# John 5.18-23

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [John](/codex/john-the-apostle/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 16. And for this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath. 17. But Jesus answered them, <span class="rl-speech">My Father worketh even until now, and I work.</span>
>
> **18. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 19. Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 20. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will.</span> 22. <span class="rl-speech">For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son;</span> 23. <span class="rl-speech">that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him.</span>**
>
> 24. <span class="rl-speech">Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.</span> (John 5:16-25, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 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, <span class="rl-speech">“My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”</span>
>
> **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, <span class="rl-speech">“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.</span> 20. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.</span> 22. <span class="rl-speech">For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,</span> 23. <span class="rl-speech">that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.</span>**
>
> 24. <span class="rl-speech">“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">Most certainly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live.</span> (John 5:16-25, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 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, <span class="rl-speech">My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.</span>
>
> **18. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 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. 21. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. 22. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23. That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.**
>
> 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:16-25, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 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, <span class="rl-speech">'My Father till now doth work, and I work;'</span>
>
> **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, <span class="rl-speech">'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;</span> 20. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">'For, as the Father doth raise the dead, and doth make alive, so also the Son doth make alive whom he willeth;</span> 22. <span class="rl-speech">for neither doth the Father judge any one, but all the judgment He hath given to the Son,</span> 23. <span class="rl-speech">that all may honour the Son according as they honour the Father; he who is not honouring the Son, doth not honour the Father who sent him.</span>**
>
> 24. <span class="rl-speech">'Verily, verily, I say to you, He who is hearing my word, and is believing Him who sent me, hath life age-during, and to judgment he doth not come, but hath passed out of the death to the life.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">'Verily, verily, I say to you, There cometh an hour, and it now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those having heard shall live;</span> (John 5:16-25, 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._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Anointing Implies Subordination Objection Defeater](/codex/anointing-implies-subordination-objection-defeater/), via [John 5.19](/codex/john-5-19/), [John 5.22-23](/codex/john-5-22-23/)
- [Christians Not Under Mosaic Law](/codex/christians-not-under-mosaic-law/), via [John 5.1-18](/codex/john-5-1-18/)
- [Jesus Never Claimed to Be God Objection Defeater](/codex/jesus-never-claimed-to-be-god-objection-defeater/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/), [John 5.23](/codex/john-5-23/)
- [Liar Lunatic or Lord](/codex/liar-lunatic-or-lord/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/)
- [OT vs NT God Objection Defeater](/codex/ot-vs-nt-god-objection-defeater/), via [John 5.17-18](/codex/john-5-17-18/)
- [Quran Confirms Jesus is God Argument](/codex/quran-confirms-jesus-is-god-argument/), via [John 5.19](/codex/john-5-19/), [John 5.21](/codex/john-5-21/)

**Concepts:**

- [Christ is God](/codex/christ-is-god/), via [John 5.17-18](/codex/john-5-17-18/), [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/), [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/)
- [Christian Muslim Defender](/codex/christian-muslim-defender/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/), [John 5.19](/codex/john-5-19/)
- [Christianity](/codex/christianity/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/), [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/)
- [Christology](/codex/christology/), via [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/)
- [Christs Deity](/codex/christs-deity/), via [John 5.17-18](/codex/john-5-17-18/), [John 5.21](/codex/john-5-21/), [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/), [John 5.23](/codex/john-5-23/)
- [Eschatology](/codex/eschatology/), via [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/)
- [Father-Son Authority Asymmetry](/codex/father-son-authority-asymmetry/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/), [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/), [John 5.23](/codex/john-5-23/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [John 5](/codex/john-5/)
- [Lesson 2.4, Christology in One Lesson](/codex/lesson-2-4-christology-in-one-lesson/), via [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/)
- [Trinity](/codex/trinity/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/)
- [Trinity vs Oneness vs Modalism vs Arianism](/codex/trinity-vs-oneness-vs-modalism-vs-arianism/), via [John 5.19-23](/codex/john-5-19-23/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G0026 - agape](/codex/g0026-agape/), via [John 5.20](/codex/john-5-20/)
- [G1453 - egeiro](/codex/g1453-egeiro/), via [John 5.21](/codex/john-5-21/)
- [G2198 - zao](/codex/g2198-zao/), via [John 5.21](/codex/john-5-21/)
- [G2920 - krisis](/codex/g2920-krisis/), via [John 5.22](/codex/john-5-22/), [John 5.22-27](/codex/john-5-22-27/), [John 5.22-30](/codex/john-5-22-30/)
- [G3962 - pater](/codex/g3962-pater/), via [John 5.19-23](/codex/john-5-19-23/)
- [G5207 - huios](/codex/g5207-huios/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/), [John 5.23-26](/codex/john-5-23-26/)
- [H0001 - ab](/codex/h0001-ab/)
- [H6213 - asah](/codex/h6213-asah/), via [John 5.17-19](/codex/john-5-17-19/), [John 5.19](/codex/john-5-19/)
- [H8085 - shama](/codex/h8085-shama/), via [John 5.19](/codex/john-5-19/)

**Other pages:**

- [Religious Pluralism Objection](/codex/religious-pluralism-objection/), via [John 5.18](/codex/john-5-18/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.