John 2:18

John 2:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
• New International Version (NIV)The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”

Context of John 2:18

16He said to the people who sold birds, ‘Take them out of here! Do not make my Father's house into a market!’ 17His disciples remembered what it says in the Bible: ‘My love for your house burns inside me like a fire.’ Then the Jews asked Jesus, ‘What is your authority to do this? Do a miracle to show us that you really do have authority.’ 19Jesus answered them, ‘If you destroy this house of God, I will build it up again in three days.’ 20The Jews replied, ‘People have worked for 46 years to build this house. But you say that you will build it again in three days!’

John 2:18 word by word

ἀπεκρίθησαν οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· τί σημεῖον δεικνύεις ἡμῖν ὅτι ταῦτα ποιεῖς;¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
• the JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• signσημεῖονsēmeion · signG4592
• shewest thouδεικνύωdeiknuō · to showG1166
• unto usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• seeing thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• thou doestποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• these thingsοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778

Cross-references for John 2:18

• John 6:30So then the people asked him, ‘What miracle will you do? Do one that shows that God has sent you. If we see that, we will believe in you. What will you do?
• Matthew 12:38Then some teachers of God's Law and some Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we want to see you do something powerful. This will show us that God has really sent you.’
• Matthew 16:1Some Pharisees and Sadducees went to see Jesus. They wanted to test him to see what he would do. They asked him, ‘Do something powerful for us to see. Then we will believe that God has sent you.’
• Mark 8:11Some Pharisees came to Jesus. They began to argue with him. They wanted to see him do something powerful. That would show them that God had really sent him.
• Luke 11:29The crowd around Jesus was growing very large, so he began to speak to them. ‘The people that are alive today are very bad,’ he said. ‘They want God to show them something powerful. But God will not do this for them. They will only see the same powerful thing that God did for Jonah.
• John 1:25They said to John, ‘You say that you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet. So why do you baptize people?’
• Matthew 21:23Then Jesus returned to the yard of the temple. While he was teaching the people there, the leaders of the priests and important Jews went to him. They asked him, ‘What authority do you have to do these things? Tell us. Who gave you the authority to do them?’
• Mark 11:27Jesus and his disciples arrived again in Jerusalem. Jesus was walking about in the yard at the temple. The leaders of the priests, the teachers of God's Law and the important Jews came to him.
• Luke 20:1One day, Jesus was teaching people in the yard of the temple. He was telling people the good news about God. Then the leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law came to him. With them were some other important Jews.
• Acts 4:7The Jewish leaders made Peter and John stand in front of them. They began to ask them questions. They said, ‘How did you cause that man's legs to become strong? Who gave you the power and the authority to do it?’
• Acts 5:28‘We told you that you must not teach people any more with the authority of Jesus. But now look at what you have done! Now people everywhere in Jerusalem have heard your teaching. You also want people to think that we are guilty for the death of Jesus.’

Commentaries on John 2:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18What sign showest thou - See on Matthew 12:38; (note); Matthew 16:1; (note). When Moses came to deliver Israel, he gave signs, or miracles, that he acted under a Divine commission. What miracle dost thou work to show us that thou art vested with similar authority?Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18What sign … - What “miracle” dost thou work? He assumed the character of a prophet. He was reforming, by his “authority,” the temple. It was natural to ask by what authority this was done; and as they had been accustomed to miracles in the life of Moses, and Elijah, and the other prophets, so they demanded evidence that he had authority thus to cleanse the house of God. Seeing that thou doest - Rather “by what title or authority thou doest these things.”…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 The first public work in which we find Christ engaged, was driving from the temple the traders whom the covetous priests and rulers encouraged to make a market-place of its courts. Those now make God's house a house of merchandise, whose minds are filled with cares about worldly business when attending religious exercises, or who perform Divine offices for love of gain. Christ, having thus cleansed the temple, gave a sign to those who…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-25In this section, Jesus appeared at two symbolic Jewish ceremonies. At a wedding in Cana (2:1–12), he replaced the ritual cleansing water with his own superior wine. Later, around Passover, he cleansed the temple (2:13–25).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2218-22. What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?--Though the act and the words of Christ, taken together, were sign enough, they were unconvinced: yet they were awed, and though at His very next appearance at Jerusalem they "sought to kill Him" for speaking of "His Father" just as He did now (Joh 5:18), they, at this early stage, only ask a sign.Read the comment

Topics related to John 2:18

• Jesus, the Christ

In the dictionaries

• Fill
• Hour
• Miracle
• Propitiation
• Scourge
• Syriac
• Testify
• Jesus Christ
• John, the Epistles of
• Last Time, Times

Commentaries on John 2

• 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
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings