Site Map | Read About My Translations | NT Manuscripts | Comments on versions | KJV-Onlyism | TC Exercises | Links

The Gospel of

JOHN

Chapter 1

The Word Became Flesh Among Us

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

³Through him all things were made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light for humankind. ⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not mastered it.

⁶There came a man sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify about that light, so that through him all people might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came rather to bear witness to the light. ⁹The true light, which gives light to every human being, was coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, and his own did not receive him. ¹²But to all who did receive him, to those believing on his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born, not from bloods, nor from body desire, nor from a man's decision, but born of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh, and moved his tent in among us; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of an only begotten, passed on from a Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John testifies concerning him, and he has cried out, saying: "This is he of whom I said, 'The one coming after me has outranked me, because he existed before me.'"

¹⁶And out of his fulness we have all received, yes, grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God; but the Only Begotten Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

---

The Pharisees Question John

¹⁹And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem in order to ask him, "Who are you?" ²⁰And he confessed, and did not resist; but confessed, "I am not the Anointed One."

²¹And they asked him, "Who then? Are you Elijah?"

   And he says, "I am not."

   "Are you the Prophet?"

   And he answered, "No."

²²They said therefore to him, "Who are you? So we may give an answer to those who sent us, what do you say about yourself?"

²³He said, "I am just as Isaiah the prophet said: 'the voice of one calling in the wilderness, "Prepare the way for the Lord." ''"

²⁴And those who were sent were of the Pharisees. ²⁵And they questioned him and said to him, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Anointed One, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

²⁶John answered them as follows: "I baptize in water, but among you stands one you do not know, ²⁷the one coming after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."

²⁸These things happened in Bethany, on the other side of the Jordan.

Behold the Lamb of God

      ²⁹The next day he sees Jesus coming toward him, and says, "Behold! The lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is he of whom I said, 'After me will come a man who has outranked me because he existed before me.' ³¹And I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing in water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

³²Then John testified, saying: "I have seen the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove, and it remained upon him. ³³And I myself had not known him, but the one who sent me to baptize in water, he told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit coming down and remaining upon, this is the one who will baptize in the Holy Spirit.' ³⁴And now I have seen, and now I have testified, that this is the Son of God."

John and Andrew Have Found the Messiah

³⁵The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples. ³⁶And seeing Jesus walking, he says, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

³⁷The two disciples heard him saying this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸And Jesus turned around; and seeing them following, says to them, "What do you want?"

   And they said to him, "Rabbi," (which when translated is Teacher), "where are you staying?"

³⁹He says to them, "Come, and you will see."

   They went therefore, and saw where he was staying, and spent the rest of that day with him, it being about 10 a.m.

⁴⁰Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two hearing from John and following Jesus. ⁴¹This man first thing finds his own brother Simon, and he tells him, "We have found the Messiah" (which when translated is Anointed One).

⁴²He led him to Jesus.

   Looking at him, Jesus said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Kephas" (which when translated is Rock ).

Philip and Nathaniel

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go forth into Galilee; and he finds Philip. And Jesus says to him, "Follow me."

⁴⁴And Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip finds Nathaniel, and tells him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law, and also the prophets wrote: Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

⁴⁶And Nathaniel said to him, "Is it possible for anything good to be from Nazareth?"

   Philip says to him, "Come and see."

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him, he says about him, "Behold a true Israelite, in whom there is no artifice."

⁴⁸Nathaniel says to him, "Where do you know me from?"

   And Jesus answered and said to him, "I saw you while you were under the fig tree, before Philip called you."

⁴⁹Nathaniel answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel."

⁵⁰Jesus answered and said to him, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You shall see greater things than that." ⁵¹He then says to him, "Truly, truly I say to you, you shall all see heaven torn open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Chapter 2

Water Into Wine

¹And on the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, ²and both Jesus and his disciples had been invited to the wedding. ³And when wine was lacking, Jesus' mother says to him, "They have no wine."

⁴Jesus says to her, "What business is there between you and me, woman? My time has not yet come."

⁵His mother says to the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do."

⁶And there were six stone water jars lying there, for the ceremonial washing of the Jews, each holding from two to three measures.

⁷Jesus says to them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim.

⁸And he tells them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the master of the banquet." And they took some.

⁹When the master of the banquet tasted the water become wine, not knowing where it had come from, but the servants having drawn the water knowing, the master of the banquet calls the bridegroom, ¹⁰and says to him, "Everyone sets out the good wine first, and the cheaper after they have become drunk. You have kept the good wine till now."

¹¹This, the first of the miraculous signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

¹²After this he went down to Capernaum, he and his mother, and brothers, and his disciples, and there they stayed for a few days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

¹³And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴And in the temple he found those selling cattle, sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting. ¹⁵And having made like a whip out of ropes, he expelled all from the temple, including the sheep and the cattle, and he poured out the coins of the money changers, and overturned the tables, ¹⁶and he said to those selling the doves, "Take these out of here! Do not make the house of my Father a house of commerce!"

¹⁷His disciples remembered that it is written: "The zeal for your house will consume me."

¹⁸The Jews responded therefore and said to him, "What sign are you showing us, that you can do these things?"

¹⁹Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it."

²⁰Then the Jews said, "This temple was built in forty-six years, and you in three days will raise it?" ²¹But he had spoken of the temple of his body. ²²When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture, and the word that Jesus had spoken.

²³And while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the Festival, many believed in his name— seeing the miraculous signs he was doing. ²⁴But Jesus on his part did not commit himself to them, because he knew all people, ²⁵and because he had no need that anyone testify about a person, for he knew what was in the person.

Chapter 3

You Must Be Born Again

¹And there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²He came to Jesus by night, and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one would be able to do these miraculous signs you are doing, unless God were with him."

³Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly I say to you, Unless one is born again from above, it is not possible to see the kingdom of God."

⁴Nicodemus says to him, "How is it possible for someone who is old, to be born? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"

⁵Jesus answered, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born from water and spirit, it is not possible to enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶That born from flesh is flesh, and that born from Spirit is spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' ⁸The wind blows where it will, and the sound of it you hear, but you do not know where it is coming from, and where it is going. Such is everyone born from the Spirit."

⁹Nicodemus answered and said to him, "How can these things be?"

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, "You are Teacher for Israel, and not familiar with these things? ¹¹Truly, truly I tell you, we are saying what we know, and testifying to what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³And no one has gone up into heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, in like manner the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸The person who believes in him is not condemned. The person who does not believe, is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of God's only begotten Son.

¹⁹And this is the condemnation:

The light

has come into the world.

And human beings

loved the darkness

more than the light,

because their works

were continually evil.

²⁰For everyone practicing evil things, hates the light, and does not come toward the light, so that his works may not be exposed. ²¹But someone doing the truth comes toward the light, so that his works may be manifest, that they have been accomplished in God."

"He Must Increase; I Must Decrease"

²²After these things, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean territory, and there he was spending time with them, and baptizing. ²³And John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there, and they were coming and getting baptized. ²⁴For John was still not yet thrown into prison.

²⁵Then a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a certain Jew about ceremonial washing. ²⁶And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, about whom you testified, behold, that man is baptizing, and everyone is moving to him."

²⁷John answered and said, "A human being is not able to receive a thing that is not given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves bear me witness that I said, 'I am not the Anointed One, but am sent ahead of him.' ²⁹The one possessing the bride is bridegroom, and the one standing and hearing him, the friend of the bridegroom, who rejoices with a joy on account of the voice of the bridegroom. That joy, my joy, is therefore fulfilled. ³⁰He must increase, and I must decrease.

³¹"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all; ³²what he has seen and heard, this he testifies to, and no one accepts his testimony. ³³The person who accepts his testimony has vouched that God is truthful. ³⁴For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; because to him God gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. ³⁶The person who believes in the Son, has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life, but rather, the wrath of God remains upon him."

Chapter 4

The Samaritan Woman at the Well

¹Then, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, ²(although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples), ³he left Judea, and went back into Galilee.

⁴But he had to pass through Samaria. ⁵Thus it is he comes to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶And Jacob's well was there. So there Jesus was, sitting down by the well, tired from the journey. It was about 6 p.m.

⁷A woman of Samaria comes to draw water. Jesus says to her, "Give me a drink." ⁸(For his disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹Then the Samaritan woman says to him, "How is it you, being a Jew, are asking a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews do not use dishes in common with Samaritans.)

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

¹¹She says to him, "Sir, you do not have a bucket, and the shaft is deep. Where then do you hold the living water? ¹²Are you greater than our forefather Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and also his sons and his animals?"

¹³Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks from this water will thirst again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks from the water which I will give him will by no means ever thirst again. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into life without end."

¹⁵The woman says to him, "Sir, give me this water. Then I wouldn't get thirsty, and neither would I have to keep coming over here to draw."

¹⁶He says to her, "Go call your husband, and come back here."

¹⁷The woman answered and said, "I do not have a husband."

   Jesus says to her, "Commendably, you said, 'I do not have a husband.' ¹⁸For you have had five husbands, and he you now have is not your husband. This you have said honestly."

¹⁹The woman says to him, "Sir, I am perceiving that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem."

²¹Jesus says to her, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³Nevertheless, a time is coming, and is now come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for indeed that is the kind the Father seeks as those worshiping him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those worshiping him, must worship in spirit and in truth."

²⁵The woman says to him, "I do know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will teach us everything."

²⁶Jesus says to her, "I, the one speaking to you, am he."

Lift Your Eyes, See My Food and My Harvest

²⁷And at this point his disciples came, and they were surprised that he was talking with a woman. Still, no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you talking with her?"

²⁸Then, the woman left her water jar, and went away into the town. And she says to the people, ²⁹"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could he be the Messiah?"

³⁰They were proceeding out of the town and coming toward him. ³¹In the meantime, his disciples were pleading with him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."

³²But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."

³³His disciples therefore were saying to each other, "Has someone brought him something to eat?"

