Passage

John 5.1-18

Book: John · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. After these things there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porches. 3. In these lay a multitude of them that were sick, blind, halt, withered, 5. And a certain man was there, who had been thirty and eight years in his infirmity. 6. When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wouldest thou be made whole? 7. The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8. Jesus saith unto him, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9. And straightway the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked. Now it was the sabbath on that day. 10. So the Jews said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed. 11. But he answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12. They asked him, Who is the man that said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13. But he that was healed knew not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in the place. 14. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee. 15. The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole. 16. And for this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath. 17. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work. 18. For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

"19. Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. 20. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel." (John 5:1-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2. Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, “Bethesda”, having five porches. 3. In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; 4. for an angel went down at certain times into the pool, and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. 5. A certain man was there, who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7. The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, another steps down before me.” 8. Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9. Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10. So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.” 11. He answered them, “He who made me well, the same said to me, ‘Take up your mat, and walk.’” 12. Then they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your mat, and walk’?” 13. But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place. 14. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15. The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16. For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath. 17. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.” 18. For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

"19. Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. 20. For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel." (John 5:1-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. ^{market: or, gate} 3. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. 5. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7. The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. 10. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13. And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. ^{a multitude: or, from the multitude that was} 14. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. 16. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."

"19. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 20. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel." (John 5:1-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 2. and there is in Jerusalem by the sheep -[gate] a pool that is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porches, 3. in these were lying a great multitude of the ailing, blind, lame, withered, waiting for the moving of the water, 4. for a messenger at a set time was going down in the pool, and was troubling the water, the first then having gone in after the troubling of the water, became whole of whatever sickness he was held. 5. and there was a certain man there being in ailment thirty and eight years, 6. him Jesus having seen lying, and having known that he is already a long time, he saith to him, 'Dost thou wish to become whole?' 7. The ailing man answered him, 'Sir, I have no man, that, when the water may be troubled, he may put me into the pool, and while I am coming, another doth go down before me.' 8. Jesus saith to him, 'Rise, take up thy couch, and be walking;' 9. and immediately the man became whole, and he took up his couch, and was walking, and it was a sabbath on that day, 10. the Jews then said to him that hath been healed, 'It is a sabbath; it is not lawful to thee to take up the couch.' 11. He answered them, 'He who made me whole, that one said to me, Take up thy couch, and be walking;' 12. they questioned him, then, 'Who is the man who is saying to thee, Take up thy couch and be walking?' 13. But he that was healed had not known who he is, for Jesus did move away, a multitude being in the place. 14. After these things, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said to him, 'Lo, thou hast become whole; sin no more, lest something worse may happen to thee.' 15. The man went away, and told the Jews that it is Jesus who made him whole, 16. and because of this were the Jews persecuting Jesus, and seeking to kill him, because these things he was doing on a sabbath. 17. And Jesus answered them, 'My Father till now doth work, and I work;' 18. because of this, then, were the Jews seeking the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the sabbath, but he also called God his own Father, making himself equal to God."

"19. Jesus therefore responded and said to them, 'Verily, verily, I say to you, The Son is not able to do anything of himself, if he may not see the Father doing anything; for whatever things He may do, these also the Son in like manner doth; 20. for the Father doth love the Son, and doth shew to him all things that He himself doth; and greater works than these He will shew him, that ye may wonder." (John 5:1-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Christians Not Under Mosaic Law

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.