American Standard Version
John 5:17
17But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work.
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 whole. 16And for this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work. 18For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner.
Read all of John 5John 5:17 word by word
Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς· ὁ πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for John 5:17
- John 9:4We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
- John 14:10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works.
- Genesis 2:1And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
- Psalms 65:6Who by his strength setteth fast the mountains, Being girded about with might;
- Isaiah 40:26Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
- Matthew 10:29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father:
- Acts 14:17And yet he left not himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.
- Acts 17:28for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
- 1 Corinthians 12:6And there are diversities of workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in all.
- Colossians 1:16for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him;
- Hebrews 1:3who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
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
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries