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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 5 V1 V3 V5 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47
OET (OET-LV) The one ailing answered to_him:
Master, I_am_ not _having a_person, in_order_that whenever the water may_be_disturbed, he_may_put me into the pool, in but which am_coming I, another before me is_coming_down.
OET (OET-RV) “Yes mister,” the sick man answered, “but when the water starts moving, I don’t have a companion to lift me into the pool, so someone else always get there before me.”
In this section Jesus healed a lame man who was lying by a pool of water. Because Jesus healed him on a Sabbath day, the Jewish leaders became angry. They believed that healing a person was work and that Jews should not work on the Sabbath.
The man who was healed did not know who had healed him. Then Jesus met this man in the temple. He told him that he should not sin anymore. The healed man went to the Jewish leaders and told them that it was Jesus who had healed him.
Here are some other possibilities for a section heading:
Jesus healed a lame man on the Sabbath.
Jewish leaders criticized Jesus for healing a man on the holy/rest day.
Jesus met a man who had been lame for thirty-eight (38) years. Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well.
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool
“Sir,” the lame man replied, “I cannot get well because no one is here to help me get/go into the pool
The lame man answered, “Yes, sir, I would. But there is no one with me to help/lift me into the pool
Sir: This is a polite form of address. The Greek word can also mean ‘Lord,’ but here it was probably just a way for the lame man to be polite. He did not appear to think yet that there was anything special about Jesus.
I have no one to help me into the pool: The lame man indicated to Jesus that he was unable to get into the pool ahead of other people. He needed help to get into the pool. He implied that he did want to get well by explaining why he was not already well. In some languages it is more natural to make this implied information more explicit. For example:
I do but I cannot, because I have no one to put me into the pool, sir.
Yes, sir, I want to, but there is no one to take me to the water.
when the water is stirred.
when the water is moved.
when the water becomes disturbed.
when the water is stirred: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as is stirred means “to move about.” See the note on 5:4b. This is a passive clause. There are at least two ways to translate it:
Use a passive verb. For example:
when the water is troubled (RSV)
Use an active verb. For example:
when the angel stirs the water
when the water bubbles up (NLT)
In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of 5:7a and 5:7b. For example:
Yes but it is impossible. 5:7bWhen the water moves/stirs, 5:7a⌊I need someone to help me into the pool. But I have no one.
While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.”
While I try to get there, another person goes down before me.”
I try to get in by myself, but somebody else always gets into the pool before me.”
While I am on my way: The verb that the BSB translates as am on my way means “am coming.” The lame man was in the process of coming to the water. He had tried to get into the water without help, but he was unable to get there fast enough. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
I try to get in, but… (CEV)
While I am trying to get into the water… (NET)
someone else goes in before me: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as goes in is more literally “descends (goes down).” It refers to people getting into the water. Translate this in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Someone else always gets there ahead of me. (NLT)
someone else steps into the pool before me (REB)
somebody else always enters the water before I do
In some languages it may be more natural to translate 5:7a–c as indirect speech. For example:
The sick man told Jesus that he tried to get into the pool before the others, but someone always got there first.
κύριε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Ὁ ἀσθενῶν Κύριε ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω ἵνα ὅταν ταραχθῇ τό ὕδωρ βάλῃ μέ εἰς τήν κολυμβήθραν ἐν ᾧ δέ ἔρχομαι ἐγώ ἄλλος πρό ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει)
The man calls Jesus Sir in order to show respect or politeness. (See: lord)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὅταν ταραχθῇ τὸ ὕδωρ
whenever ˓may_be˒_disturbed (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Ὁ ἀσθενῶν Κύριε ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω ἵνα ὅταν ταραχθῇ τό ὕδωρ βάλῃ μέ εἰς τήν κολυμβήθραν ἐν ᾧ δέ ἔρχομαι ἐγώ ἄλλος πρό ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you must state who did the action, verse 4 indicates who the man believed was doing the action. Alternate translation: [when an angel moves the water]
εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν
into (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Ὁ ἀσθενῶν Κύριε ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω ἵνα ὅταν ταραχθῇ τό ὕδωρ βάλῃ μέ εἰς τήν κολυμβήθραν ἐν ᾧ δέ ἔρχομαι ἐγώ ἄλλος πρό ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει)
See how you translated pool in verse 2.
ἄλλος πρὸ ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει
another (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Ὁ ἀσθενῶν Κύριε ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω ἵνα ὅταν ταραχθῇ τό ὕδωρ βάλῃ μέ εἰς τήν κολυμβήθραν ἐν ᾧ δέ ἔρχομαι ἐγώ ἄλλος πρό ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει)
The man believed that only the first person to enter the water after the water stirred would be healed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [another goes down before me and is healed]
5:1-40 This chapter reads like a courtroom drama, with a description of the crime (5:1-15), followed by a decision to prosecute (5:16), a description of the charges (5:18), and Jesus’ defense (5:17, 19-40).
OET (OET-LV) The one ailing answered to_him:
Master, I_am_ not _having a_person, in_order_that whenever the water may_be_disturbed, he_may_put me into the pool, in but which am_coming I, another before me is_coming_down.
OET (OET-RV) “Yes mister,” the sick man answered, “but when the water starts moving, I don’t have a companion to lift me into the pool, so someone else always get there before me.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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