ Then the Jews were amazed and said, ‘How is this man so learned,^(NK) since he hasn’t been trained? ’

¹⁶ Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.^{(NL) 17} If anyone wants to do his will,^(NM) he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. ¹⁸ The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory;^(NN) but he who seeks the glory^(NO) of the one who sent him is true,^(NP) and there is no unrighteousness in him.^{(NQ) 19} Didn’t Moses^(NR) give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.^(NS) Why are you trying to kill me? ’

²⁰ ‘You have a demon! ’ the crowd responded. ‘Who is trying to kill you? ’

²¹ ‘I performed one work,^(NT) and you are all amazed,’ Jesus answered. ²² ‘This is why Moses has given you circumcision^(NU) #– #not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers^(NV) #– #and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.^{(NW) 23} If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath^(NX) so that the law of Moses^(NY) won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging^(NZ) according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgement.’

The Identity of the Messiah

²⁵ Some of the people of Jerusalem^(OA) were saying, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities^(OB) know he is the Messiah?^{(OC) 27} But we know where this man is from.^(OD) When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.’

²⁸ As he was teaching in the temple,^(OE) Jesus cried out, ‘You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me^(OF) is true. You don’t know him;^{(OG) 29} I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.’^(OH)

³⁰ Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. ³¹ However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, ‘When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done,^(OI) will he? ’ ³² The Pharisees^(OJ) heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests^(OK) and the Pharisees sent servants^[cd] to arrest him.

³³ Then Jesus said, ‘I am only with you for a short time.^(OL) Then I’m going to the one who sent me.^{(OM) 34} You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’^(ON)

³⁵ Then the Jews^(OO) said to one another, ‘Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed^[ce](OP) among the Greeks^(OQ) and teach the Greeks, does he? ³⁶ What is this remark he made: “You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come”^(OR)? ’

The Promise of the Spirit

³⁷ On the last and most important day of the festival,^(OS) Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me^[cf](OT) and drink.^{(OU) 38} The one who believes in me,^(OV) as the Scripture^(OW) has said, will have streams of living water^(OX) flow^(OY) from deep within him.’ ³⁹ He said this about the Spirit.^(OZ) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,^(PA) for the Spirit^[cg] had not yet been given^[ch] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The People Are Divided over Jesus

⁴⁰ When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, ‘This truly is the Prophet.’^{(PB) 41} Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some said, ‘Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁴² Doesn’t the Scripture^(PC) say that the Messiah comes from David’s^(PD) offspring^[ci] and from the town of Bethlehem,^(PE) where David lived? ’ ⁴³ So the crowd was divided^(PF) because of him. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to seize him,^(PG) but no one laid hands on him.

Debate over Jesus’s Claims

⁴⁵ Then the servants^(PH) came to the chief priests^(PI) and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn’t you bring him? ’

⁴⁶ The servants answered, ‘No man ever spoke like this! ’^[cj](PJ)

⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees responded to them, ‘Are you fooled^(PK) too? ⁴⁸ Have any of the rulers^(PL) or Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.’

⁵⁰ Nicodemus^(PM) – the one who came to him previously and who was one of them – said to them, ⁵¹ ‘Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it? ’^(PN)

⁵² ‘You aren’t from Galilee^(PO) too, are you? ’ they replied. ‘Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.’^(PP)

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[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]^[ck]

[⁵³ Then each one went to his house.

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.^(PQ)

An Adulteress Forgiven

² At dawn he went to the temple^(PR) again, and all the people were coming to him.^(PS) He sat down^(PT) and began to teach them.

³ Then the scribes and the Pharisees^(PU) brought a woman caught in adultery,^(PV) making her stand in the centre. ⁴ ‘Teacher,’ they said to him, ‘this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.^{(PW) 5} In the law Moses^(PX) commanded us to stone such women.^(PY) So what do you say? ’ ⁶ They asked this to trap him,^(PZ) in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.

Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, ‘The one without sin^(QA) among you^(QB) should be the first to throw a stone at her.’^{(QC) 8} Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. ⁹ When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the centre. ¹⁰ When Jesus stood up, he said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? ’

¹¹ ‘No one, Lord,’^[cl] she answered.

‘Neither do I condemn you,’^(QD) said Jesus. ‘Go, and from now on do not sin any more.’]

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The Light of the World

¹² Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I am^(QE) the light^(QF) of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.’^(QG)

¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.’

¹⁴ ‘Even if I testify about myself,’ Jesus replied, ‘my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going.^{(QH) 15} You judge^(QI) by human standards.^[cm](QJ) I judge no one.^{(QK) 16} And if I do judge, my judgement is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.^{(QL) 17} Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.^{(QM) 18} I am the one who testifies^(QN) about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.’

¹⁹ Then they asked him, ‘Where is your Father? ’

‘You know neither me nor my Father,’^(QO) Jesus answered. ‘If you knew me, you would also know my Father.’^{(QP) 20} He spoke these words by the treasury,^(QQ) while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Departure

²¹ Then he said to them again, ‘I’m going away;^(QR) you will look for me, and you will die in your sin.^(QS) Where I’m going, you cannot come.’^(QT)

²² So the Jews said again, ‘He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, “Where I’m going, you cannot come”^(QU)? ’

²³ ‘You are from below,’ he told them, ‘I am from above.^(QV) You are of this world;^(QW) I am not of this world.^{(QX) 24} Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.’

²⁵ ‘Who are you? ’ they questioned.

‘Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,’ Jesus told them. ²⁶ ‘I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the one who sent me^(QY) is true, and what I have heard from him – these things I tell the world.’^(QZ)

²⁷ They did not know he was speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man,^(RA) then you will know that I am^(RB) he, and that I do nothing on my own.^(RC) But just as the Father taught me, I say these things. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone,^(RD) because I always do what pleases him.’

Truth and Freedom

³⁰ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

³¹ Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in my word,^[cn](RE) you really are my disciples. ³² You will know the truth,^(RF) and the truth will set you free.’

³³ ‘We are descendants^[co] of Abraham,’^(RG) they answered him, ‘and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, “You will become free”? ’

³⁴ Jesus responded, ‘Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.^{(RH) 35} A slave does not remain in the household for ever,^(RI) but a son does remain for ever.^{(RJ) 36} So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. ³⁷ I know you are descendants of Abraham,^(RK) but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you. ³⁸ I speak what I have seen^(RL) in the presence of the Father;^[cp](RM) so then, you do what you have heard from your father.’

³⁹ ‘Our father is Abraham,’ they replied.

‘If you were Abraham’s children,’ Jesus told them, ‘you would do what Abraham did.^{(RN) 40} But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth^(RO) that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You’re doing what your father does.’^(RP)

‘We weren’t born^(RQ) of sexual immorality,’^(RR) they said. ‘We have one Father – God.’^(RS)

⁴² Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me,^(RT) because I came from God^(RU) and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to^[cq] my word.^{(RV) 44} You are of your father the devil,^(RW) and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer^(RX) from the beginning^(RY) and does not stand in the truth,^(RZ) because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature,^[cr] because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Who among you can convict me of sin?^(SA) If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.’

Jesus and Abraham

⁴⁸ The Jews responded to him, ‘Aren’t we right in saying that you’re a Samaritan^(SB) and have a demon? ’^(SC)

⁴⁹ ‘I do not have a demon,’ Jesus answered. ‘On the contrary, I honour my Father and you dishonour me. ⁵⁰ I do not seek my own glory;^(SD) there is one who seeks it and judges. ⁵¹ Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word,^(SE) he will never see death.’

⁵² Then the Jews said, ‘Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.” ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be? ’

⁵⁴ ‘If I glorify myself,’ Jesus answered, ‘my glory is nothing. My Father – about whom you say, “He is our God” – he is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵ You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him,^(SF) I would be a liar like you. But I do know him,^(SG) and I keep his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it^(SH) and was glad.’

⁵⁷ The Jews replied, ‘You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham? ’^[cs]

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’^(SI)

⁵⁹ So they picked up stones^(SJ) to throw at him.^(SK) But Jesus was hidden^[ct](SL) and went out of the temple.^[cu](SM)

The Sixth Sign: Healing a Man Born Blind

9 As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi,^(SN) who sinned, this man^(SO) or his parents,^(SP) that he was born blind? ’

³ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered. ‘This came about so that God’s works^(SQ) might be displayed in him. ⁴ We^[cv] must do the works^(SR) of him who sent me^[cw] while it is day.^(SS) Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’^(ST)

⁶ After he said these things he spat on the ground, made some mud^(SU) from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. ⁷ ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the pool of Siloam’^(SV) (which means ‘Sent’). So he left, washed, and came back seeing.^(SW)

⁸ His neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, ‘Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging? ’ ⁹ Some said, ‘He’s the one.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but he looks like him.’

He kept saying, ‘I’m the one.’

¹⁰ So they asked him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened? ’

¹¹ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, “Go to Siloam^(SX) and wash.” So when I went and washed I received my sight.’^(SY)

¹² ‘Where is he? ’ they asked.

‘I don’t know,’ he said.

The Healed Man’s Testimony

¹³ They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees.^{(SZ) 14} The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.^{(TA) 15} Then the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight.

‘He put mud on my eyes,’ he told them. ‘I washed and I can see.’

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God,^(TB) because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.’ But others were saying, ‘How can a sinful man^(TC) perform such signs? ’ And there was a division^(TD) among them.

¹⁷ Again they asked the blind man, ‘What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes? ’

‘He’s a prophet,’^(TE) he said.

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe this about him – that he was blind and received sight – until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.

¹⁹ They asked them, ‘Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see? ’

²⁰ ‘We know this is our son and that he was born blind,’ his parents answered. ²¹ ‘But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.’ ²² His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah,^(TF) he would be banned from the synagogue. ²³ This is why his parents said, ‘He’s of age; ask him.’

²⁴ So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, ‘Give glory^(TG) to God.^(TH) We know that this man is a sinner.’