³⁴Jesus says to them, "That I may do the will of him who sent me, is food to me, and that I may finish his work. ³⁵Do you not say, 'There is four months yet, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look upon the fields. For they are white even now for harvest. ³⁶The one harvesting is taking his wages, and gathering fruit resulting in eternal life, so that the one sowing and the one harvesting may rejoice together. ³⁷For the saying, 'One is the sower and another is the reaper,' is true in this: ³⁸I have sent you to harvest what you have not worked. Others have done the hard work, and you have joined in their labor."

The Woman's Talk Bears Fruit

³⁹And many of the Samaritans from that town had believed in him because of the woman's word testifying, "He told me everything I ever did." ⁴⁰When therefore the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to remain with them, and he remained two days. ⁴¹And, because of his word, many more believed.

⁴²And to the woman they said, "No longer because of your talk do we believe; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world."

The Official's Son Stays Alive

⁴³And after the two days he departed from there into Galilee. ⁴⁴(Now Jesus himself testified, that in his own native place a prophet has no honor.) ⁴⁵When then he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him– having seen all the things that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival, for they also had gone to the festival.

⁴⁶He came again therefore to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And there was a certain royal official there whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When this man heard that Jesus was coming out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him and asked that he would come and heal his son, for he was about to die.

⁴⁸Jesus therefore said to him, "Unless you people see miraculous signs and terrifying omens, you will never believe."

⁴⁹The royal official says to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

⁵⁰Jesus says to him, "Go. Your son stays alive."

   The man believed the word that Jesus had said to him, and departed. ⁵¹And even as he was going back down, his servants met him saying that his boy was living. ⁵²He therefore ascertained from them the exact time in which he had gotten better. They therefore said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at 7 p.m."

⁵³Then the father realized: that was the hour in which Jesus had said to him, "Your son stays alive." And he and his whole household believed.

⁵⁴Again, this second miraculous sign Jesus performed while coming out of Judea into Galilee.

Chapter 5

Jesus Heals in the Spa on the Sabbath

¹After these things, there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five colonnades. ³In these a great number of disabled people used to lie, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. ⁵And one man was there who had had a disability thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had had his condition now for a long time, he says to him, "Do you want to get well?"

⁷The invalid answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred, and while I am going, someone else goes down ahead of me."

⁸Jesus says to him, "Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk." ⁹And immediately the man became well, and he picked up his mat and walked. And that day was during a Sabbath.

      ¹⁰The Jews therefore said to the man who had been healed, "It is a Sabbath, and not lawful for you to carry your mat."

¹¹He answered them, "The man who made me well, he told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "

¹²They asked him, "Who is the man telling you to pick up and walk?"

¹³But the man who was healed had not known who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, a crowd being in the place.

¹⁴After these things Jesus finds him at the temple and said to him, "Behold, you are well. Do not sin any longer, or something worse might happen to you." ¹⁵The man went away and reported to the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

Hear the Voice of the Son and Live

¹⁶And for this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and looked for a way to kill him, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷But he answered them, "My Father is working continuously up to now, so I also am working." ¹⁸For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also saying God was his own father, making himself equal to God.

¹⁹Therefore Jesus responded and said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, the Son is not able to do anything from himself, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever things that One does, these things also the Son does likewise. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son, and shows him every thing that he does. And indeed, greater works than these he will show him, such that you will be constantly amazed. ²¹For just as the Father raises the dead and makes them alive, in this way also the Son makes alive those whom he wishes. ²²Moreover, the Father judges no one, but instead has given all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The person who does not honor the Son is not honoring the Father who sent him.

²⁴"Truly, truly I say to you, the person who hears my word and believes the one who sent me, has eternal life, and is not going into judgment, but has crossed over out of death into life. ²⁵Truly, truly I say to you, a time is coming, and is now come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and the ones who hear will live. ²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted to the Son to have life in himself. ²⁷And to him he has given authority to do the judging, because he is the son of a human.

²⁸"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming, when all those in the graves will hear his voice, ²⁹and stream out, the ones who have done good into a resurrection of life, and the ones who have done evil into a resurrection of judgment. ³⁰I from myself am not able to do a thing; only as I hear do I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I am not seeking my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Testimonies About Jesus

³¹"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. ³²There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true.

³³"You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴I do not accept testimony from a human being; but I am saying these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵That one was a burning and shining lamp, and in his light you were willing to exult, for a time.

³⁶"But I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works which I am doing, they testify about me that the Father has sent me. ³⁷And the Father who sent me, he has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. ³⁸And his word, you do not have living in you, because the one he has sent, him you do not believe. ³⁹You diligently study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life. And these are the ones that testify about me. ⁴⁰Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

⁴¹"I do not accept praise from human beings; ⁴²but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. ⁴³I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; if someone else comes in his own name, him you will accept. ⁴⁴How is it possible for you to believe, accepting praise from one another, and not seeking the praise from the only God?

⁴⁵"But do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. The one accusing you is Moses, on whom you have placed your hope. ⁴⁶For if you were believing Moses, you would be believing me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷But since you are not believing his writings, how will you believe my statements?"

Chapter 6

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹After these things, Jesus went across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (the Sea of Tiberias). ²And a large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miraculous signs he had been performing on the sick.

³Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he was sitting, with his disciples. ⁴And the Passover was near, the festival of the Jews. ⁵Then, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus says to Philip, "Where might we buy loaves so that these can eat?" ⁶But he said this testing him, for he himself had known what he was about to do.

⁷Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii are not enough loaves for them to each get a little!

⁸One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, ⁹"There is a youth here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they in the face of so many?"

¹⁰Jesus said, "Get the people to recline." Now there was plenty of green grass in the place. The men therefore reclined, the number about five thousand. ¹¹Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks, he distributed to those reclining, and likewise from the fish, as much they wanted.

¹²And when they were full, he says to his disciples, "Gather the fragments that are left over, so that nothing is wasted." ¹³So they gathered, and filled twelve large baskets with fragments of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴Then the people, having seen the miraculous sign he had done, were saying, "This surely is the Prophet who was to come into the world." ¹⁵Jesus therefore, knowing that they were about to come and take him by force to try to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain, himself alone.

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁶And when evening had come, his disciples had gone down to the lake, ¹⁷and gotten into a boat, and were proceeding across the lake toward Capernaum. And now darkness came, and Jesus had not yet come to them, ¹⁸and as a great wind was blowing, the lake was becoming very rough. ¹⁹Then, after having rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they behold him walking on the lake, and getting close to the boat, and they were afraid.

²⁰But he says to them, "It is I. Don't be afraid."

²¹Then they willingly took him into the boat. And immediately the boat was at the shore to which they were headed.

I Am the Bread Come Down out of Heaven

²²The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake realized that no other boat had been there except one, and that Jesus had not gotten into the boat with his disciples, but his disciples had gone away alone. ²³(Other boats, from Tiberias, arrived near the place where they had eaten the loaves, where the Lord had given thanks.) ²⁴When therefore the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

²⁵And finding him across the lake, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

²⁶Jesus answered them, and said, "Truly, truly I say to you, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and were satisfied. ²⁷Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that abides, resulting in eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For him God the Father has sealed."

²⁸They therefore said to him, "What should we do in order to be working the works of God?"

²⁹Jesus answered, and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in that one whom he has sent."

³⁰So they said to him, "What miraculous sign then are you performing, so that we may see, and believe you? What works are you working? ³¹Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'"

³²Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, the bread out of heaven is not given you by Moses; no, the real bread out of heaven my Father is giving you. ³³For the bread of God, is the one coming down out of heaven and giving life to the world."

³⁴They said therefore to him, "Sir, give us that bread evermore."

³⁵Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. The person who comes to me, would by no means hunger, and the one believing in me would by no means thirst, ever. ³⁶But as I told you, you have seen me and still you are not believing. ³⁷All flesh that the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me, I would certainly not drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me: that of all flesh that he has given me, I would not lose any of it, but raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of my Father: that anyone looking to the Son and believing in him would have eternal life, and I would raise him up at the last day."

⁴¹Then the Jews started grumbling about him, because he said, "I am the bread having come down out of heaven." ⁴²And they were saying, "Isn't this the Jesus son of Joseph whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?"

⁴³Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop grumbling among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I would raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets: 'And they shall all be taught by God.^' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to me. ⁴⁶Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Truly, truly I say to you, the person who does believe in me, has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, and they died. ⁵⁰But this is bread coming down out of heaven such that one may eat of it and would not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread come down out of heaven. If someone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. Namely, the bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

⁵²Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

⁵³Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴The person eating my flesh and drinking my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶The one eating my flesh and drinking my blood abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father has sent me, and I live by means of the Father, so also that one eating me will live by means of me. ⁵⁸This bread coming down out of heaven is not like the bread the forefathers ate and then died. The person eating this bread will live for ever." ⁵⁹These things he said while teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

A Teaching Too Scandalous for Some

⁶⁰Then many of his disciples hearing said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can listen to it?"

⁶¹But knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "This is shocking you? ⁶²Then what if you were seeing the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? ⁶³Spirit is what makes alive; flesh counts for nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴Yet some of you are not believing." For Jesus had known from the beginning who the ones not believing were, and who the one was, who would betray him. ⁶⁵He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one has the ability to come to me, unless it is given to him from the Father.”

⁶⁶From this, many of his disciples drew back, and no longer went along with him.

⁶⁷Jesus therefore said to the twelve, "You are not thinking of leaving too, are you?"

⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."

⁷⁰Jesus responded to them, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve, for myself? Yet one of you is a devil." ⁷¹He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon of Kerioth; for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

Chapter 7

Jesus' Brothers Judge Him Falsely

¹And after these things, Jesus was walking around in Galilee, for he was not wanting to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. ²But the Jewish Festival of Booths was near. ³So his brothers said to him, "Remove yourself from here and go to Judea, so that your disciples there also may see the miracles you are doing. ⁴For no one who wants to become famous, acts in secret. If you really are doing these things, show yourself to the world." ⁵For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶Jesus therefore said to them, "The time for me has not yet come. But for you the time is always suitable. ⁷The world cannot hate you, but me it hates, because I testify about it, that its works are evil. ⁸You go up to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because for me the time is not yet fully come." ⁹And having said these things, he remained in Galilee.

Jesus Goes Up for Sukkot

¹⁰And when his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly, but in secret. ¹¹The Jews therefore were looking for him in the festival, and saying, "Where is that fellow?"

¹²And there was much whispering about him in the crowds. Some were maintaining, "He is a good man."

   "No," others would say. "He is misleading the people." ¹³Though none would speak about him openly, for fear of the Jews.

¹⁴And when it was already the middle of the festival, Jesus went up to the temple, and was teaching. ¹⁵The Jews then were marveling, saying, "How does this man know letters, not having received instruction?"

¹⁶Jesus therefore answered them and said, "My teaching is not mine, but rather his who sent me. ¹⁷If someone is inclined to do His will, he will find out about the teaching, whether it is from God, or I am speaking from myself. ¹⁸One who speaks from himself is seeking his own glory. But one seeking the glory of Him who sent him, such a one is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. ¹⁹Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you performs the law. Why are you trying to kill me?"

²⁰The crowd responded, "You have a demon. Who is trying to kill you?"

²¹Jesus answered and said to them, "One work I did, and you are all appalled. ²²Why is it Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but rather from the patriarchs) and during the Sabbath you circumcise a man? ²³If a man receives circumcision during the Sabbath so that the law of Moses not be broken, why are you incensed at me that I have made the whole man whole during the Sabbath? ²⁴Judge not by appearances, but judge the righteous judgment."

Is Jesus the Anointed One?

²⁵Then some of the Jerusalemites were saying, "Is this not the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶And behold he is speaking openly, and they say nothing to him. Could it be the authorities have actually come to know that this is the Christ? ²⁷Except this man, we know where he is from; but the Christ, when he comes, no one will know where he is from."

²⁸Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, "Yes, me you know, and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come of myself. True rather is the one who sent me; him you do not know. ²⁹I know him, because I am from him, and that one has sent me."

³⁰Then they were trying to seize him, yet no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. ³¹But many of the crowd put trust on him, and they were saying, "When the Christ comes, will he perform more signs than this man has done?" ³²The Pharisees heard these whisperings of the crowd about him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

³³Jesus continued and said, "Just a short time more I am with you, and then I am going away, to the one who sent me. ³⁴You will look for me, and will not find me, and where I am you are not able to come."

³⁵The Jews therefore said among themselves, "Where is this man about to go, that we will not find him? Is he about to go into the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶What is the meaning of this statement that he said, 'You will look for me and will not find me, and where I am you are not able to come'?"

³⁷And in the great and final day of the festival, there stood Jesus. And he cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, he should come to me; and drink, ³⁸he who believes on me. As the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from His belly." ³⁹Now this he said in reference to the Spirit, whom those believing in him were about to receive. For the Spirit was not yet present, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰Some in the crowd therefore who heard these words were saying, "Surely this man is the Prophet."

⁴¹Others were saying, "This man is the Christ."

   The former were then saying, "What? The Christ comes from Galilee? ⁴²Didn't the scripture say that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?" ⁴³A split therefore occurred among the crowd because of him. ⁴⁴And some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Unbelief of the Jewish Authorities

⁴⁵Then the officers went to the chief priests and Pharisees, and those said to them, "Why have you not brought him?"

⁴⁶The officers answered, "Never has someone spoken so, like this man speaks."

⁴⁷The Pharisees therefore answered them, "Have you also been deceived? ⁴⁸Has anyone of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed on him? ⁴⁹As for this crowd, cursed are they, not understanding the law."

⁵⁰Nicodemus, the one who had come to him previously, who was one of them, says to them, ⁵¹"Our law does not judge the man unless it first hears from him, and knows what he is doing, does it?"

⁵²They answered and said to him, "You aren't from Galilee too, are you? Investigate and see, that no prophet arises out of Galilee."

The Woman Caught in Adultery

⁵³And each went to his home.

Chapter 8

¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²And at dawn he showed up in the temple again, and all the people were coming toward him. And having sat down, he was teaching them. ³And the Torah scholars and the Pharisees are bringing a woman caught in adultery. And after they stood her in the midst, ⁴they say to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵In the Law, Moses charged us to stone such women. What then do you say?" ⁶But this they were saying tempting him, in order that they might obtain basis to accuse him.

     But Jesus bent down and was writing on the ground with his finger. ⁷And after they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "The one among you who is sinless should be first to throw a stone at her." ⁸And after bending down again, he continued writing on the ground.

⁹And after they heard this, they went away, one by one, starting with the oldest, until he alone was left, and the woman still in the midst. ¹⁰And Jesus straightened up, and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

¹¹And she said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither am I condemning you. Go your way, and from now on, sin no more."

The Validity of Jesus' Testimony

¹²Jesus then spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will not walk around in the darkness, but on the contrary, he will have for himself the light of life."

¹³The Pharisees therefore said to him, "You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid."

¹⁴Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is valid, because I know where I came from, and where I am going. But you do not know where I am coming from, or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge by the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶But even if I judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone: it is I and the one who sent me. ¹⁷Now even in your law it is written, that the testimony of two persons is valid. ¹⁸I am one testifying about myself, and the one who sent me is testifying about me, the Father."

¹⁹Then they were saying to him, "Where is your father?"

   Jesus answered, "Neither me nor my Father do you know. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." ²⁰These statements he spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple, and no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

²¹Continuing, he said to them, "I am going; and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I am going, you are not able to come."

²²So the Jews were saying, "Is he going to kill himself, that he says, 'Where I am going, you are not able to come'?"

²³And he said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. ²⁴I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am who I am, you will die in your sins."

²⁵Therefore they were saying to him, "Who are you?"

   Jesus said to them, "Why am I speaking to you at all? ²⁶I have many things to say about you, and to judge. But the one who sent me is true, and I, what things I hear from him, those are the things I speak in the world."

²⁷They did not understand that he was speaking to them of the Father. ²⁸Then Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will find out that I am he, and of myself I do nothing, but rather exactly as the Father has taught me, those things I speak. ²⁹And the one who sent me is continually with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do the things pleasing to him." ³⁰As he was speaking these things, many believed in him.

The Children of Abraham

³¹Jesus was therefore saying to the ones who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are true disciples of mine, ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

³³They responded to him, "We are seed of Abraham, and to no one have we ever been enslaved. How do you mean, that we will become free?"

³⁴Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly I say to you, everyone doing sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵And the slave does not abide in the house in perpetuity; the Son abides in perpetuity. ³⁶If therefore the Son should make you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷I know that you are seed of Abraham; yet you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room in you. ³⁸The things that I have seen with the Father I speak, and you then the things you have heard from your father you are doing."

³⁹They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham."

   Jesus says to them, "If you were children of Abraham, you would be doing the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰But as it is, you are trying to kill me, someone who has spoken to you the truth he has heard from the Father. This, Abraham did not do. ⁴¹You are doing the works of your father."

   They said to him, "We were not conceived in fornication. We have one father: God."

The Children of the Devil

⁴²Jesus said to them, "If God were your father, you would love me, for I went out from God and have arrived here. For neither did I come of myself, but that One sent me. ⁴³What is the reason you do not understand my speech? Because you are not able to tolerate my word. ⁴⁴You are of your father, the Devil, and the yearnings of your father you want to do. That one has been homicidal from the beginning, and in the truth he has never stood still, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks the lie, he is speaking from his own things, for he is a liar, and the father of the lie. ⁴⁵So I, because I am saying the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶Who of you is convicting me of a sin? If I am saying the truth, why is it you do not believe me? ⁴⁷The ones who are of the Father hear the statements of the Father. This is why you do not hear; you are not of God."

The Authorities Attempt Stoning for Claim of Pre-Eminence of Abraham

⁴⁸The Jews answered and said to him, "Do we not rightly say that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?"

⁴⁹Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon. Quite the opposite, I am honoring my Father. And you are dishonoring me. ⁵⁰It is not me seeking my glory. There is One seeking, and judging. ⁵¹Truly, truly I say to you, If someone follows my word, death he will by no means see, into all time."

⁵²The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and also the Prophets, and you say, 'If someone follows my word, death he will by no means experience, into all time.' ⁵³Are you greater than our forefather Abraham, who died? And the Prophets also died. What sort of man do you reckon yourself?"

⁵⁴Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, that glory of mine is worthless. My Father is the one glorifying me, the one that you say is your God. ⁵⁵And you have never known him, but I know him. Now if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and his word I am following. ⁵⁶Abraham, your forefather, made exultation yearning to see my day. And he saw it, and was thrilled."

⁵⁷The Jews therefore said to him, "You are not yet fifty, and you have beheld Abraham?"

⁵⁸Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." ⁵⁹Then they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went forth from the temple.

Chapter 9

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

¹And as he was going along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²And his disciples queried him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"

³Jesus answered, "Neither that this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴We must be working at the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

⁶When he had said these things, he spit on the ground, and made mud with the saliva, and rubbed the mud on the man's eyes. ⁷And he said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which when translated is "Sent"). He went therefore and washed, and came back seeing.

⁸His neighbors therefore, and those who had previously observed him being a beggar, were saying, "Isn't this the man usually sitting and begging?"

⁹Some were saying, "This is the same man."

   Others were saying, "No; he only looks like him."

   He himself kept saying, "I am the one."

¹⁰They were saying therefore to him, "How were your eyes opened?"

¹¹He answered, "The man named Jesus made mud and rubbed my eyes with it, and he told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So when I went and washed, I saw."

¹²And they said to him, "Where is that man?

   He says, "I don't know."

The Authorities Investigate the Healing

¹³And they take him to the Pharisees, the man who had once been blind. ¹⁴And the day on which Jesus had made mud and opened his eyes had been a Sabbath. ¹⁵So again, the Pharisees also asked him how he came to see. And he told them, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see."

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees therefore were saying, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath."

   But others were saying, "How can a sinful man do such miracles?" So there was a split among them.

¹⁷Then they are talking to the blind man again: "What do you say about him? For it was your eyes he opened."

   And he said, "He is a prophet."

¹⁸The result was the Jews did not believe about him that he used to be blind and then saw; until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight. ¹⁹And they questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? And if so, how does he now see?"

²⁰His parents therefore answered and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. ²¹But how he now sees, we do not know. Or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he has majority. He will speak for himself." ²²His parents said these things because they were fearing the Jews. For the Jews had already decided that anyone who acknowledged Him to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. ²³This is why his parents said, "He has majority.  Ask him."

²⁴Then the man who had been blind they summoned a second time. And they said to him, "Give credit to God. We know that this man is sinful."

²⁵He then answered, "Whether he is sinful, I do not know. One thing I know: Whereas I used to be blind, now I see."

²⁶They said therefore to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

²⁷He answered them, "I told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?"

²⁸And they ridiculed him and said, "You are the disciple of that one. We are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know for sure that God has spoken to Moses; but this fellow, we don't know where he comes from."

³⁰The man answered and said to them, "Well, there certainly is something strange in this, that you don't know where he comes from, and he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not hear the sinful.  But if someone is God-fearing, and practicing his will, this kind he hears. ³²Since time began, reports have not been heard that someone opened the eyes of one born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he would not have been able to do a thing."

³⁴They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and you are teaching us?" Then they threw him out.

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

³⁶That one answered and said, "And who is he, sir, so that I may believe in him."

³⁷Jesus said to him, "Not only have you seen him, but he is the one talking with you."

³⁸And he said, "I believe, Lord." And he worshipped him.

³⁹And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that those not seeing may see, and that those seeing, may become blind."

⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees heard these words, some who were with him, and they said to him, "And us, we are not blind, are we?"

⁴¹Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sins. But as you are now saying, 'We see,' your sins remain.

Chapter 10

The Good Shepherd

¹"Truly, truly I say to you, someone not entering the sheep fold through the door, but instead climbing up another way, that one is a thief and a bandit. ²But the one entering through the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The doorkeeper opens for this one, and the sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them forth. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. ⁵But a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

⁶This parable Jesus told them, but they did not understand what the principles were that he was speaking to them.

⁷Again therefore Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief does not come, except to steal, and to kill, and to ruin. I have come so they might have life, and have it more abundantly.

¹¹"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The wage earner, not being a shepherd, and for whom the sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees, and the wolf seizes them and scatters them. ¹³For he is a wage earner, and it matters not to him about the sheep.

¹⁴"I am the good shepherd, and I know mine, and mine know me. ¹⁵Just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶Other sheep I also have, which are not of this fold; those also I am to bring, and my voice they will hear, and the result will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason my Father loves me, that I lay down my life, such that I will take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me; I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again; this order I received from my Father."

¹⁹Because of these words, there was again a split among the Jews. ²⁰Many of them were saying, "He has a demon, and he's crazy. Why are you listening to him?"

²¹Others were saying, "These are not the expressions of someone demonized. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

The Authorities Again Attempt Stoning for Claim of Equality With God

²²Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the Portico of Solomon. ²⁴Then the Jews surrounded him, and were saying to him, "How long are you keeping our souls in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us clearly."

²⁵Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I am doing in the name of my Father, these testify for me. ²⁶Yet, you are not believing, because you are not of my sheep. ²⁷My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸And I give to them eternal life, and they will by no means perish, into all time, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, the one who gave them to me, he is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them from the Father's hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one."

³¹Again, the Jews lifted up stones in order to stone him. ³²Jesus responded to them, "Many good works I have shown you from the Father. For which work of them are you stoning me?"

³³The Jews answered him, "Not for good works are we stoning you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a human, are making yourself God."

³⁴Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I have said, "You are gods"'? ³⁵Why, since he called those to whom the word of God came 'gods,' and the scripture cannot be voided, ³⁶do you say to the one the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because he said, 'I am the Son of God'? ³⁷If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me. ³⁸And if I am doing them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may acknowledge and know that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." ³⁹And again they were trying to arrest him. And he got out of their grasp.

⁴⁰And he went back to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John had earlier been baptizing, and he stayed there a while. ⁴¹And many came to him. And they were saying, "Though John performed no miraculous sign, everything John said about this man was true." ⁴²And many there believed in him.

Chapter 11

The Death of Lazarus

¹Now a certain man was ailing, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²And the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed ointment and wiped his feet off with her hair, was the one whose brother was ailing. ³The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, "Lord, behold, the one you love is ailing."

⁴And when he heard, Jesus said, "This sickness is not to death, but rather for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God be glorified through it." ⁵(But Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.) ⁶When then he heard that he was ailing, at that time he actually remained in the place in which he was, two days. ⁷Only then, after this, he says to the disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

⁸The disciples are saying to him, "The Jews were just now trying to stone you, and you are going back there?"

⁹Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of day? If someone walks around in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰But if someone walks around in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not with him."

¹¹He said these things. And after this, he is saying to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going in order to wake him up."

¹²The disciples therefore said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, that will help him." ¹³But Jesus had spoken of his death, whereas they thought he was speaking of the repose of sleep.

¹⁴So then, Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus died. ¹⁵And for your sakes I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

¹⁶Then Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us go also, and die with him."

"I Am the Resurrection and the Life"

¹⁷Arriving therefore, Jesus found him already in the tomb four days since. ¹⁸Now Bethany was close to Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia apart, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them regarding their brother. ²⁰When therefore Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary stayed put in the house.

²¹Martha therefore said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²Even now, I know that whatever things you ask God for, God will grant you."

²³Jesus says to her, "Your brother will rise again."

²⁴Martha says to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

²⁵Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection, and the life. The person who believes in me, even though he dies, will live; ²⁶and everyone who is living and believes in me, will never die. Do you believe this?"

²⁷She says to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one expected to come into the world."

²⁸And having said this she went off, and discreetly invited her sister Mary, as follows, "The Teacher is here, and is asking for you." ²⁹That one then, when she heard, quickly got up and was coming toward him. ³⁰(Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.) ³¹The Jews therefore who were with Mary in the house and consoling her, when they saw how she quickly got up and went out, they followed her, thinking, "She is going to the tomb, to grieve there."

³²Mary therefore, when she arrived where Jesus was, fell at his feet when she saw him, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

³³Then Jesus, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he heaved with deep emotion, and churned inside himself. ³⁴And he said, "Where have you laid him?"

   They are saying to him, "Lord, come and see."

³⁵Jesus shed tears.

³⁶The Jews therefore were saying, "See how he loved him."

³⁷But some of them said, "Shouldn't he who opened the eyes of the blind man, also have been able to make it so this man would not have died?"

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

³⁸Then Jesus, again heaving inside himself, arrives at the tomb. And a cave it was, and a stone was there, covering over it. ³⁹Jesus says, "Take away the stone."

   Martha, the sister of the one who was dead, says, "Lord, by now he smells; it is the fourth day."

⁴⁰Jesus says to her, "Did I not tell you, that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

⁴¹They therefore took away the stone. And Jesus lifted his eyes aboveward, and said, "Father, I thank you, that you have heard me. ⁴²But I already knew that you always hear me; only for the sake of the crowd standing around did I say this, so that they may believe that it was you who sent me."

⁴³And having said these things, he shouted out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound up with bandages, and his face wrapped in a handkerchief.

   Jesus says to them, "Untangle him and allow him to go."

Sanhedrin Decides Jesus Must Die

⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, of those who had come to Mary and seen what he did, believed in him. ⁴⁶But some of them went to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. ⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled a Sanhedrin.

   And they were saying, "What are we doing, that this man is performing so many signs? ⁴⁸If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come, and take away both our place and our nation."

⁴⁹But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You people know nothing. ⁵⁰Neither are you considering that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and not the whole nation perish."

⁵¹But this, from himself he did not say. But rather, being high priest that year, he prophesied, that Jesus was about to die for the nation. ⁵²And not for the nation only, but such that the children of God scattered about, he would gather also, into one people.

⁵³Thus from that time on they were resolved that they would kill him. ⁵⁴Therefore, Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but departed from there to an area next to the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed, along with his disciples.

⁵⁵But then the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from out of the country before the Passover, to purify themselves. ⁵⁶They were watching for Jesus therefore, and speaking with one another, as they stood in the temple, "How does it seem to you? That he is not coming to the festival at all?" ⁵⁷Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders, that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, so that they might arrest him.

Chapter 12

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

¹Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²So they made a supper for him there, and Martha was serving, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. ³Then Mary, having taken a litre of expensive ointment of pure oil of nardroot, anointed the feet of Jesus, and with her hair, she wiped his feet. And the house was filled with the smell of the ointment.

⁴But Judas the Keriothite, one of his disciples, the one about to betray him, says, ⁵"Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" ⁶But he said this not because it mattered to him about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag, he would lift from what was put in.

⁷Jesus said therefore, "Leave her alone. It was that she kept it for the day of my burial. ⁸For the poor you always have with you, but me, you do not always have."

⁹Then the great crowd of the Jews found out that he was there, and they came, not only because of Jesus, but also that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰So the chief priests resolved that they would kill Lazarus also, ¹¹for many of the Jews were going out because of him, and then believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹²The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival, hearing that Jesus is arriving into Jerusalem, ¹³took the fronds of palm trees, and went out into a merging with him. And they were crying out:

          "Hosha na!’

          "Blessed is he who comes in the

                   name of the Lord,

               the king of Israel!’

¹⁴And Jesus, having found a young donkey, took his seat upon it, just as it is written:

¹⁵"Fear not, O daughter of Zion;

          Behold, your king is coming

               sitting on the foal of a donkey."

¹⁶These things the disciples did not know at first, but once Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written in reference to him, and that these things they had done to him.

¹⁷The crowd therefore, the one that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead, had been bearing witness. ¹⁸Because of this the crowd had come out to join him, that they had understood him to have done this sign. ¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to each other, "Observe, that you are not prevailing at all. Behold, the world has gone after him!"

Jesus Ponders Crucifixion

²⁰And among those going up to worship at the festival, were some Greeks. ²¹These, then, came up to Philip, he from Bethsaida, Galilee. And they beseeched him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." ²²Philip comes and tells Andrew; Andrew and Philip come and tell Jesus.

²³And Jesus responds to them as follows: "The hour has come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly I say to you, if a kernel of wheat does not fall to the ground and die, it remains only one; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵The person who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will preserve it into eternal life. ²⁶If someone is serving me, he must follow me; and where I am, there also my servant will be. If someone is serving me, my Father will honor him.

²⁷"Now, my soul has become troubled. And what shall I say– 'Father, save me from this hour?' No, for this very thing I have arrived to this hour."

²⁸"Father, glorify your name."

   Then a voice came from heaven: "I both have glorified it, and will glorify again." ²⁹The crowd therefore standing and hearing was maintaining thunder to have happened. Others were saying, "An angel spoke to him."

³⁰Jesus answered and said, "Not for my sake has this voice happened, but for you. ³¹Now comes judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. ³²And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will attract all mankind to me." ³³Now this he was saying signaling what manner of death he was about to die.

³⁴The crowd then responded to him: "We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains for ever, so how is it you are saying that the Son of Man is to be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"

³⁵Jesus therefore said to them, "The light is among you a little while longer. Walk, while you have the light, so that darkness does not overtake you. For the person walking in darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may be children of light."

   Jesus spoke these things, then went away and was hidden from them.

The Authorities Continue in Unbelief

³⁷But, though having done so many signs right in front of them, they were not believing in him, ³⁸so that the word of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, which said,

          "Lord, who has believed our report?

          And the arm of the Lord,

               to whom has it been revealed?"

³⁹Because of this they were not able to believe: that again, Isaiah said,

⁴⁰"He has blinded their eyes,

               and he has hardened their hearts,

          so that they would neither see

                   with their eyes,

               nor understand with their hearts,

               nor look back around,

          such that I would heal them."

⁴¹(Isaiah said these things, because he saw Jesus' glory, so he spoke about him.)

⁴²Even so, many even of the rulers believed in him. But, because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing it, for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. ⁴³For:

They loved the approval

of human beings

over and above

the approval of God.

⁴⁴But Jesus cried out, and said, "The person believing in me, is not believing in me but in the one who sent me, ⁴⁵and the one looking upon me, is looking upon the one who sent me. ⁴⁶I have come into the world as a light, so that everyone believing in me may not abide in darkness.

⁴⁷"And if someone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come in order to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸The person rejecting me and not believing my statements, has what judges him: the word which I spoke, that will judge him at the last day. ⁴⁹For I from myself have not spoken; rather, the Father who sent me, he has given me commandment, what I should say, and how I should speak. ⁵⁰And I know, that his commandment means eternal life. Therefore, what things I speak, just as the Father has said them to me, I speak them just so."

Chapter 13

The Passover Supper

¹And before the Festival of the Passover, Jesus, aware that the hour had come for him to pass on from this world to the Father, and having loved those of his own in the world, loved them to the end. ²And supper having started, with the devil having already put it in the heart of Judas son of Simon of Kerioth to betray him, ³and aware that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come forth from God and to God he was going, ⁴Jesus rises from the supper and lays down his clothing, and taking a towel, he fastened it around himself. ⁵Then, he is putting water into a basin. And he began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them off with the towel in which he was girded.

⁶Thus he comes to Simon Peter. Who says to him, "Lord, You are washing my feet?"

⁷Jesus answered, and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not know yet, but after these things, you will know."

⁸Peter says to him, "No way will you ever wash my feet."

   Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you have no place with me."

⁹Simon Peter says to him, "Lord. Not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well."

¹⁰Jesus says to him, "One who is bathed has no need, except for the feet, to wash, but is clean on the whole. And you men are clean; though not all of you." ¹¹For he already knew of the one betraying him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

¹²When therefore he had washed their feet and taken his clothes and reclined again, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly you say so, for I am. ¹⁴If therefore I, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash the feet of one another. ¹⁵For I have given an example for you, so that just as I have done, you also might do. ¹⁶Truly, truly I say to you: A servant is not greater than his lord, neither an emissary greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Since these things you are knowing, blessed are you if you do them.

¹⁸"I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen; but, so that the scripture is fulfilled, 'Someone eating my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'

¹⁹"Yes indeed: I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe who I am. ²⁰Truly, truly I say to you, The person who accepts whomever I send, is accepting me; and the person who accepts me, is accepting the One who sent me."

²¹When he had said these things, Jesus was disturbed in his spirit, and he testified, and he said, "Truly, truly I say to you: One of you will betray me."

²²The disciples were looking at one another, puzzling over about whom he was speaking. ²³One of his disciples was reclining close at Jesus' side, the one Jesus loved. ²⁴Simon Peter therefore nods to this one to inquire of Jesus about whom he was speaking. ²⁵That one therefore simply leaned back onto the chest of Jesus and says to him, "Lord, who is it?"

²⁶Jesus replied, "It is that one for whom I shall dip and give the piece of bread." After dipping the piece of bread therefore, he takes it and gives it to Judas, the son of Simon of Kerioth.

²⁷And after the bread transaction, at that time Satan entered into that one. Then Jesus says to him, "What you are doing, do quickly."

²⁸But none of those reclining knew why he said this to him. ²⁹For some thought that since Judas was in charge of the money bag, Jesus was telling him, "Buy things we need for the festival," or, that he should give something to the poor. ³⁰When therefore that one had taken the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Where Is Jesus Going?

³¹Then after he had gone out, Jesus says, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him God is glorified. ³²If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify the Son in himself, and glorify him at once.

³³"Children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, I now say to you also: 'Where I am going, you are not able to come.'

³⁴"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you also should love one another. ³⁵By this will everyone know that you are my disciples: if you have love among one another."

³⁶Simon Peter says to him, "Lord, where are you going?"

   Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you are not able to follow now, but you will follow later."

³⁷Peter says to him, "Why am I not able to follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."

³⁸Jesus answers, "You will lay down your life for me? Truly, truly I say to you, a rooster will not crow, until such time you deny me three times.

Chapter 14

¹"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. ²In my Father's house there are many abodes. Otherwise, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you in with myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴And where I am going, you know the way."

Jesus the Way to the Father

⁵Thomas says to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going— how is it we know the way?"

⁶Jesus says to him, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you have come to know me, you will come to know my Father as well; indeed, from now on you know him, and have seen him."

⁸Philip says to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us."

⁹Jesus says to him, "All this time I have been with you, and you have not come to know me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father; how is it you say, 'Show us the Father'? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The statements which I say to you I do not speak from myself, but the Father abiding in me is doing his works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. But if not, believe because of those works. ¹²The person who believes in me, truly, truly I say to you, the works that I do, that one also shall do, and even greater than these shall do, because I am going to the Father. ¹³Indeed, whatever you shall request in my name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If you ask me for something in my name, I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

¹⁵"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be ever with you, ¹⁷the Spirit of truth, which the world is unable to receive, because it neither perceives him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides among you, and will be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. ¹⁹Just a little while longer and the world will be seeing me no more; but you will be seeing me. Because I will be living, you also will live. ²⁰In that day you will know, that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹The person who has my commandments and also keeps them, that is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me, will be loved by my Father, and I also will love him, and will reveal myself to him."

²²Judas (not the Keriothite) says to him, "Lord, and on what basis is it that, to us, you intend to reveal yourself, and not to the world?"

²³Jesus answered, and said to him, "If someone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him; and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. ²⁴One who does not love me will not keep my word. And the word that you are hearing is not mine, but the Father's, who sent me.

²⁵"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things, and remind you of all the things I have said to you.

²⁷"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

²⁸"You heard how I said to you, 'I am going away, and will be coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you, before it happens, so that when it happens, you will believe. ³⁰I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of this world is coming. And he has no pull in me; ³¹but, just as the Father has commanded me, this I do, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

   "Arise, let us leave here."

Chapter 15

"I Am the Vine, You Are the Branches"

¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. ²Every branch in me bearing no fruit, he removes, and every branch bearing the fruit, he cleans, so it may bear more fruit. ³You are now clean, because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. Just as the branch is not able to bear fruit from itself, unless it abides in the vine, in the same way neither are you, unless you abide in me.

⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in me and I in him, this one bears much fruit, for without me you can produce nothing. ⁶If someone does not abide in me, he is thrown aside like the branch that is withered; they gather such and put them in the fire; and it is burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my sayings abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it will happen for you. ⁸In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and show to be my disciples.

⁹"Just as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you; abide ye in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you are abiding in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and am abiding in his love. ¹¹These things I have spoken to you, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹²This is my commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this: that one lay down one's life for one's friends. ¹⁴You are my friends, if you practice the things I am commanding you. ¹⁵No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his lord is doing. But you I have called friends, because all things that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. ¹⁶You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and appointed you, that you go and bear fruit, and that your fruit might abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, it may be granted to you. ¹⁷These instructions I am giving you, so that you will love one another.

For This the World Hates You

¹⁸"If the world hates you, be assured that it hated me first, before you. ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would like its own; but because you are not of the world, and indeed rather I have chosen you out of the world, for this the world hates you. ²⁰Be mindful of the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his lord.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they took my word to heart, they will take yours to heart also. ²¹But all these things they will do against you because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin; but now, they have no excuse for their sin. ²³One who hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴If I had not done works among them which no one else has done, they would have no sin; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But so that the word written about them in the law might be fulfilled, 'They hated me without a cause.'

