Passage

John 7.38-39

Book: John · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"36. What is this word that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, ye cannot come? 37. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink."

"38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. 39. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified."

"40. Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, This is of a truth the prophet. 41. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, What, doth the Christ come out of Galilee?" (John 7:36-41, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"36. What is this word that he said, ‘You will seek me, and won’t find me; and where I am, you can’t come’?” 37. Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!"

"38. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.” 39. But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn’t yet glorified."

"40. Many of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This is truly the prophet.” 41. Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “What, does the Christ come out of Galilee?" (John 7:36-41, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"36. What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come? 37. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."

"38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

"40. Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?" (John 7:36-41, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"36. what is this word that he said, Ye will seek me, and ye shall not find? and, Where I am, ye are not able to come?' 37. And in the last, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 'If any one doth thirst, let him come unto me and drink;"

"38. he who is believing in me, according as the Writing said, Rivers out of his belly shall flow of living water;' 39. and this he said of the Spirit, which those believing in him were about to receive; for not yet was the Holy Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

"40. Many, therefore out of the multitude, having heard the word, said, 'This is truly the Prophet;' 41. others said, 'This is the Christ;' and others said, 'Why, out of Galilee doth the Christ come?" (John 7:36-41, 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

Quoted in

Water and Life

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.