²⁵ He answered, ‘Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see! ’

²⁶ Then they asked him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? ’

²⁷ ‘I already told you,’ he said, ‘and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you? ’

²⁸ They ridiculed him: ‘You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s^(TI) disciples. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man – we don’t know where he’s from.’^(TJ)

³⁰ ‘This is an amazing thing! ’ the man told them. ‘You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners,^(TK) but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will,^(TL) he listens to him.^{(TM) 32} Throughout history^[cx] no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.^{(TN) 33} If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.’^(TO)

³⁴ ‘You were born entirely in sin,’^(TP) they replied, ‘and are you trying to teach us? ’ Then they threw him out.^(TQ)

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man? ’^[cy](TR)

³⁶ ‘Who is he, Sir,^(TS) that I may believe in him? ’ he asked.

³⁷ Jesus answered, ‘You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’

³⁸ ‘I believe, Lord! ’ he said, and he worshipped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, ‘I came into this world^(TT) for judgement,^(TU) in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.’^(TV)

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, ‘We aren’t blind too, are we? ’

⁴¹ ‘If you were blind,’ Jesus told them, ‘you wouldn’t have sin.^(TW) But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains.

The Good Shepherd

10 ‘Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber.^{(TX) 2} The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd^(TY) of the sheep.^{(TZ) 3} The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.’ ⁶ Jesus gave them this figure of speech, but they did not understand^(UA) what he was telling them.

⁷ Jesus said again, ‘Truly I tell you, I am^(UB) the gate for the sheep.^{(UC) 8} All who came before me^[cz] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal^(UD) and kill and destroy.^(UE) I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹ ‘I am the good shepherd.^(UF) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.^{(UG) 12} The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them^[da] and runs away when he sees a wolf^(UH) coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³ This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴ ‘I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.^(UI) I lay down my life^(UJ) for the sheep. ¹⁶ But I have other sheep^(UK) that are not from this sheepfold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.^{(UL) 17} This is why the Father loves me,^(UM) because I lay down my life^(UN) so that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’^(UO)

¹⁹ Again the Jews were divided^(UP) because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon^(UQ) and he’s crazy. Why do you listen to him? ’ ²¹ Others were saying, ‘These aren’t the words of someone who is demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? ’^(UR)

Jesus at the Festival of Dedication

²² Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³ Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade.^{(US) 24} The Jews surrounded him and asked, ‘How long are you going to keep us in suspense?^[db] If you are the Messiah,^(UT) tell us plainly.’^[dc](UU)

²⁵ ‘I did tell you and you don’t believe,’ Jesus answered them. ‘The works^(UV) that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. ²⁶ But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.^{[dd](UW) 27} My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life,^(UX) and they will never perish.^(UY) No one will snatch^(UZ) them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father,^(VA) who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.’^(VB)

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹ Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.^(VC)

³² Jesus replied, ‘I have shown you many good works^(VD) from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me? ’

³³ ‘We aren’t stoning^(VE) you for a good work,’ the Jews answered, ‘but for blasphemy, because you – being a man – make yourself God.’

³⁴ Jesus answered them, ‘Isn’t it written in your law,^[de] I said, you are gods?^{(VF)[df] 35} If he called those to whom the word^(VG) of God came “gods” – and the Scripture^(VH) cannot be broken –  ³⁶ do you say, “You are blaspheming” to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?^{(VI) 37} If I am not doing my Father’s works,^(VJ) don’t believe me. ³⁸ But if I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand^[dg] that the Father is in me and I in the Father.’^{(VK) 39} Then they were trying again to seize him,^(VL) but he escaped their grasp.^(VM)

Many beyond the Jordan Believe in Jesus

⁴⁰ So he departed again across the Jordan^(VN) to the place where John^(VO) had been baptising earlier, and he remained there. ⁴¹ Many came to him^(VP) and said, ‘John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true.’ ⁴² And many believed in him there.

Lazarus Dies at Bethany

11 Now a man was ill – Lazarus from Bethany,^(VQ) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.^{(VR) 2} Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair,^(VS) and it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. ³ So the sisters sent a message to him: ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’

⁴ When Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,^(VT) so that the Son of God^(VU) may be glorified through it.’ ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after that, he said to the disciples, ‘Let’s go to Judea^(VV) again.’

⁸ ‘Rabbi,’^(VW) the disciples told him, ‘just now the Jews tried to stone you,^(VX) and you’re going there again? ’

⁹ ‘Aren’t there twelve hours in a day? ’ Jesus answered. ‘If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.^{(VY) 10} But if anyone walks during the night,^(VZ) he does stumble, because the light is not in him.’

¹¹ He said this, and then he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,^(WA) but I’m on my way to wake him up.’

¹² Then the disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.’

¹³ Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus then told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died. ¹⁵ I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.’

¹⁶ Then Thomas^(WB) (called ‘Twin’^[dh]) said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let’s go too so that we may die with him.’

The Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb^(WC) for four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem^(WD) (less than three kilometres^[di] away). ¹⁹ Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰ As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Then Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. ²² Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’