²⁶"When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who flows forth from the Father, he will bear witness about me. ²⁷And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Chapter 16

¹"These things I have spoken to you so that you may not fall away. ²They will cause you to be put out of the synagogue; but an hour is coming such that everyone who kills you will reckon to be offering up religious service to God. ³And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father, neither me. ⁴But these things I have spoken to you, so that when the hour of them comes, you might remember them, that I told you.

The Holy Spirit Will Finish My Work

   "And I have not told you these things from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵But now, I am going to the one who sent me, and none of you is asking me, 'Where are you going?' ⁶Instead, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷But I am telling you the truth: it works out better for you that I go away, for if I were not to go away, the Counselor would not come to you. Whereas if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸And when he has come, that one will refute the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgement; ⁹concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will be observing me no longer; ¹¹and concerning judgement, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹²"I have many things yet to say, but you are not able at the present time to bear it. ¹³But when that one comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you in all the truth. For he will not speak from himself, but rather, whatever things he hears he will speak; and he will report to you the things that are coming. ¹⁴That one will glorify me, because from mine he will take, and report it to you. ¹⁵Everything the Father has is mine; this is how I said, 'from mine he will be taking, and report it to you.'

¹⁶"A little while, and you will be observing me no longer; and another little while, and you will see me."

The Disciples' Pain Will Be Turned to Joy

¹⁷Then some of his disciples said to one another, "What is this that he is saying to us, 'A little while, and you will not be observing me; and another little while, and you will see me'? And, 'because I am going to the Father'?" ¹⁸They kept saying therefore, "What is this 'little while'? We don't know what he is saying."

¹⁹Jesus knew that they were wanting to query him, and he said to them, "Is it this you are deliberating among yourselves about, that I said, 'A little while and you will not be observing me, and another little while and you will see me'? ²⁰Truly, truly I say to you, You will weep and lament, and the world will be cheered. You will be in pain. But your pain will be turned into joy. ²¹In the case of the woman about to give birth, she has pain, because for her the hour has come. But when she has delivered the child, no longer is she mindful of the distress, because of the joy that a human being is brought forth into the world. ²²Thus you also, now you do have pain; but I will see you again, and your hearts will be cheered, and your joy, no one is taking away from you. ²³And in that day you will not query me at all. Truly, truly I say to you, whatever you will ask the Father in my name, he will grant it to you. ²⁴Up to now you have not asked anything in my name; ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be full.

²⁵"These things I have spoken to you in allegories; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in allegories, but I will tell you about the Father plainly. ²⁶In that day you will make requests in my name, and I am not saying to you that I will make request of the Father on your behalf. ²⁷For the Father himself likes you, because you have liked me, and have believed that I came forth from God. ²⁸I went forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am taking leave of the world, and going my way back to the Father."

²⁹His disciples are saying, "There, now you are talking with clarity and not speaking any allegory. ³⁰Now we know that you know all, and with you there is no need that someone query you. By this we believe that you have come forth from God."

³¹Jesus answered them, "For now you believe. ³²Behold, an hour is coming, and indeed has come, that you will be scattered apart, each to his own, and me you will have abandoned, alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

³³"These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you do have tribulation; but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world."

Chapter 17

Jesus Prays for Himself

¹Jesus spoke these things, and when he had lifted up his eyes to heaven, he said:

   "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you; ²inasmuch as to him you have granted jurisdiction of all flesh, so that to all flesh that you have given him, he may grant eternal life. ³And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. ⁴I have glorified you upon the earth, having finished the work which you have given me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify thou me, along with yourself, with the glory which I used to have along with you, before the existence of the world.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶"I have made known your name to the humans of the world that you have given to me. They had been yours, and you gave them to me, and they have taken your word to heart. ⁷Now they are persuaded that all the things you have given to me are indeed from you; ⁸for the sayings which you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted and knew for sure that I came forth from you, and they believed that you had sent me. ⁹I am making request concerning them; not concerning the world am I making request, but only concerning those whom you have given to me. For they are yours; ¹⁰indeed everything of mine is yours, and of yours is mine. And I am glorified in them; ¹¹yes, no longer am I to be in the world, yet they are in the world, and I am coming to you. O holy Father, keep them in your name, that flesh that you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I kept them in your name, that flesh that you have given to me, and I stood guard, and not one of them met destruction, except the Son of Destruction, so that the scripture may be brought to completion.

¹³"But now I am coming to you, and I am speaking these things in the world, so that they may have in them my joy brought to completion. ¹⁴I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵I am not asking that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸Just as you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And on their behalf I sanctify myself, so that they also may be ones sanctified in truth.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

²⁰"And not concerning these only am I making request, but also concerning the ones who through their word believe in me, ²¹that they all may be one. Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so let them also be in us, so that the world might believe that you sent me. ²²The glory which you have given to me, I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as we are one: ²³I in them, and you in me, so that they may become fully developed into one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you loved me.

²⁴"O Father, that flesh that you have given to me, I desire that where I am, they might also be with me, so that they may behold that glory of mine, which you have given to me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵"O righteous Father, indeed the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. ²⁶And I have made known to them your name, and will do so in the future, so that the love with which you have loved me might always be in them, and I also in them."

Chapter 18

Gethsemane

¹After he said these things, Jesus went forth with his disciples to the other side of the wadi Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he himself went, and also his disciples. ²And Judas, the one betraying him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.

Jesus Arrested

³Judas therefore, after taking the cohort and some guards, from the high priests and from the Pharisees, comes there, with lamps and torches and weapons. ⁴Then, aware of all the things coming upon him, Jesus went forward, and he says to them, "Whom are you seeking?"

⁵They answered him, "Jesus the Nazarene."

   He says to them, "I am he.

   And Judas the one betraying him is also standing there with them. ⁶When therefore he said, "I am he," they moved away backward, and fell to the ground. ⁷Again therefore, he asked them, "Whom are you seeking?"

   And they said, "Jesus the Nazarene."

⁸Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. If therefore it is me you are seeking, allow these to go their way." ⁹In order that the word which he had said would be fulfilled: "Of those you have given me, I have not lost even one."

¹⁰Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. ¹¹Jesus therefore said to Peter, "Put the sword in the sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, am I not to drink it?"

Jesus Taken to Hananiah

¹²Then the cohort and its chiliarch and the guards from the Jews took Jesus prisoner and bound him, ¹³and they led him to Hananiah first, for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest for that year. ¹⁴And Caiaphas was the one having advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man die instead of the people.

Peter's First Denial

¹⁵And Simon Peter was following Jesus, along with another disciple. And that other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, ¹⁶but Peter had stopped outside, at the door. The other disciple therefore, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doormaid, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷Then the maidservant, the doorkeeper, says to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?"

   He says, "No I am not."

¹⁸And the servants and the guards stood by a fire they had made, for it was cold, and they were warming themselves. So Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

¹⁹The high priest, then, questioned Jesus, about his disciples and about his teaching.

²⁰Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in a synagogue or in the temple, where all the Jews come together. ²¹Why ask me? Ask the ones who have heard, what I spoke to them. You see, they know what things I said."

²²As he was saying these things, one of the guards standing by gave him a whack, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?"

²³Jesus answered him, "If I spoke wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if acceptably, why are you hitting me?"

²⁴Then Hannaniah sent him, bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter's Second and Third Denials

²⁵And Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, "Are you not also one of his disciples?"

   He denied it and said, "No I am not."

²⁶One of the servants of the high priest, who was a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, says, "Did I not see you with him in the garden?" ²⁷Again therefore, Peter denied it, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus Before Pilate and Herod

²⁸They then are leading Jesus away from Caiaphas toward the Praetorium; and it was very early. And they entered not into the Praetorium, so that they would not be defiled but rather might eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate came outside to them. And he says, "This man? You are bringing what kind of charge against him?"

³⁰They answered, and said to him, "If he were not doing wrong, we would not have brought him over to you."

³¹Pilate therefore said to them, "You take him, and you judge him according to your law."

   The Jews said to him, "For us it is not lawful to execute anyone." ³²So the word of Jesus would be fulfilled, which he had spoken indicating by what means of death he was going to die.

³³So Pilate went back into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus, and he said to him, "You are the king of the Jews?"

³⁴Jesus answered, "From yourself are you saying this, or have others told you about me?"

³⁵Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?"

³⁶Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have fought so that I not be handed over to the Jews. But in fact my kingship is not from here."

³⁷Pilate therefore said to him, "So then you are a king."

   Jesus answered, "You are saying that I am a king; I, for this reason have been born, and for this reason have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth hears my voice."

³⁸Pilate says to him, "What is truth?" And with that said, he went out again to the Jews, and says to them, "I find in him no causa capitalis. ³⁹But there is a custom with you that I release to you one prisoner during the Passover. Would you therefore have me release to you the king of the Jews?"

⁴⁰They then shouted back, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a bandit.

Chapter 19

¹At that time therefore, Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. ²And the soldiers, after weaving a wreath of thorns, set it on his head, and threw a purple robe around him. ³Then they were approaching him and saying, "Hail, O king of the Jews," and giving him slaps in the face.

⁴And Pilate went outside again, and says to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you will know that I find no causa capitalis in him." ⁵Jesus came outside therefore, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate says to them, "Behold the man."

⁶When therefore the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, saying, "Crucify! Crucify!"

   Pilate says to them, "You take him yourselves and crucify him. As for me, I do not find causa capitalis in him.

⁷The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law, he deserves to die because he called himself the son of God."

⁸When therefore Pilate heard this information, he was more afraid, ⁹and he entered the Praetorium again, and says to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus did not give him an answer.

¹⁰Pilate then says to him, "To me you are not speaking? Do you not know, that I have authority to free you, and I have authority to crucify you?"

¹¹Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over me if it had not been given you from above. Because of this, the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt."

¹²From this point on Pilate tried to free him; but the Jews shouted out, saying, "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar! Everyone calling himself a king is opposing Caesar."

¹³When therefore Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside, and he sat down on the judgement seat, at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew called Gabbatha. ¹⁴And it was Preparation for the Passover, about 6:00 am. And he says to the Jews, "Behold, your king."

¹⁵They then shouted out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!"

   Pilate says to them, "Shall I crucify your king?"

   The chief priests responded, "We have no king but Caesar."

¹⁶At that time therefore he handed him over to them, to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

   They took Jesus therefore. ¹⁷And carrying the cross by himself, he proceeded forth, to what is called the Skull Place, which in Hebrew is pronounced Gulgolta, ¹⁸where they crucified him, and with him, two others, one on this side and one on the other, and Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹And Pilate also wrote a notice and put it on the cross, and it was inscribed: "JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS." ²⁰Many of the Jews therefore read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was close to the city, and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.

²¹The chief priests of the Jews therefore were saying to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but rather: 'He SAID, I am King of the Jews.'"

²²Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."

²³The soldiers then, when they crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four shares, a share for each soldier, plus the tunic. For the tunic was seamless, woven continuously from the top through the whole. ²⁴They said therefore to one another, "We should not tear it, but cast lots as to whose it shall be." So that the scripture would be fulfilled,

          "They divided my garments

               among them;

          and cast lots

               over my clothing,"

those things therefore the soldiers did.

²⁵And near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, and his mother's sister; and the Mary belonging to Clopas, and the Magdalene Mary. ²⁶Jesus therefore, seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, says to his mother, "Dear woman, behold your son."

²⁷Then he says to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that time on, that disciple took her into his own home.

Jesus' Death

²⁸Jesus, knowing that after these things, all things were now completed, next says, "I am thirsty," so that the scripture would be fulfilled. ²⁹A container full of vinegar was sitting there, so after sticking a sponge full of the vinegar around a hyssop stem, they held it out to his mouth. ³⁰When therefore he had received the vinegar, Jesus said, "It is finished." And after he bowed his head, he gave up his spirit.

³¹The Jews therefore, since it was Preparation Day, asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken away, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath; for that day was great among Sabbaths. ³²The soldiers came therefore, and broke the legs of the first one, and of the other crucified with him, ³³but when they came to Jesus they realized he was already dead, and did not in his case break the legs. ³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. ³⁵And the one who has seen has borne witness, and his testimony is reliable, and he knows that he is saying something true; so you may believe. ³⁶And these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled:

          "Not a bone of it shall be broken."

³⁷And again, another scripture says:

          "They shall look upon him

               whom they have pierced."

Jesus' Burial

³⁸And after these things, Joseph from Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because of the fear of the Jews, made request of Pilate that he might take the body of Jesus; and Pilate consented. He went therefore, and took his body. ³⁹And Nicodemus, the one who earlier had come to Him by night, came as well, carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰They then took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths, with the spices, as is the burial custom with the Jews. ⁴¹And there was in the place where he was crucified, a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, one in which no one had ever yet been laid. ⁴²So, since it was Preparation for the Jews, and because the tomb was close at hand, that is where they laid Jesus.

Chapter 20

The Empty Tomb

¹And on the first day of the week, very early while still dark, Mary the Magdalene is coming to the tomb; and she sees the stone having been removed from the tomb. ²She runs therefore, and goes to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and she says to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him."

³Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple also, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴And the two were running together; and the other disciple ran faster ahead, and came to the tomb first. ⁵And after stooping down, he sees the linen cloths lying there. He did not enter inside, however. ⁶Then comes Simon Peter also, following behind him. And he entered into the tomb, and he observes the linen cloths lying there, ⁷and also the sweat cloth which used to be on his head, except not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in one place apart. ⁸Then at that time the other disciple entered, the one who had arrived to the tomb first; and he saw and believed. ⁹For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Jesus Appears to Mary of Magdala

¹⁰The disciples then went back to their own homes. ¹¹But Mary stayed with the tomb, and there she stands, outside, weeping. ¹²As she thus was weeping, she stooped down into the tomb, and she beholds two angels in white, one sitting at the head and one sitting at the foot of where the body of Jesus had been lying.

¹³And they say to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"

   She says to them, "They have taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they have put him."

¹⁴When she had said these things, she looked toward the rear, and beholds Jesus having been standing; and she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵Jesus says to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?"

   She, thinking he is the gardener, says to him, "Sir, if it is you who took him, tell me where you put him, and I will get him.

¹⁶Jesus says to her, "Mary."

   She when she turned around, says to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus says to her, "Do not cleave to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them: 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father; to my God and your God.'"

¹⁸Mary goes, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and also announcing those things he had said to her.

Jesus Appears to the Ten Apostles

¹⁹Then, when it was evening on that first day of the week, with the doors locked where the disciples were, because of the fear of the Jews, Jesus appeared, and stood in their midst. And he says to them, "Peace be with you." ²⁰And when he had said this, he showed them both his hands and his side. Therefore the disciples rejoiced, seeing the Lord.

²¹Then Jesus again said to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so also I send you." ²²And having said this, he blew, and says to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³Whose ever sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; whose ever you retain, they are retained."

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴But Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one who was called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples were telling him, "We have seen the Lord."

   But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the place from the nails, and put my hands into his side, there is no way I will believe."

²⁶And after eight days, his disciples again were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus is appearing, even though the doors were locked. And he stood in the midst, and said, "Peace be with you." ²⁷Thereupon he says to Thomas, "Bring your finger here, and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believing."

²⁸Thomas responded and said to him, "My Lord and my God."

²⁹Jesus says to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those believing without having seen."

³⁰While therefore Jesus did also do many other signs in the sight of his disciples which are not written in this book, ³¹these have been written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through his name.

Chapter 21

Resurrection Fish & Bread

¹After these things, Jesus revealed himself another time to his disciples, on the Sea of Tiberius. And this is how he revealed himself. ²Simon Peter, and Thomas called the Twin, and Nathaniel from Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of his, were together. ³Simon Peter says to them, "I am going to fish."

   They say to him, "We are also coming with you."

   They went, and embarked in the boat. And throughout that night, they caught nothing. ⁴And now that it is turning morning, Jesus had stood at the shoreline. However, the disciples have not realized that it is Jesus. ⁵Jesus therefore says to them, "Children, have you no fish?"

   They answered, "No."

⁶And he said to them, "Cast the net into the area to the right of the boat, and you will find something." They cast it therefore, and they were not strong enough to retrieve it, because of a fullness of fish.

⁷So that disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, "It is the Lord." When therefore Simon Peter heard that it is the Lord, he fastened his cloak around himself, for he was stripped for work, and he threw himself into the lake ⁸(for they were not far from shore, but only about two hundred cubits away), while the other disciples came in the boat, towing the fish net. ⁹As they get down therefore onto the beach, they see a fire of coals established, and fish lying on it, and bread.

¹⁰Jesus says to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." ¹¹Simon Peter therefore got up, and dragged the net to the beach, very full of fish, 153 of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.

¹²Jesus says to them, "Come, eat breakfast." And not one of the disciples got up the courage to challenge him, "Who are you?" For they knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus comes, and he takes the bread and distributes to them, and the fish likewise. ¹⁴This was now the third time Jesus had revealed himself to the disciples after having risen from the dead.

Jesus Reappoints Peter

¹⁵When therefore they had eaten breakfast, Jesus says to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"

   He says to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

   He says to him, "Feed my lambs."

¹⁶Again, he says to him a second time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

   He says to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

   He says to him, "Pastor my sheep."

¹⁷He says to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

   Peter was hurt that he said to him the third time, "Do you love me." And he says to him, "Lord, you know all. You know that I love you."

   Jesus says to him, "Feed my sheep." ¹⁸Truly, truly I say to you: When you were younger, you would dress yourself, and walk around where you wanted; but after you have become old, you will stretch out your hand, and someone else will dress you, and lead you somewhere you will not want." ¹⁹This he said signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And having said this, he says to him, "Follow me."

And What About John?

²⁰Peter turned around, and sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following, that is, the one who in the supper had leaned back onto His chest and said, "Lord, who is the one betraying you?" ²¹So when he saw this one, Peter says to Jesus, "Lord, and what about him?"

²²Jesus says to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me." ²³This therefore is the word that got out to the brothers: that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not said to him that he would not die; rather, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?"

²⁴That disciple is the one who is bearing witness to these things, and the one who wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

²⁵And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if written in detail, I reckon not even the world itself would be able to hold the books that would be written.

SHOULD “THE PERICOPE OF THE ADULTERESS” BE INCLUDED?

John 7:53- 8:11

PROBLEM: Did the apostle John, the author of the gospel of John, write this section? Did the apostles who laid the scriptural foundation for the church intend that this story of the woman caught in adultery be part of that foundation? Does the passage have weight and authority equal to that of scripture? This passage is not found in any Greek manuscript dated before the fifth century (Codex D). It is not found in the earliest translations of the Bible into other languages, such as the old Syriac, fourth century; the old Latin, fourth century; .the Georgian Bible, fifth century; the Slavic Bible, and the Coptic Bible, as late as the ninth century. It was not in the gospel of John when the decision was made to include John in the canons of scripture: the Muratorian Canon, A.D. 170; Eusebius' "Ecclesiastical History," c. 340; the Council of Hippo, A.D. 393; and the Council of Carthage, A.D. 397; Codex Barococciani 206 θ, A.D. 692. No Greek church father prior to the 12th century comments on the passage (as being part of the gospel of John specifically). These are the manuscripts from which it is absent on purpose: 𝔓⁴⁵vid 𝔓⁶⁶ 𝔓⁷⁵ א Avid B Cvid L N T W X Y Δ Θ Ψ 070vid 0141 0211 22 33 124 157 209 213 397 461 713 788 799 821 828 849 865 1192 1210 1230 1241 1242 1253 1333txt 1424* 2193 2323 2561* 2768 (some 280+ total) // include it with critical marks: E (only 8:2-11) M S Λ Π Ω 18 35 1424mg 1514 (270 minuscules total) // include the Pericope with wide variation among themselves: 1,863 Greek mss. including lectionaries TR HF RP // contains John 7:53, but then rest after Luke 21:38 124 // place after Luke 21:38 ƒ¹³ (13 69 124 346 543 788 826 828 983 1709, but not 174 230 1689) 1434 // place at the end of Gosp. of John ƒ¹ (1 565* 1582 2193 but not 118 131 209) also 1076 1570 // after Jn 7:36 225 1128 // after John 8:12 17 mss. // after Jn 8:14a 2691 // after Jn 8:20 981 // at end of gosp. of Luke / beg. of gosp. of John 1333mg // lac P Q V 050 054 060 063 065 068 078 083 086 087 091 0101 0105 0109 0127 0145 0162 0210 0216 0217 0218 0234 0238 0256 0258 0260 0264 0268 0273 0286 0287 0290 0299 0301 0302 0306 0309 (565*- apparently used to have P.A. at end of gospel of John, and still contains a faded introduction to the P.A., per Maurice Robinson and Klaus Witte)., there are critical marks.

Both Philip Comfort and Maurice Robinson ("Preliminary Observations Regarding the Pericope Adulterae," Filología Neotestamentaria 13: 35-59) would list 𝔓³⁹vid as omitting the Pericope based on space considerations, as Comfort is quoted on the Sotheby's Auction: "(2005, pp. 353-4) makes interesting calculations by working backwards from the page number. He notes that the scribe evidently wrote 330 characters on p. 73 and 333 on p. 74. He then counts 23,796 characters from John 8:14 back to John 1:1 at the start of the Gospel. 23,796 divided by 333 is almost exactly 71½ pages. This would not allow enough space for inclusion of the disputed passage of the Woman taken in Adultery (John 7:53-8:11), which cannot have been present." Others however say that there are too many other possibilities as to what text might have been omitted to declare that Papyrus 39 is a witness to omission.

Papyrus 45, A, C and 070 are for more likely to have omitted, since the area of missing text is more proximal, and shorter.

The earliest Greek manuscript of the Gospel of John that contains the story is Codex D from the 5th century. Jerome, also 5th century, says in PL 23:553, "in the Gospel according to John in many manuscripts, both Greek and Latin, is found the story of the adulterous woman who was accused before the Lord."

The STORY of the woman caught in adultery was known very early to some church Fathers, but that is not the same as it being known to be a part of the Gospel of John. Papias from the 2nd century knew of the story. And even yet Didymus the Blind, 398, in "Commentary on Ecclesiastes," says of the Pericope, "We find, therefore, in certain gospels..."

For a chart showing all the various readings of the Pericope in the Greek manuscripts, arranged in the Swanson format, click or copy & paste this link:.

http://www.bibletranslation.ws/trans/pachart.pdf

Some observations on Style

When you translate this passage from the Greek, you see that there is a very marked change in the style of Greek, compared to the rest of the gospel of John. One change is in the more frequent use of the particle δὲ all of a sudden. There is also a marked increase in the use of the circumstance-setting participle near the beginning of a sentence, more often than is John's style.

Here is the pericope in question:

John 7:53 Καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ἕκαστος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ,

53And each went to his home.

Chapter 8

John 8:1 Ἰησοῦς δὲ ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν.

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

John 8:2 Ὄρθρου δὲ πάλιν παρεγένετο εἰς τὸ ἱερόν, καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ καθίσας ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς.

2And at dawn he showed up in the temple again, and all the people were coming toward him. And having sat down he was teaching them.

John 8:3 ἄγουσιν δὲ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι γυναῖκα ἐπὶ μοιχείᾳ κατειλημμένην, καὶ στήσαντες αὐτὴν ἐν μέσῳ

3And the Torah scholars and the Pharisees are bringing a woman caught in adultery. And after they stood her in the midst

John 8:4 λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Διδάσκαλε, αὕτη ἡ γυνὴ κατείληπται ἐπ’ αὐτοφώρῳ μοιχευομένη·

4they say to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

John 8:5 ἐν δὲ τῷ νόμῳ ἡμῖν Μωϋσῆς ἐνετείλατο τὰς τοιαύτας λιθάζειν· σὺ οὖν τί λέγεις;

5And in the Law, Moses charged us to stone such women. What then do you say?"

John 8:6 τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγον πειράζοντες αὐτόν, ἵνα ἔχωσιν κατηγορεῖν αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς κάτω κύψας τῷ δακτύλῳ κατέγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν.

6Now this they were saying tempting him, in order that they might obtain basis to accuse him. But Jesus bent down and was writing on the ground with his finger.

John 8:7 ὡς δὲ ἐπέμενον ἐρωτῶντες αὐτόν, ἀνέκυψεν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὁ ἀναμάρτητος ὑμῶν πρῶτος ἐπ’ αὐτὴν βαλέτω λίθον·

7After they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "The one of you who is sinless should throw a stone at her first."

John 8:8 καὶ πάλιν κατακύψας ἔγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν.

8And after bending down again, he continued writing on the ground.

John 8:9 οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἐξήρχοντο εἷς καθ’ εἶς ἀρξάμενοι ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, καὶ κατελείφθη μόνος, καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἐν μέσῳ οὖσα.

9And after they heard this, they went away one by one, starting with the oldest, until he alone was left, and the woman still in the midst.

John 8:10 ἀνακύψας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῇ, Γύναι, ποῦ εἰσιν; οὐδείς σε κατέκρινεν;

10And Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

John 8:11 ἡ δὲ εἶπεν, Οὐδείς, κύριε. εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Οὐδὲ ἐγώ σε κατακρίνω· πορεύου, [καὶ] ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε.

11And she said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither am I condemning you. Go your way, and from now on, sin no more."

Probably the foremost authority on questions of authenticity of passages in the Greek text is the book "A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament," by Bruce M. Metzger on behalf of and in cooperation with the Editorial Committee of the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament: Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren. The following is a quote from it concerning this passage:

"The evidence for the non-Johannine origin of the pericope of the adulteress is overwhelming. It is absent from such early and diverse manuscripts as 𝔓⁶⁶ 𝔓⁷⁵ א B L N T W Y Δ Θ Ψ 0141 0211 22 33 124 157 209 788 828 1230 1241 1242 1253 2193 al. Codices A and C are defective in this part of John, but it is highly probable that neither contained the pericope, for careful measurement discloses that there would not have been space enough on the missing leaves to include the section along with the rest of the text. In the East the passage is absent from the oldest form of the Syriac version (syrc,s and the best manuscripts of syrp), as well as from the Sahidic and the sub-Achmimic versions and the older Bohairic manuscripts. Some Armenian manuscripts and the Old Georgian version omit it. In the West the passage is absent from the Gothic version and from several Old Latin manuscripts (ita,1*,q). No Greek Church Father prior to Euthymius Zigabenus (twelfth century) comments on the passage, and Euthymius declares that the accurate copies of the Gospel do not contain it.

When one adds to this impressive and diversified list of external evidence the consideration that the style and vocabulary of the pericope differ noticeably from the rest of the Fourth Gospel (see any critical commentary), and that it interrupts the sequence of 7:52 and 8:12 ff., the case against its being of Johannine authorship appears to be conclusive.

At the same time the account has all the earmarks of historical veracity. It is obviously a piece of oral tradition which circulated in certain parts of the Western church and which was subsequently incorporated into various manuscripts at various places. Most copyists apparently thought that it would interrupt John's narrative least if it were inserted after 7:52 (D E (F) G H K M U Γ Π 28 700 892 al). Others placed it after 7:36 (ms. 225) or after 7:44 (several Georgian mss.) or after 21:25 (1 565 1076 1570 1582 armmss) or after Luke 21:38 (ƒ¹³). Significantly enough, in many of the witnesses which contain the passage it is marked with asterisks or obeli, indicating that, though the scribes included the account, they were aware that it lacked satisfactory credentials.

Sometimes it is stated that the pericope was deliberately expunged from the Fourth Gospel because it was liable to be understood in a sense too indulgent to adultery. [Jerome speculated this.] But, apart from the absence of any instance elsewhere of scribal excision of an extensive passage because of moral prudence, this theory fails "to explain why the three preliminary verses (vii 53; viii 1-2), so important as apparently descriptive of the time and place at which all the discourses of c. viii were spoken, should have been omitted with the rest" (Hort, "Notes on Select Readings," pp. 86 f.).

Although the Committee was unanimous that the pericope was originally no part of the Fourth Gospel, in deference to the evident antiquity of the passage a majority decided to print it, enclosed within double square brackets, at its traditional place following Jn 7:52."

The Committee included it in its traditional place "in deference to its antiquity." But they omitted scores of other passages that are even older than the pericope. So why did they choose to include this particular passage? Probably because of its relatively large size, and because it is so well known and loved. They are unanimous that the passage is not original holy writ, but include it because it probably is truth. However, I would like the criterion for inclusion of a passage to be, not whether or not it is a true story, but whether or not the apostles intended it to have the authority of scripture. Truth and authority are not the same. “2+2=4” is truth, but it is not scripture. God did not inspire one of his apostles or prophets to put it among the foundational truths that are authoritative original holy writ. So it is with the Pericope of the Adulteress. I would think we would want our translations of the gospel of John to be 100% pure scripture, all the real thing.

Nevertheless, I decided to include the passage in the text of John, with a footnote indicating that it may not be original scripture. Though I personally consider it to be New Testament pseudepigrapha, I know it is a story beloved by many. So I decided to leave in the text of my translation, considering that it probably does no harm, unlike the spurious ending that tradition has added on to the gospel of Mark.

To download the gospel of John, with footnotes, click here.

Site Map | Download My new Bible Translations | NT Manuscripts | Compare translations | King James Onlyism | TC Exercises | Links