John 5:17

John 5:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
• New International Version (NIV)In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."
• New King James Version (NKJV)But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

Context of John 5:17

15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16For this reason the Jews began to persecute Jesus continually because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now [He has never ceased working], and I too am working.” 18This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him, for not only was He breaking the Sabbath [from their viewpoint], but He was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19So Jesus answered them by saying, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way.

John 5:17 word by word

Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς· ὁ πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• workethἐργάζομαιergazomai · to workG2038
• ·ἕωςheōs · untilG2193
• hithertoἄρτιarti · nowG737
• and Iκἀγώkagō kamoi kame · and IG2504

Cross-references for John 5:17

• John 9:4We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
• John 14:10Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power].
• Genesis 2:1So the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (inhabitants).
• Psalms 65:6Who creates the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power,
• Isaiah 40:26Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these heavenly bodies, The One who brings out their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one is missing.
• Matthew 10:29Are not two little sparrows sold for a copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
• Acts 14:17yet He did not leave Himself without some witness [as evidence of Himself], in that He kept constantly doing good things and showing you kindness, and giving you rains from heaven and productive seasons, filling your hearts with food and happiness.”
• Acts 17:28For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
• 1 Corinthians 12:6And there are [distinctive] ways of working [to accomplish things], but it is the same God who produces all things in all believers [inspiring, energizing, and empowering them].
• Colossians 1:16For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him.
• Hebrews 1:3The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority],

Commentaries on John 5:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17My Father worked hitherto, and I work - Or, As my Father worketh until now, etc., being understood. God created the world in six days: on the seventh he rested from all creating acts, and set it apart to be an everlasting memorial of his work. But, though he rested from creating, he never ceased from preserving and governing that which he had formed: in this respect he can keep no sabbaths; for nothing can continue to exist, or answer the end proposed by…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17My Father - God. Worketh hitherto - Worketh “until now,” or until this time. God has not ceased to work on the Sabbath. He makes the sun to rise; He rolls the stars; He causes the grass, the tree, the flower to grow. He has not suspended His operations on the Sabbath, and the obligation to “rest” on the Sabbath does not extend to Him. He created the world in six days, and ceased the work of creation; but He has not ceased to govern it, and to carry…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-23Verses 17-23 The Divine power of the miracle proved Jesus to be the Son of God, and he declared that he worked with, and like unto his Father, as he saw good. These ancient enemies of Christ understood him, and became more violent, charging him not only with sabbath-breaking, but blasphemy, in calling God his own Father, and making himself equal with God. But all things now, and at the final judgment, are committed to the Son, purposely that all men might…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17My Father is at His work, and I too am working: The Sabbath was a day of rest. People were not supposed to work. However, Jewish teachers agreed that God still worked on the Sabbath. God gives life through birth. God also takes life in death. God’s work does not stop. Jesus used this idea to explain his actions. He said that, like his Father, he was also working. By speaking this way, Jesus compared himself with God. The Jewish leaders understood what he…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1817-18. My Father worketh hitherto and I work--The "I" is emphatic; "The creative and conservative activity of My Father has known no sabbath-cessation from the beginning until now, and that is the law of My working."Read the comment

Topics related to John 5:17

• God
• Power
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Jesus
• Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus
• Folk
• Judgment
• Lest
• Light
• Step
• Trouble
• Troubling
• Witness

Commentaries on John 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings