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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.

Context of John 5:3

1After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight 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 15:30And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,
• Luke 7:22And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.
• 1 Kings 13:4And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.
• Zechariah 11:17"Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!"
• Mark 3:1Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.
• Proverbs 8:34Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.
• Lamentations 3:26It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
• Romans 8:25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
• James 5:7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

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