John 5

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You Must Be Born Again

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named hNicodemus, ia ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus1 jby night and said to him, kRabbi, lwe know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do munless God is with him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is nborn oagain2 he cannot psee the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born qof water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. rThat which is born of the flesh is sflesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.3 tDo not marvel that I said to you, You4 must be born uagain. vThe wind5 blows wwhere it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus said to him, xHow can these things be? 10 Jesus answered him, Are you the teacher of Israel yand yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, zwe speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but zyou6 do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 aNo one has bascended into heaven except che who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.7 14 And das Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ebe lifted up, 15 that whoever believes fin him gmay have eternal life.8

For God So Loved the World

16 For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal life. 17 For lGod did not send his Son into the world mto condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 nWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not obelieved in the name of the only Son of God. 19 pAnd this is the judgment: qthe light has come into the world, and rpeople loved the darkness rather than the light because stheir works were evil. 20 tFor everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, ulest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever vdoes what is true wcomes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and xwas baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for yJohn had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over zpurification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, aRabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, bto whom you bore witnesslook, he is baptizing, and call are going to him. 27 John answered, dA person cannot receive even one thing eunless it is given him ffrom heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, gI am not the Christ, but hI have been sent before him. 29 iThe one who has the bride is the bridegroom. jThe friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, krejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 lHe must increase, but I must decrease.10

31 mHe who comes from above nis above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ospeaks in an earthly way. pHe who comes from heaven nis above all. 32 qHe bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ryet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony ssets his seal to this, tthat God is true. 34 For he whom uGod has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit vwithout measure. 35 wThe Father loves the Son and xhas given all things into his hand. 36 yWhoever believes in the Son has eternal life; zwhoever does not obey the Son shall not asee life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and bbaptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed cagain for Galilee. dAnd he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field ethat Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, fwearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.1

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, fGive me a drink. (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? (gFor Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you hliving water. 11 The woman said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 iAre you greater than our father Jacob? jHe gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock. 13 Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but kwhoever drinks of the water that I will give him lwill never be thirsty again.2 The water that I will give him will become min him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. 15 The woman said to him, Sir, ngive me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.

16 Jesus said to her, Go, ocall your husband, and come here. 17 The woman answered him, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You are right in saying, I have no husband; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true. 19 The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that pyou are qa prophet. 20 rOur fathers worshiped on sthis mountain, but you say that tin Jerusalem is uthe place where people ought to worship. 21 Jesus said to her, vWoman, believe me, wthe hour is coming when xneither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 yYou worship what you do not know; zwe worship what we know, for zsalvation is afrom the Jews. 23 But bthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father cin spirit and dtruth, for the Father eis seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. 25 The woman said to him, I know that fMessiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, ghe will tell us all things. 26 Jesus said to her, hI who speak to you am he.

27 Just then ihis disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, What do you seek? or, Why are you talking with her? 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 Come, see a man jwho told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, kRabbi, eat. 32 But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. 33 So the disciples said to one another, lHas anyone brought him something to eat? 34 Jesus said to them, mMy food is nto do the will of him who sent me and oto accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that pthe fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that qsower and rreaper smay rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, tOne sows and another reaps. 38 I sent you to reap uthat for which you did not labor. Others have labored, vand you have entered into their labor.

39 Many Samaritans wfrom that town believed in him xbecause of ythe woman’s testimony, He told me all that I ever did. 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed zbecause of his word. 42 They said to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, aand we know that this is indeed bthe Savior cof the world.

43 After dthe two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified ethat a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, fhaving seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For gthey too had gone to the feast.

