John 7

The Feast of Tabernacles

¹ And after these [things] Jesus was walking [about] in Galilee; for he was not wanting to be walking [about] in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. ² Now it was near the Festival of Tabernacles of the Jews. ³ So his brothers said to him: Go across from here and depart to Judea, that your disciples will also observe your works that you do. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be public¹. If you do these [things], reveal yourself to the world. ⁵ For not even his brothers were believing in him.

⁶ So Jesus says to them: My opportune-time² is not yet present, but your opportune-time² is always ready. ⁷ The world is not able to be hating you, but it hates me, because I witness concerning it that its works are wicked³ . ⁸ Go up to the festival; I do not-yet⁴ go up to this festival, because my opportune-time² is not yet⁵ fulfilled. ⁹ But saying these [things] to them he remained in Galilee. ¹⁰ But as his brothers went up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but as in secret. ¹¹ So the Jews were seeking him in the festival and were saying: Where is that [one]? ¹² And there was much grumbling concerning him in the crowds. Some were saying that he is good, but others were saying: No, rather he deceives the people. ¹³ Indeed no one was speaking openly concerning him for fear of the Jews.

Teaching in the Temple

¹⁴ Now the festival being already in the middle Jesus went up to the temple and was teaching. ¹⁵ So the Jews were marveling saying: How does this [one] know letters⁶, not having been taught? ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them and said: My teaching is not mine but of the [one] having sent me. ¹⁷ If anyone wills to be doing his will, he shall know concerning the teaching, whether it is from God or [if] I speak from myself. ¹⁸ The [one] speaking from himself seeks his own glory. But the [one] seeking the glory of the [one] having sent him, this [one] is true and injustice is not in him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law? And no one [of you] does the law. Why do you seek to kill me?

²⁰ The crowd answered: You have [a] demon; Who seeks to kill you? ²¹ Jesus answered and said to them: One work I did and all marvel. ²² Because of this Moses has given to you the circumcision—not because it is from Moses, but [rather] from the fathers—and on the Sabbath do you circumcise [a] man. ²³ If the man receives circumcision on the Sabbath in order that the law of Moses not be loosed, are you angry with me because I made the whole man healthy on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Be not judging according to appearance, but judge [according to] just judgment.

Questions About Jesus' Identity

²⁵ So, certain of the Jerusalemites were saying: Is not this [one] whom they seek to kill? ²⁶ And behold he speaks in public, and they say nothing to him. The rulers haven't truly known that this [one] is the Christ, [have they]? ²⁷ But we know from where is this [one]; but when the Christ comes, no one knows from where he is.

²⁸ So Jesus cried out in the temple teaching and saying: You know me and you know from where I am, and I have not come from myself, but the [one] having sent me is true, whom you do not know. ²⁹ I know him, because I am from him and that [one] sent me.

³⁰ So they were seeking to arrest him, and no one laid [a] hand upon him, because his hour was not yet come. ³¹ But many of the crowd believed in him, and were saying: When the Christ has come, will he do more signs than this [one] has done?⁷ ³² The Pharisees heard of the people grumbling these [things] concerning him, and the chief-priests and Pharisees sent officers in order that they arrest him. ³³ So Jesus said, Yet [a] little time am I with you and I depart to the [one] having sent me. ³⁴ You will seek me and you will not find me, and where I am you are not able to come.

³⁵ Then the Jews said among themselves: Where is this [one] about to go that we will not find him? Is he about to go into the dispersion of the Greeks and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What is this word that he said: You will seek me and you will not find [me], and where I am you are not able to come?

Teaching About the Spirit

³⁷ Now in the last day of the festival Jesus stood and cried out saying: If anyone thirst, he must⁸ be coming to me and drinking⁸. ³⁸ The [one] believing in me, just as the scripture said⁹:

Rivers of zoe-living¹⁰ water will flow from his belly.

³⁹ But he said this concerning the spirit that those believing in him were [about] to be receiving. For the spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Differing Opinions About Jesus

⁴⁰ So, [many] of the crowd hearing of these words were saying: This is truly the prophet. ⁴¹ But others were saying: This is the Christ; but [others] were saying: Does the Christ come out of Galilee?⁷ ⁴² Doesn't the scripture say that: Of the seed of David, and: From Bethlehem, the town from which was David comes the Christ? ⁴³ So [a] division came to pass in the crowd because of him, ⁴⁴ and some of them were wanting to arrest him, but no one put their hands on him.

Lack of Belief

⁴⁵ So the officers came to the chief-priests and Pharisees, and those said to them: Why have you not brought him? ⁴⁶ The officers answered: Never did [a] man speak thusly. ⁴⁷ So the Pharisees answered: Are you too deceived?⁷ ⁴⁸ Have any of the rulers trusted in him or [any] of the Pharisees?⁷ ⁴⁹ But this crowd who knows not the law is accursed.

⁵⁰ Nicodemos says to them, the [one] having come to him earlier, being one of them: ⁵¹ Does our law judge a man unless it may first hear from him and know what he does?⁷ ⁵² They answered and said to him: Are you too from Galilee? Search and behold that [a] prophet does not arise from Galilee. ⁵³ ¹¹ And they proceeded each to his house.

¹or 'open', 'frank'

²KAIROS (καιρoς ) `opportune time', `proper time', `season'

³PONEROS (πoνηρoς ) here. The Greek word KAKOS (κακoς ) is always translated `evil', PONEROS is usually translated as `wicked' although occasionally as `bad'; it can also mean 'diseased', 'sickly' and is thus translated where appropriate. Like KAKOS, PONEROS also means `evil', but the harm that evil does is more in view, where KAKOS is more `evil as evil'.

⁴just `not': ℵD; `not-yet': p^66,75HKW

⁵"yet" p^66,75BWK; omit: ℵDvg

⁶i.e. reading and writing

⁷Grammar indicates "no" answer expected or expresses uncertainty

⁸imperative

⁹Isa.12:3, Isa.55:1, Isa.58:11, Ezek.47:1

¹⁰from ZOE "ZOH-ay" (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected. Although it means 'life' in the conventional sense (for example: Matt.9:18, Matt.27:63, Luke.2:36, Acts.25:24, Rom.7:2, 2Cor.1:8, 1Thes.4:17, 1Tim.5:10, Rev.19:20), Jesus uses ZOE exclusively of 'life eternal' (with the possible exceptions of Luke.15:13, Luke.16:25). The other N.T. writers use ZOE in both senses—temporal and eternal, generally clear from the context. The Father is the 'zoe-living God' (see Matt.16:16). The Septuagint (LXX) in Gen.2:7 has "...[God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of zoe-life, and the man became a zoe-living psyche-life" (and see 1Cor.15:45); and Gen.3:20 (LXX) "And Adam called his wife's name ZOE, because she was the mother of all zoe-living." Contrast PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. See John.12:25 where both ZOE and PSYCHE occur. Greek also has the word BIOS (βιoς ) for 'life' in the sense of biological processes.

¹¹include 7:53–8:11: KD vg most; omit: p^66,75 HℵWB many