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ParallelVerse 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 Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 5 V1 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) and a large number of sick, blind, lame, and paralysed people lie there in them.![]()
OET-LV In these a_multitude of_the ones ailing, blind, lame, paralysed.
was_lying,![]()
SR-GNT Ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο πλῆθος τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ξηρῶν. ‡
(En tautais katekeito plaʸthos tōn asthenountōn, tuflōn, ⱪōlōn, xaʸrōn.)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT In these were lying a crowd of the ones being sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed.[fn]
The best ancient copies do not have the phrase waiting for the moving of the water.
UST Many people were lying on these porches. They were people who were ill, unable to see, unable to walk, or unable to move.
BSB On these [ walkways ][fn] lay a great number of the sick, [the] blind, [the] lame, [and the] paralyzed.[fn]
5:3 Literally In these
5:3 NE, BYZ, and TR include awaiting the moving of the waters. 4For from time to time an angel descended into the pool and stirred the water. As soon as it was stirred, the first to enter the pool would be healed of his disease.
MSB On these [ walkways ][fn] lay a great number of the sick, [the] blind, [the] lame, [and the] paralyzed, awaiting the moving of the water.[fn]
BLB In these were lying a multitude of those ailing, blind, lame, paralyzed.
AICNT [[Therefore]][fn] In these lay a [[great]][fn] multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and {withered}[fn] [[waiting for the moving of the water.
5:3, Therefore: Included in D(05).
5:3, great: Some manuscripts include. A(02) BYZ TR
5:3, withered: Some manuscripts read “paralyzed.” D(05) Latin(a b d e ff2 ) BYZ TR
OEB In these colonnades a large number of sick people were lying – blind, lame, and crippled.
LSB In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters;
WEBBE In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralysed, waiting for the moving of the water;
WMBB (Same as above)
NET A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.
LSV in these were lying a great multitude of the ailing, blind, lame, withered, [[waiting for the moving of the water,
FBV Crowds of sick people were lying in these porches—those who were blind, lame, or paralyzed.
TCNT In the porticoes were lying a [fn]great multitude of disabled people, including the blind, the lame, and the [fn]paralyzed, who were waiting for the moving of the water.
5:3 great ¦ — CT
5:3 paralyzed, who were waiting for the moving of the water. 97.2% ¦ paralyzed. CT 0.7%
T4T 3-4 Many people were lying there. They were people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed.[fn]
5:3-4 send down an angel, and the angel would stir the water. Then the first person who got down into the water after the water was stirred would be healed of whatever disease that person had.
LEB In these were lying a large number of those who were sick, blind, lame, paralyzed.[fn]
5:3 The majority of later manuscripts add the following words: “waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel of the Lord from time to time went down in the pool and stirred up the water. So the one who went in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he suffered.”
BBE In these doorways there were a great number of people with different diseases: some unable to see, some without the power of walking, some with wasted bodies.
Moff where a crowd of invalids used to lie, the blind, the lame, and folk with shrivelled limbs [waiting for the water to bubble.
Wymth In these there used to lie a great number of sick persons, and of people who were blind or lame or paralyzed.
ASV In these lay a multitude of them that were sick, blind, halt, withered.
DRA In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered; waiting for the moving of the water.
YLT in these were lying a great multitude of the ailing, blind, lame, withered, waiting for the moving of the water,
Drby In these lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, [awaiting the moving of the water.
RV In these lay a multitude of them that were sick, blind, halt, withered.
SLT In these lay a great multitude of weak, blind, lame, withered, expecting the moving of the water.
Wbstr In these lay a great multitude of impotent persons, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
KJB-1769 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
(In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk/people, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. )
KJB-1611 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folke, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the mouing of the water.
(In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk/people, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the mouing of the water.)
Bshps In which lay a great multitude of sicke folke, of blynde, halt, & wythered, waytyng for the mouyng of the water.
(In which lay a great multitude of sick folk/people, of blind, halt, and withered, wayting for the moving of the water.)
Gnva In the which lay a great multitude of sicke folke, of blinde, halte, and withered, wayting for the mouing of the water.
(In the which lay a great multitude of sick folk/people, of blind, halt, and withered, wayting for the mouing of the water. )
Cvdl wherin laye many sicke, blynde, lame, wythred, which wayted, whan the water shulde moue.
(wherein lay many sick, blind, lame, withered, which waited, when the water should move.)
TNT in which laye a greate multitude of sicke folke of blinde halt and wyddered waytinge for the movinge of the water.
(in which lay a great multitude of sick folk/people of blind halt and wyddered waiting for the movinge of the water. )
Wycl In these lay a greet multitude of sike men, blynde, crokid, and drie, abidynge the mouyng of the watir.
(In these lay a great multitude of sike men, blind, crooked, and dry, abiding the moving of the water.)
Luth in welchen lagen viel Kranke, Blinde, Lahme, Dürre; die warteten, wenn sich das Wasser bewegte.
(in which_(ones) lay many Kranke, Blinde, Lahme, drought; the waited, when itself/yourself/themselves the water movede.)
ClVg In his jacebat multitudo magna languentium, cæcorum, claudorum, aridorum, exspectantium aquæ motum.
(In his yacebat multitude/crowd big languentium, cæcorum, claudorum, aridorum, they_are_waitingium water movement. )
UGNT ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο πλῆθος τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ξηρῶν.
(en tautais katekeito plaʸthos tōn asthenountōn, tuflōn, ⱪōlōn, xaʸrōn.)
SBL-GNT ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο ⸀πλῆθος τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ⸀ξηρῶν.
(en tautais katekeito ⸀plaʸthos tōn asthenountōn, tuflōn, ⱪōlōn, ⸀xaʸrōn.)
RP-GNT Ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο πλῆθος πολὺ τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ξηρῶν, ἐκδεχομένων τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος κίνησιν.
(En tautais katekeito plaʸthos polu tōn asthenountōn, tuflōn, ⱪōlōn, xaʸrōn, ekdeⱪomenōn taʸn tou hudatos kinaʸsin.)
TC-GNT Ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο πλῆθος [fn]πολὺ τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ξηρῶν, [fn]ἐκδεχομένων τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος κίνησιν.
(En tautais katekeito plaʸthos polu tōn asthenountōn, tuflōn, ⱪōlōn, xaʸrōn, ekdeⱪomenōn taʸn tou hudatos kinaʸsin. )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
5:3 The pool of Bethesda had become a healing sanctuary for crowds of sick people who believed miraculous cures were possible.
• Most scholars believe that the variant reading in the NLT textual note was not part of John’s original text, but it represents an ancient tradition that provided helpful background information.
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.
This paragraph introduces the story of how Jesus healed a lame man near the Bethesda pool.
On these walkways lay a great number of the sick,
Many disabled people lay there.
Large numbers of the sick used to lie there,
On these walkways lay a great number of the sick: The phrase On these means inside the porticoes. The people lay there by the pool day after day. It was their custom or habit. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
A large crowd of sick people were lying on the porches (GNT)
Many disabled people lay in the huts
the sick: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the sick is a general term. Literally it says “weak ones,” referring to sick or disabled people, including the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. Try to use a word that includes all these physical problems. For example:
disabled people
In some languages it is more natural to reorder this clause. For example:
A great number of invalids used to lie on these porches.
the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
Some were blind, some were lame, and some were paralyzed.
those who could not see, could not walk, or could not move.
the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed: This phrase gives three examples of the invalids who were lying by the pool. In some languages it may be helpful to make this clear. For example:
Some were blind, others were lame, and others were paralyzed.
the lame: The Greek word that the BSB translates as lame refers to people who could not walk, or walked with difficulty. Here is another way to translate this word:
People who could not walk well.
the paralyzed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as paralyzed refers to a person who could not move part of his body. It means “dry” or “withered.” Its meaning has some of the same meaning of the previous word, “lame.” Here is another way to translate this word:
withered (NASB)
In some languages it may be natural to combine 5:3a–b. For example:
Here a great number of disabled people, blind, lame, and paralyzed, used to lie.
Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. (NLT)
[[awaiting the moving of the waters. For from time to time an angel descended into the pool and stirred the water. As soon as it was stirred, the first to enter the pool would be healed of his disease.]]: These words are not in the earliest Greek manuscripts. They were probably added later to explain verse 7. The KJV puts them in the text, the NASB puts them inside square brackets [ ], and the JBP puts them in parentheses ( ). The other English translations do not include them. Some English translations like the BSB have a footnote indicating that some later Greek manuscripts include this section.
It is recommended that you do not include this section in the text.The UBS Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament 3rd edition omits verse 4 with an A rating, indicating that this is nearly certain to be correct. It states: “Ver. 4 is a gloss, whose secondary character is clear from (1) its absence from the earliest and best witnesses… (2) the presence of asterisks or obeli to mark the words as spurious in more than twenty (20) Greek witnesses… (3) the presence of non-Johannine words or expressions… (4) the rather wide diversity of variant forms in which the verse was transmitted….” If you use footnotes, you may want to include them in a footnote. Brief notes are included here to help you translate them for the footnote. The translation is that of the BSB footnote.
[[awaiting the moving of the waters.
[[These people waited for the waters to move.
[[These people stayed there until the pool’s water was disturbed.
awaiting the moving of the waters: The invalids (sick and disabled people) watched the water to see if it would move in an unusual way. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
they were waiting for the water to move

Much like the difficulties of discerning the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land (see here), the task of reconciling the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem into one coherent itinerary has proven very challenging for Bible scholars. As with many other events during Jesus’ ministry, the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels) present a noticeably similar account of Jesus’ final travels, while John’s Gospel presents an itinerary that is markedly different from the others. In general, the Synoptic Gospels present Jesus as making a single journey to Jerusalem, beginning in Capernaum (Luke 9:51), passing through Perea (Matthew 19:1-2; Mark 10:1) and Jericho (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-19:10), and ending at Bethany and Bethphage, where he enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44). John, on the other hand, mentions several trips to Jerusalem by Jesus (John 2:13-17; 5:1-15; 7:1-13; 10:22-23), followed by a trip to Perea across the Jordan River (John 10:40-42), a return to Bethany where he raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11), a withdrawal to the village of Ephraim for a few months (John 11:54), and a return trip to Bethany, where he then enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (John 12:1-19). The differences between the Synoptics’ and John’s accounts are noteworthy, but they are not irreconcilable. The Synoptics, after noting that Jesus began his trip at Capernaum, likely condensed their accounts (as occurs elsewhere in the Gospels) to omit Jesus’ initial arrival in Jerusalem and appearance at the Festival of Dedication, thus picking up with Jesus in Perea (stage 2 of John’s itinerary). Then all the Gospels recount Jesus’ trip (back) to Bethany and Jerusalem, passing through Jericho along the way. Likewise, the Synoptics must have simply omitted the few months Jesus spent in Ephraim to escape the Jewish leaders (stage 4 of John’s itinerary) and rejoined John’s account where Jesus is preparing to enter Jerusalem on a donkey.