John 5:37

John 5:37 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
• New International Version (NIV)And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.

Context of John 5:37

35John was like a light that shone brightly. For a certain time, you enjoyed the light that he gave. 36But it is not only John who shows who I am. There are other things that show it more strongly. My Father has given work to me so that I could finish it. These are the things that I do, and they show who I am. They show clearly that the Father has sent me. Also, the Father himself has spoken about me. You have never heard his voice. And you have never seen his shape. 38I am the one that he has sent. You do not receive his message because you do not believe in me. 39You study carefully what the Bible teaches. You think that those books will give you life with God. And it is true, those books do speak about who I am.

John 5:37 word by word

καὶ ὁ πέμψας με πατὴρ ἐκεῖνος μεμαρτύρηκεν περὶ ἐμοῦ· οὔτε φωνὴν αὐτοῦ πώποτε ἀκηκόατε, οὔτε εἶδος αὐτοῦ ἑωράκατε,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• himselfαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• which hath sentπέμπωpempō · to sendG3992
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• hath borne witnessμαρτυρέωmartureō · to testifyG3140
• ofπερίperi · aboutG4012
• Ye haveἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• neitherοὔτεoute · neitherG3777
• voiceφωνήphōnē · voice/sound: voiceG5456
• at any timeπώποτεpōpote · everG4455
• seenὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• shapeεἶδοςeidos · appearanceG1491

Cross-references for John 5:37

• John 6:27Do not work only for that kind of food. It soon becomes spoiled. Instead, work to get the food that continues for ever. That kind of food gives you life with God. The Son of Man will give this food to you. God, the Father, has given the Son authority to do this.’
• John 8:18I speak what is true about myself. The Father, who sent me, also speaks what is true about me.’
• Matthew 3:17Then a voice spoke from heaven, which said, ‘This man is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy.’
• Matthew 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud appeared. It covered them all. A voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy. Listen to him.’
• John 5:32But there is someone else who speaks about me. I know that what he says about me is true.
• John 1:18Nobody has ever seen God. But God's only Son has shown God to us. He is very near to the Father, and he himself is God.
• John 14:9Jesus answered, ‘I have been with all of you for a long time. But still you do not seem to know me, Philip! Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, “Show the Father to us”?
• John 15:24When I was with them, I did many great things. Nobody else ever did things like that. If I had not done those great things among them, they would not have known what is wrong. But they have seen what I did. As a result, they have hated me, and they have hated my Father too.
• Exodus 20:19They said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself. We will listen to you. But do not let God speak to us. If he does, we will die.’
• Deuteronomy 4:12Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire. You heard him as he spoke, but you did not see him. You only heard a voice.
• 1 Timothy 1:17Praise God, the King who rules for ever! He can never die. He lives where we cannot see him. He is the only God. So praise him and say how great he is! That is true always and for ever! Amen! This is true.
• 1 Timothy 6:16God alone lives for ever. He lives in very bright light that nobody can come near. Nobody has ever seen God. Nobody is able to see him. So we praise him! He will rule for ever with great authority! Amen! This is true.
• 1 John 1:1We have an important message to tell you. We want to tell you about the person who was already there before the beginning of the world. We have heard him speak. We have seen him with our own eyes. We watched him and we touched him. He is the Word that gives us life with God.
• 1 John 4:12Nobody has ever seen God. But, if we love each other, it shows that God lives in us. As a result, we can love people completely, in the same way that God loves us.

Commentaries on John 5:37

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 37The Father himself - hath borne witness - That is, by his prophets. Ye have neither heard his voice - I make these words, with Bp. Pearce, a parenthesis: the sense is - "Not that my Father ever appeared visibly or spake audibly to any of you; but he did it by the mouths of his prophets." Lately, however, he had added to their testimony his own voice from heaven, on the day of Christ's baptism. See Matthew 3:17.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 37The Father himself … hath borne witness of me - This God had done, 1.By the miracles which Jesus had performed, and of which he was conversing. 2.At the baptism of Jesus, where he said, “This is my beloved Son,” Matthew 3:17. 3.In the prophecies of the Old Testament. It is not easy to say here to which of these he refers. Perhaps he has reference to all. Ye have neither heard his voice - This difficult passage has been interpreted in various ways. The…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-38Verses 30-38 Our Lord returns to his declaration of the entire agreement between the Father and the Son, and declared himself the Son of God. He had higher testimony than that of John; his works bore witness to all he had said. But the Divine word had no abiding-place in their hearts, as they refused to believe in Him whom the Father had sent, according to his ancient promises. The voice of God, accompanied by the power of the Holy Ghost, thus made…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31-40God's law requires more than one witness in a trial (Deuteronomy 17:6). A single person’s word is not enough to prove a case. Jesus recognized this principle. He said that his own testimony needed support from others. So he presented several witnesses who confirmed who he was. These witnesses supported his claims and showed that his message was true.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 36-3836-38. I have greater witness--rather, "The witness which I have is greater." the works ... bear witness of me--not simply as miracles nor even as a miracle of mercy, but these miracles, as He did them, with a will and a power, a majesty and a grace manifestly His own.Read the comment

Topics related to John 5:37

• God
• God Continued...
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Voice

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Folk
• Judgment
• Lest
• Light
• Step
• Trouble
• Troubling
• Witness
• Form

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