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

46 So he came again to hCana in Galilee, iwhere he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus jhad come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, kUnless you3 see signs and wonders you will not believe. 49 The official said to him, Sir, come down lbefore my child dies. 50 Jesus said to him, Go; your son will live. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants4 met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour5 the fever left him. 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, Your son will live. And he himself believed, mand all his household. 54 nThis was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

After this there was a ofeast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by pthe Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic1 called Bethesda,2 which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalidsblind, lame, and qparalyzed.3 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me. Jesus said to him, rGet up, take up your bed, and walk. rAnd at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

sNow that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews4 said to the man who had been healed, It is the Sabbath, and tit is not lawful for you to take up your bed. 11 But he answered them, The man who healed me, that man said to me, Take up your bed, and walk. 12 They asked him, Who is the man who said to you, Take up your bed and walk? 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for uJesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, See, you are well! vSin no more, wthat nothing worse may happen to you. 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews xwere persecuting Jesus, ybecause he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working.

Jesus Is Equal with God

18 This was why the Jews zwere seeking all the more to kill him, abecause not only was he bbreaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God chis own Father, dmaking himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

19 So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, ethe Son fcan do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father5 does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For gthe Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And hgreater works than these will he show him, so that iyou may marvel. 21 For as the Father jraises the dead and kgives them life, so lalso the Son gives life mto whom he will. 22 nFor the Father judges no one, but ohas given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they phonor the Father. qWhoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, rwhoever hears my word and sbelieves him who sent me has eternal life. He tdoes not come into judgment, but uhas passed from death to life.

25 Truly, truly, I say to you, van hour is coming, and is now here, when wthe dead will hear xthe voice of the Son of God, and those who hear wwill live. 26 yFor as the Father has life in himself, zso he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he ahas given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for van hour is coming when ball who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, cthose who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

30 dI can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and emy judgment is just, because fI seek not my own will gbut the will of him who sent me. 31 hIf I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is ianother who bears witness about me, and jI know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 kYou sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that lthe testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and mshining lamp, and nyou were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But lthe testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For othe works that the Father has given me pto accomplish, the very works that I am doing, qbear witness about me that rthe Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me shas himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, this form you have never seen, 38 and uyou do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 vYou search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and wit is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet xyou refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 yI do not receive glory from people. 42 But zI know that you do not have athe love of God within you. 43 I have come bin my Father’s name, and cyou do not receive me. dIf another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and edo not seek the glory that comes from fthe only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, gon whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for hhe wrote of me. 47 But iif you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

After this jJesus went away to the other side of kthe Sea of Galilee, which is lthe Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on mthe mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now nthe Passover, the ofeast of the Jews, was at hand. pLifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to qPhilip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. rPhilip answered him, Two hundred denarii1 worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little. One of his disciples, sAndrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, There is a boy here who has five tbarley loaves and two fish, but twhat are they for so many? 10 Jesus said, Have the people sit down. uNow there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and vwhen he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, wThis is indeed xthe Prophet ywho is to come into the world!

15 zPerceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus awithdrew again to bthe mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on Water

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,2 they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 cBut he said to them, It is I; do not be afraid. 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

I Am the Bread of Life

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only done boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord ehad given thanks. 24 fSo when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and gwent to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, hRabbi, when did you come here? 26 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, iyou are seeking me, not because you saw jsigns, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 kDo not work for the food that perishes, but for lthe food that endures to eternal life, which mthe Son of Man will give to you. For on nhim God the Father has oset his seal. 28 Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing pthe works of God? 29 Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, qthat you believe in him whom rhe has sent. 30 So they said to him, sThen what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 tOur fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, uHe gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is vhe who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 34 They said to him, wSir, give us this bread always.

35 Jesus said to them, xI am the bread of life; ywhoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 zAll that athe Father gives me will come to me, and bwhoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For cI have come down from heaven, not to do dmy own will but dthe will of him ewho sent me. 39 And fthis is the will of him who sent me, gthat I should lose nothing of hall that he has given me, but iraise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who jlooks on the Son and kbelieves in him lshould have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, mI am the bread that came down from heaven. 42 They said, nIs not this Jesus, othe son of Joseph, whose father and mother pwe know? How does he now say, I have come down from heaven? 43 Jesus answered them, Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me qdraws him. And rI will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, sAnd they will all be ttaught by God. uEveryone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me 46 vnot that anyone has seen the Father except whe who is from God; he xhas seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, ywhoever believes has eternal life. 48 zI am the bread of life. 49 aYour fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and bthey died. 50 cThis is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it dand not die. 51 I am the living bread ethat came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ffor the life of the world is gmy flesh.

