John 2:21

John 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But he spake of the temple of his body.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
• New Living Translation (NLT)But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body.

Context of John 2:21

19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.

John 2:21 word by word

ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἔλεγεν περὶ τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• heἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
• spakeλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• ofπερίperi · aboutG4012
• the templeὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the templeναόςnaos · templeG3485
• ofσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for John 2:21

• John 1:14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
• Colossians 1:19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
• Colossians 2:9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
• Hebrews 8:2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
• 1 Corinthians 3:16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
• 1 Corinthians 6:19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
• 2 Corinthians 6:16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
• Ephesians 2:20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
• 1 Peter 2:4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—

Commentaries on John 2:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Of the temple of his body - Rather, the temple, his body: his body had no particular temple: but it was the temple of his Divinity - the place in which, as in the ancient temple, his Godhead dwelt; See how the Jews perverted these words, Matthew 26:60; (note), and the notes there.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. 19-21Destroy this temple: Herod the Great started rebuilding the temple's grand structure in 20 BC. The work continued until AD 64. This is why Jesus amazed his audience when he claimed he could destroy and rebuild it in a few days. However, Jesus was speaking figuratively (using a word picture) about his own body. He described his body as the true temple, the place where God was present (see 1:14, 51). His body would be destroyed. Three days later, God would…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 2:21

• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ

In the dictionaries

• Fill
• Hour
• Propitiation
• Resurrection of Christ
• Scourge
• Syriac
• Temple
• Testify
• Body
• Jesus Christ

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