1
Μετὰ ταῦτα ⸀ἦν ἑορτὴ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ ⸀ἀνέβη Ἰησοῦς εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα.
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2
ἔστιν δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐπὶ τῇ προβατικῇ κολυμβήθρα ἡ ἐπιλεγομένη Ἑβραϊστὶ ⸀Βηθεσδά, πέντε στοὰς ἔχουσα·
Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five colonnades.
Why this rendering
John.5.2 Observation
Syntactic observation
SBLGNT marks the place name with a variant sign (⸀) and prints Βηθεσδά. Three readings survive across our version columns — SBLGNT, the Textus Receptus, KJV, 개역한글, NASB, ESV, NIV, Elberfelder, the Synodal and the Chinese Union Version read Bethesda; Tischendorf's eighth edition, NET and the Japanese Shinkyōdōyaku read Bethzatha; the Vulgate reads Bethsaida. The manuscript families carry straight through into the printed editions, and our columns display the split. προβατικῇ is an adjective with no noun — only “by the sheep [something].”
Rendering options · 2
Adopted Bethesda
Basis Follows the reading of SBLGNT, our base text.
Bethzatha
Basis Follows the Tischendorf line.
Rejected Our base text is SBLGNT (DECISIONS C1), so we do not switch base texts verse by verse. The other readings are kept as variant entries rather than erased.
Lost in translation
that the place name is unsettled A translation prints one name, so the reader cannot see that the manuscripts diverge. Our columns show Bethesda, Bethzatha and Bethsaida side by side; no single translation can.
3
ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο ⸀πλῆθος τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ⸀ξηρῶν.
In these lay a multitude of the sick — blind, lame, withered.
Why this rendering
John.5.3 Observation
Syntactic observation
Chapter 5 has forty-six verses in SBLGNT. There is no verse 4. Verse 3 ends at ξηρῶν, and the familiar lines about waiting for the moving of the water and about an angel going down at times to stir the pool are not in our base text. Our version columns show five ways of handling the spot — absent altogether (SBLGNT, Tischendorf, ESV, NET, NIV); printed as text (the Textus Receptus, KJV, YLT, NASB, the Vulgate, Elberfelder, the Synodal); printed in square brackets (개역한글); printed with an explicit note (the Chinese Union Version's 有古卷在此有); and marked with a dagger and brackets (the Japanese Shinkyōdōyaku's †〔 〕). SBLGNT places two variant marks inside this verse — ⸀πλῆθος and ⸀ξηρῶν. The second is the last word of the verse, exactly where the added lines attach.
Rendering options · 3
print it in square brackets
Basis Keeps the familiar text while marking its status.
Rejected Our base text is SBLGNT (DECISIONS C1), so what is not in it does not occupy a place in the running text. Brackets mark status but do not say what was dropped or why; we say that in the variant entry instead.
print it as running text
Basis Follows the traditional text.
Rejected Printed without a mark, the reader has no way to learn that it is absent from the base text.
Adopted render verse 3 to ξηρῶν and show the omitted lines as a variant entry
Basis Follow the base text without going silent. Dropping it without comment leaves the reader knowing nothing, as with ESV, NET and NIV.
Lost in translation
that something is missing A reader of the running text alone cannot know what was dropped here or why. The versions that delete it say nothing; those that print it do not mark it. Only the Chinese Union Version and the Japanese Shinkyōdōyaku say so on the page.
Survives in · CUV / JPNICT / 개역한글
5
ἦν δέ τις ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖ ⸀τριάκοντα ὀκτὼ ἔτη ἔχων ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ ⸀αὐτοῦ·
And a certain man was there who had been in his illness thirty-eight years.
6
τοῦτον ἰδὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς κατακείμενον, καὶ γνοὺς ὅτι πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον ἔχει, λέγει αὐτῷ· Θέλεις ὑγιὴς γενέσθαι;
Jesus, seeing him lying there and knowing that he had already been a long time in that state, says to him, “Do you want to become well?”
7
ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ ὁ ἀσθενῶν· Κύριε, ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω ἵνα ὅταν ταραχθῇ τὸ ὕδωρ βάλῃ με εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν· ἐν ᾧ δὲ ἔρχομαι ἐγὼ ἄλλος πρὸ ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει.