52 The Jews then hdisputed among themselves, saying, iHow can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of jthe Son of Man and drink his blood, you khave no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood lhas eternal life, and mI will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood nabides in me, and I in him. 57 As othe living Father psent me, and qI live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 rThis is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread3 the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. 59 Jesus4 said these things in the synagogue, as he taught sat Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

60 tWhen many of his disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying; who can listen to it? 61 But Jesus, vknowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see wthe Son of Man xascending to ywhere he was before? 63 zIt is the Spirit who gives life; athe flesh is no help at all. bThe words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But cthere are some of you who do not believe. (For Jesus vknew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and dwho it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, This is why I told you ethat no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.

66 fAfter this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to gthe twelve, Do you want to go away as well? 68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have hthe words of eternal life, 69 and iwe have believed, and have come to know, that jyou are kthe Holy One of God. 70 Jesus answered them, lDid I not choose you, gthe twelve? And yet one of you is ma devil. 71 He spoke of Judas nthe son of Simon Iscariot, for ohe, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Jesus at the Feast of Booths

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because pthe Jews1 were seeking to kill him. Now qthe Jews’ Feast of rBooths was at hand. sSo his brothers2 said to him, Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, tshow yourself to the world. uFor not even vhis brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, wMy time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but xit hates me because I testify about it that yits works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for zmy time has not yet fully come. After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after ahis brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 bThe Jews cwere looking for him at the feast, and saying, Where is he? 12 And there was much dmuttering about him among the people. eWhile some said, He is a good man, others said, No, fhe is leading the people astray. 13 Yet gfor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up hinto the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore imarveled, saying, How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied? 16 So Jesus answered them, jMy teaching is not mine, but his kwho sent me. 17 lIf anyone’s will is to do God’s5 will, mhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I nam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority oseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 pHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. qWhy do you seek to kill me? 20 The crowd answered, rYou have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you? 21 Jesus answered them, I did sone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 tMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ufrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, vare you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 wDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

Can This Be the Christ?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, Is not this the man whom xthey seek to kill? 26 And here he is, yspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that zthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But awe know bwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, cno one will know where he comes from. 28 So Jesus proclaimed, das he taught in the temple, aYou know me, and you know where I come from. But eI have not come of my own accord. fHe who sent me is true, gand him you do not know. 29 hI know him, for I come ifrom him, and jhe sent me. 30 kSo they were seeking to arrest him, but lno one laid a hand on him, mbecause his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet nmany of the people believed in him. They said, oWhen the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd pmuttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent qofficers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, rI will be with you a little longer, and then sI am going to him who sent me. 34 tYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come. 35 The Jews said to one another, Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? uDoes he intend to go to vthe Dispersion among wthe Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, xYou will seek me and you will not find me, and, Where I am you cannot come?

Rivers of Living Water

37 yOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, zIf anyone thirsts, let him acome to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, bas6 the Scripture has said, cOut of his heart will flow rivers of dliving water. 39 Now ethis he said about the Spirit, fwhom those who believed in him were to receive, gfor as yet the Spirit had not been hgiven, ibecause Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

40 When they heard these words, jsome of the people said, This really is kthe Prophet. 41 Others said, This is lthe Christ. But some said, mIs the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes nfrom the offspring of David, and comes ofrom Bethlehem, the village pwhere David was? 43 So there was qa division among the people over him. 44 rSome of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 sThe officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, Why did you not bring him? 46 The officers answered, tNo one ever spoke like this man! 47 The Pharisees answered them, uHave you also been deceived? 48 vHave any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. 50 wNicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 xDoes our law judge a man without first ygiving him a hearing and learning what he does? 52 They replied, zAre you from Galilee too? Search and see that ano prophet arises from Galilee.

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:538:11.]7

The Woman Caught in Adultery

53 [[They went each to his own house,