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 told those who sold pigeons, “Pick up this stuff, and get it out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that Scripture said, “Devotion for your house will consume me.” The Jews reacted by asking Jesus, “What miracle can you show us to justify what you’re doing?” 19Jesus replied, “Tear down this temple, and I’ll rebuild it in three days.” 20The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple. Do you really think you’re going to rebuild it 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 6:30The people asked him, “What miracle are you going to perform so that we can see it and believe in you? What are you going to do?
• Matthew 12:38Then some experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign.”
• Matthew 16:1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus. So they asked him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven.
• Mark 8:11The Pharisees went to Jesus and began to argue with him. They tested him by demanding that he perform a miraculous sign from heaven.
• Luke 11:29As the people were gathering around him, Jesus said, “The people living today are evil. They look for a miraculous sign. But the only sign they will get is the sign of Jonah.
• John 1:25They asked John, “Why do you baptize if you’re not the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet?”
• Matthew 21:23Then Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to teach. The chief priests and the leaders of the people came to him. They asked, “What gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?”
• Mark 11:27Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple courtyard, the chief priests, the experts in Moses’ Teachings, and the leaders came to him.
• Luke 20:1One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard and telling them the Good News. The chief priests, the experts in Moses’ Teachings, and the leaders came up to him.
• Acts 4:7They made Peter and John stand in front of them and then asked, “By what power or in whose name did you do this?”
• Acts 5:28He said, “We gave you strict orders not to mention Jesus’ name when you teach. Yet, you’ve filled Jerusalem with your teachings. You want to take revenge on us for putting that man to death.”

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