The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred; and while I am coming, another goes down before me.”
8
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ⸀Ἔγειρε ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει.
Jesus says to him, “Rise, take up your mat and walk.”
9
καὶ εὐθέως ἐγένετο ὑγιὴς ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἦρε τὸν κράβαττον αὐτοῦ καὶ περιεπάτει. Ἦν δὲ σάββατον ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ.
And at once the man became well, and took up his mat and was walking. Now that day was a Sabbath.
10
ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι τῷ τεθεραπευμένῳ· Σάββατόν ἐστιν, ⸀καὶ οὐκ ἔξεστίν σοι ἆραι τὸν ⸀κράβαττον.
So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your mat.”
11
⸂ὃς δὲ⸃ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς· Ὁ ποιήσας με ὑγιῆ ἐκεῖνός μοι εἶπεν Ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει.
But he answered them, “The one who made me well, he said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’”
12
ἠρώτησαν ⸀οὖν αὐτόν· Τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ εἰπών σοι· ⸀Ἆρον καὶ περιπάτει;
They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?”
13
ὁ δὲ ἰαθεὶς οὐκ ᾔδει τίς ἐστιν, ὁ γὰρ Ἰησοῦς ἐξένευσεν ὄχλου ὄντος ἐν τῷ τόπῳ.
But the one who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, a crowd being in the place.
14
μετὰ ταῦτα εὑρίσκει αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἴδε ὑγιὴς γέγονας· μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε, ἵνα μὴ χεῖρόν ⸂σοί τι⸃ γένηται.
After these things Jesus finds him in the temple courts and said to him, “See, you have become well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
15
ἀπῆλθεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ⸀ἀνήγγειλεν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὸν ὑγιῆ.
The man went away and announced to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐδίωκον ⸂οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι τὸν Ἰησοῦν⸃ ὅτι ταῦτα ἐποίει ἐν σαββάτῳ.
And for this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on a Sabbath.
17
ὁ ⸀δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς· Ὁ πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι.
But he answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
18
διὰ τοῦτο οὖν μᾶλλον ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀποκτεῖναι ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἔλυε τὸ σάββατον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πατέρα ἴδιον ἔλεγε τὸν θεόν, ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ θεῷ.
For this reason then the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
19
Ἀπεκρίνατο οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ⸀ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ δύναται ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ’ ἑαυτοῦ οὐδὲν ⸀ἐὰν μή τι βλέπῃ τὸν πατέρα ποιοῦντα· ἃ γὰρ ἂν ἐκεῖνος ποιῇ, ταῦτα καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ὁμοίως ποιεῖ.
So Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself unless he sees the Father doing it; for whatever that one does, these things the Son also does likewise.
20
ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ φιλεῖ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ πάντα δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ ἃ αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, καὶ μείζονα τούτων δείξει αὐτῷ ἔργα, ἵνα ὑμεῖς θαυμάζητε.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself does; and greater works than these he will show him, so that you may marvel.
21
ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἐγείρει τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ ζῳοποιεῖ, οὕτως καὶ ὁ υἱὸς οὓς θέλει ζῳοποιεῖ.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he wills.
22
οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ κρίνει οὐδένα, ἀλλὰ τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν δέδωκεν τῷ υἱῷ,
For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son,
23
ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν υἱὸν καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν πατέρα. ὁ μὴ τιμῶν τὸν υἱὸν οὐ τιμᾷ τὸν πατέρα τὸν πέμψαντα αὐτόν.
so that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. The one not honouring the Son does not honour the Father who sent him.
24
Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται ἀλλὰ μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the one hearing my word and believing him who sent me has life eternal, and does not come into judgement, but has passed over from death into life.
25
Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ὅτε οἱ νεκροὶ ⸀ἀκούσουσιν τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀκούσαντες ⸀ζήσουσιν.
Amen, amen, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
26
ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἔχει ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, οὕτως ⸂καὶ τῷ υἱῷ ἔδωκεν⸃ ζωὴν ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ·
For as the Father has life in himself, so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.
27
καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔδωκεν ⸀αὐτῷ κρίσιν ποιεῖν, ὅτι υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν.
And he gave him authority to carry out judgement, because he is Son of Man.
28
μὴ θαυμάζετε τοῦτο, ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα ἐν ᾗ πάντες οἱ ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις ⸀ἀκούσουσιν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
29
καὶ ἐκπορεύσονται οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς, οἱ ⸀δὲ τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως.
and will come out — those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practised base things to a resurrection of judgement.
30
Οὐ δύναμαι ἐγὼ ποιεῖν ἀπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ οὐδέν· καθὼς ἀκούω κρίνω, καὶ ἡ κρίσις ἡ ἐμὴ δικαία ἐστίν, ὅτι οὐ ζητῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός ⸀με.
I can do nothing of myself. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.
31
Ἐὰν ἐγὼ μαρτυρῶ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, ἡ μαρτυρία μου οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθής·
If I bear witness about myself, my witness is not true.
32
ἄλλος ἐστὶν ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ ἐμοῦ, καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστιν ἡ μαρτυρία ἣν μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ.
There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the witness he bears about me is true.
33
ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκε τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·
You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
34
ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ παρὰ ἀνθρώπου τὴν μαρτυρίαν λαμβάνω, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα λέγω ἵνα ὑμεῖς σωθῆτε.
But I do not receive the witness from a man; rather I say these things so that you may be saved.
35
ἐκεῖνος ἦν ὁ λύχνος ὁ καιόμενος καὶ φαίνων, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἠθελήσατε ἀγαλλιαθῆναι πρὸς ὥραν ἐν τῷ φωτὶ αὐτοῦ·
He was the lamp that burns and shines, and you were willing for an hour to rejoice in his light.
36
ἐγὼ δὲ ἔχω τὴν μαρτυρίαν ⸀μείζω τοῦ Ἰωάννου, τὰ γὰρ ἔργα ἃ ⸀δέδωκέν μοι ὁ πατὴρ ἵνα τελειώσω αὐτά, αὐτὰ τὰ ἔργα ⸀ἃ ποιῶ, μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ ὅτι ὁ πατήρ με ἀπέσταλκεν,
But I have a witness greater than John's; for the works that the Father has given me to complete — these very works that I do — bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.
37
καὶ ὁ πέμψας με πατὴρ ⸀ἐκεῖνος μεμαρτύρηκεν περὶ ἐμοῦ. οὔτε φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ⸂πώποτε ἀκηκόατε⸃ οὔτε εἶδος αὐτοῦ ἑωράκατε,
And the Father who sent me, he has borne witness about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form,
38
καὶ τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔχετε ⸂ἐν ὑμῖν μένοντα⸃, ὅτι ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος τούτῳ ὑμεῖς οὐ πιστεύετε.
and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent.
39
Ἐραυνᾶτε τὰς γραφάς, ὅτι ὑμεῖς δοκεῖτε ἐν αὐταῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔχειν· καὶ ἐκεῖναί εἰσιν αἱ μαρτυροῦσαι περὶ ἐμοῦ·
You search the writings, because you think that in them you have life eternal; and it is they that bear witness about me.
Why this rendering
John.5.39 Hypothesis
Syntactic observation
Ἐραυνᾶτε is second person plural present active of ἐραυνάω. For a contract verb in this slot the indicative and the imperative are identical in form — “you search the writings” and “search the writings” cannot be told apart on the page. Our morphological data tags the word 2PAI-P--, that is, indicative. **That is not an observation but an editorial judgement by MorphGNT.** We state here that our data layer is not neutral at this point. Our version columns split as well: Elberfelder prints the indicative and notes “O. Erforschet” in the margin, and the Chinese Union Version prints 或作：應當查考聖經.
Rendering options · 2
Search the scriptures
Basis Reads it as an imperative, an exhortation.
Rejected The next verse runs “and yet you are unwilling to come to me” (v.40), so an imperative weakens that turn. The form alone cannot rule it out, however, so it is recorded here rather than dismissed.
Adopted You search the writings, because you think that in them you have life eternal; and it is they that bear witness about me.
Basis Read as an indicative so that it runs into v.40, “and yet you are unwilling to come to me.” The morphological tag in our base data is also indicative, but the observation above states that the tag is itself a judgement.
Lost in translation
the identity of indicative and imperative The Greek here admits two readings; Korean and English must choose one. Choosing removes the other, and the reader cannot see that there was a choice. Only Elberfelder and the Chinese Union Version leave both on the page.
Survives in · ELB / CUV
40
καὶ οὐ θέλετε ἐλθεῖν πρός με ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχητε.
And yet you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.
41
δόξαν παρὰ ἀνθρώπων οὐ λαμβάνω,
I do not receive glory from people,
42
ἀλλὰ ἔγνωκα ὑμᾶς ὅτι τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔχετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς.
but I have known you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
43
ἐγὼ ἐλήλυθα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ οὐ λαμβάνετέ με· ἐὰν ἄλλος ἔλθῃ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τῷ ἰδίῳ, ἐκεῖνον λήμψεσθε.
I have come in the name of my Father and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, that one you will receive.
44
πῶς δύνασθε ὑμεῖς πιστεῦσαι, δόξαν παρ’ ἀλλήλων λαμβάνοντες, καὶ τὴν δόξαν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ μόνου θεοῦ οὐ ζητεῖτε;
How can you believe, receiving glory from one another and not seeking the glory that is from the only God?
Why this rendering
John.5.44 Observation
Syntactic observation
δόξα occurs twice in this verse and once in v.41 — the same word each time. In v.41 and the first half of v.44 it is the δόξα received from people; in the second half of v.44 it is the δόξα that comes “from the only God.” The first is anarthrous and the second carries the article twice, τὴν δόξαν τὴν παρὰ. One word, divided by the presence and absence of the article.
Rendering options · 2
“praise” from people, “glory” from God
Basis Treats the two as different in sense and splits the word.
Rejected Making one word into two removes the shape of the question. The sentence asks where the same thing is sought, not which of two different things. The Vulgate in fact splits it, using claritatem at v.41 and gloriam at v.44.
Adopted How can you believe, receiving glory from one another and not seeking the glory that is from the only God?
Basis Keeps one word in all three places so the shape of the question stands. The contrast of article cannot be carried and is recorded below.
Lost in translation
the presence and absence of the article The δόξα from people is anarthrous; the δόξα from God carries the article twice. Korean and English cannot mark the contrast. It is the same kind of loss met at 1:1c and 4:24.
45
μὴ δοκεῖτε ὅτι ἐγὼ κατηγορήσω ὑμῶν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα· ἔστιν ὁ κατηγορῶν ὑμῶν Μωϋσῆς, εἰς ὃν ὑμεῖς ἠλπίκατε.
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. There is one who accuses you — Moses, in whom you have hoped.
46
εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί, περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν.
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me.
47
εἰ δὲ τοῖς ἐκείνου γράμμασιν οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς τοῖς ἐμοῖς ῥήμασιν πιστεύσετε;
But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Why this rendering
John.5.47 Observation
Syntactic observation
Two words stand opposite each other — γράμμασιν is the dative plural of γράμμα, a thing written, and ῥήμασιν the dative plural of ῥῆμα, a thing spoken. Moses gets what is written; Jesus gets what is spoken. Both are objects of πιστεύω in matching clauses. On the detector this verse carries the chapter's most negative archaism figure (modern 0.372, noise −0.110).
Rendering options · 2
if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe what I say
Basis Unpacks both nouns into relative clauses for readability.
Rejected Turning two nouns into verb phrases loosens the symmetry. The original sets nouns of the same case in the same slot to face “writing” against “speech”; unpacking removes the pair.
Adopted But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
Basis Two nouns for two nouns, keeping the symmetry. 개역한글, KJV, NASB, the Vulgate, Elberfelder and the Synodal already do this.
Lost in translation
the γράμμα / ῥῆμα symmetry What is written and what is spoken stand opposite as nouns of the same case. Unpacking removes the pair. NET, NIV and the Japanese Shinkyōdōyaku unpack; the rest keep the nouns.
Survives in · 개역한글 / YLT / KJV / NASB / ESV / VULG / ELB / SYNOD