John 5:3

John 5:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
• New International Version (NIV)Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.
• English Standard Version (ESV)In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

Context of John 5:3

1Some time after that, Jesus went to Jerusalem, because it was time for one of the Jewish festivals. 2There is a pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. Its name in the Jewish language is Bethesda. Round the pool, there is a building with five places that have a roof over them. A large number of sick people were lying in these places. Some of them were blind. Some of them could not walk properly. Some of them could not move their legs or their arms. [ They were waiting for when the water started to move. 4An angel would go down into the pool at certain times and move the water about. When that happened, all the sick people tried to get into the pool. The first person who got into the water became well, whatever his illness was.] 5One man who was lying there had been ill for 38 years.

John 5:3 word by word

ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο πλῆθος τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ξηρῶνRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• layκατάκειμαιkatakeimai · to reclineG2621
• aπλῆθοςplēthos · multitudeG4128
• greatπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• of impotent folkἀσθενέωastheneō · be weak: illG770
• of blindτυφλόςtuphlos · blindG5185
• haltχωλόςchōlos · lameG5560
• witheredξηρόςxēros · dried up/witheredG3584
• waiting forἐκδέχομαιekdechomai · to wait forG1551
• the movingκίνησιςkinēsis · motionG2796
• of the waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204

Cross-references for John 5:3

• Matthew 15:30Large crowds of people came to him and they brought sick people with them. Some of these sick people could not walk very well, and some of them were blind. Some of them could not use their arms or their legs. Some of them could not speak. There were many other sick people who had different illnesses. Their friends put the sick people in front of Jesus. And Jesus caused them all to become well again.
• Luke 7:22Then he said to the two men that John had sent, ‘Go back to John. Tell him what you have seen. Tell him what you have heard. Blind people can now see again. People that could not walk can now walk again. People who had a bad disease of the skin are now well again. Deaf people can now hear again. People who had died now live again. Poor people are hearing God's good news.
• 1 Kings 13:4King Jeroboam heard the message that God's servant shouted against the altar at Bethel. As he stood there at the altar, the king pointed his hand at God's servant. He said, ‘Take hold of that man!’ But when he pointed with his hand, it suddenly became useless and he could not pull it back.
• Zechariah 11:17Bad things will happen to the bad shepherd who leaves his sheep. His enemy's knife will cut his arm and his right eye. His arm will become like a dry stick. And his right eye will no longer be able to see anything.’
• Mark 3:1Another time, Jesus went into the Jewish meeting place. A man was there. His hand was very small and weak, so he could not use it.
• Proverbs 8:34Anyone who listens to me is in a happy place. You can wait outside my home each day, and I will teach you.
• Lamentations 3:26It is good when people continue to hope. It is good when they quietly wait for the Lord, because he will save them.
• Romans 8:25But we continue to hope for what we do not yet see. And so, we wait for it patiently.
• James 5:7So, my Christian friends, be patient until the Lord Jesus returns. Think about how a farmer is patient. He waits for the ground to give him valuable food to eat. He waits patiently for the rain to come in the autumn and in the spring.

Commentaries on John 5:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Blind, halt, withered - To these the Codex Bezae, three copies of the Itala, and both the Persic, add , paralytic; but they are probably included among the withered. Waiting for the moving of the water - This clause, with the whole of the fourth verse, is wanting in some MSS. and versions; but I think there is no sufficient evidence against their authenticity. Griesbach seems to be of the same opinion; for though he has marked the whole passage with the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Impotent folk - Sick people; or people who were weak and feeble by long disease. The word means those who were “feeble” rather than those who were afflicted with “acute” disease. Halt - Lame. Withered - Those who were afflicted with one form of the palsy that withered or dried up the part affected. See the notes at Matthew 4:24. Moving of the water - It appears that this pool had medicinal properties only when it was “agitated” or “stirred.” It is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The pool of Bethesda was a place for healing where many sick people gathered. They hoped God would cure them with a miracle. Some later manuscripts include an additional verse, John 5:4, which explains that an angel stirred the water. This verse is not included in the Berean Standard Bible because it does not appear in the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John. The added verse reflects an early tradition that helps explain why people gathered at the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. sheep market--The supplement should be (as in Margin) "sheep [gate]," mentioned in Ne 3:1, 32. Bethesda--that is, "house (place) of mercy," from the cures wrought there. five porches--for shelter to the patients.Read the comment

Topics related to John 5:3

• Jesus, the Christ
• Miracles

In the dictionaries

• Blind
• Folk
• Judgment
• Lest
• Light
• Step
• Trouble
• Troubling
• Witness
• Bath; Bathing

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