Passage

John 11.53

Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"51. Now this he said not of himself: but, being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; 52. and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad."

"53. So from that day forth they took counsel that they might put him to death."

"54. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but departed thence into the country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there he tarried with the disciples. 55. Now the passover of the Jews was at hand: and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the passover, to purify themselves." (John 11:51-55, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"51. Now he didn’t say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52. and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

"53. So from that day forward they took counsel that they might put him to death."

"54. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but departed from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim. He stayed there with his disciples. 55. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves." (John 11:51-55, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"51. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; 52. And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad."

"53. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death."

"54. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples. 55. And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves." (John 11:51-55, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"51. And this he said not of himself, but being chief priest of that year, he did prophesy that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52. and not for the nation only, but that also the children of God, who have been scattered abroad, he may gather together into one."

"53. From that day, therefore, they took counsel together that they may kill him;"

"54. Jesus, therefore, was no more freely walking among the Jews, but went away thence to the region nigh the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he tarried with his disciples. 55. And the passover of the Jews was nigh, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the passover, that they might purify themselves;" (John 11:51-55, YLT)

Setting

• Speaker: John the Apostle (traditionally) / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
• Audience: later Christian audience (high-Christological emphasis; against early gnosticism)
• Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Ephesus (composition)
• Time period: events c. 26-33 AD (3-Passover chronology); composed c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

Key words

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

• ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
• WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
• KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
• YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.