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

16and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up 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

• The JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
• thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• signσημεῖονsēmeion · signG4592
• do You showδεικνύωdeiknuō · to showG1166
• as your authority for doingποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778

Cross-references for John 2:18

• John 6:30So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?
• Matthew 12:38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
• Matthew 16:1The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
• Mark 8:11The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.
• Luke 11:29As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
• John 1:25They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
• Matthew 21:23When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
• Mark 11:27They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him,
• Luke 20:1On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,
• Acts 4:7When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
• Acts 5:28saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

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