John 5:40
New International Version
yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

New Living Translation
Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

English Standard Version
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Berean Standard Bible
yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.

Berean Literal Bible
and you are not willing to come to Me, that you may have life.

King James Bible
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

New King James Version
But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

New American Standard Bible
and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

NASB 1995
and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

NASB 1977
and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.

Legacy Standard Bible
and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

Amplified Bible
and still you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

Christian Standard Bible
But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
And you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life.

American Standard Version
and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.

Contemporary English Version
but you refuse to come to me for eternal life.

English Revised Version
and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Yet, you don't want to come to me to get [eternal] life.

Good News Translation
Yet you are not willing to come to me in order to have life.

International Standard Version
But you are not willing to come to me to have life.

Majority Standard Bible
yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.

NET Bible
but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

New Heart English Bible
But you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.

Webster's Bible Translation
And ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.

Weymouth New Testament
and yet you are unwilling to come to me that you may have Life.

World English Bible
Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and you do not will to come to Me, that you may have life;

Berean Literal Bible
and you are not willing to come to Me, that you may have life.

Young's Literal Translation
and ye do not will to come unto me, that ye may have life;

Smith's Literal Translation
And ye wish not to come to me, that ye might have life.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And you will not come to me that you may have life.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And you are not willing to come to me, so that you may have life.

New American Bible
But you do not want to come to me to have life.

New Revised Standard Version
Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Yet you will not come to me, that you might have life everlasting.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And you are not willing to come to me that eternal life may be yours.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
and yet you refuse to come to me, that you may have life.

Godbey New Testament
and you do not wish to come unto me, in order that you may have life.

Haweis New Testament
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Mace New Testament
yet you will not come to me, that ye may have life.

Weymouth New Testament
and yet you are unwilling to come to me that you may have Life.

Worrell New Testament
and ye are not willing to come to Me, that ye may have life.

Worsley New Testament
and they testify of me: and yet ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Witness of Scripture
39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. 41I do not accept glory from men,…

Cross References
Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Luke 13:34
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Isaiah 55:1-3
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! / Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. / Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.

Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Ezekiel 18:31-32
Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? / For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, / and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Proverbs 1:24-25
Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand, / because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,

Proverbs 8:34-36
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway. / For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD. / But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

Isaiah 65:12
I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen; you did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”

Isaiah 66:4
So I will choose their punishment and I will bring terror upon them, because I called and no one answered, I spoke and no one listened. But they did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”

Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

John 1:11
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

John 3:19-20
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. / Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

John 6:37
Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.

John 7:37
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.


Treasury of Scripture

And you will not come to me, that you might have life.

ye will not.

John 5:44
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

John 1:11
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

John 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

that.

John 6:27,37,40,68,69
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed…

John 7:37,38
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink…

John 11:25,26
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: …

Jump to Previous
Desire Life Refuse Unwilling
Jump to Next
Desire Life Refuse Unwilling
John 5
1. Jesus on the Sabbath day cures him who was diseased thirty-eight years.
10. The Jews therefore object, and persecute him for it.
17. He answers for himself, and reproves them, showing by the testimony of his Father,
31. of John,
36. of his works,
39. and of the Scriptures, who he is.














Yet you refuse
The phrase "yet you refuse" highlights a deliberate choice made by the audience Jesus is addressing. The Greek word used here is "οὐ θέλετε" (ou thelete), which implies a willful decision or desire not to act. This refusal is not due to ignorance or lack of opportunity but is a conscious rejection. Historically, this reflects the broader context of Jesus' ministry, where many religious leaders and individuals, despite witnessing His miracles and hearing His teachings, chose to reject Him. This refusal is a poignant reminder of the human tendency to resist divine truth, even when it is clearly presented.

to come to Me
The invitation "to come to Me" is central to the message of the Gospel. The Greek word "ἔρχεσθαι" (erchesthai) means to come or to go, indicating movement towards Jesus. This phrase signifies more than physical movement; it represents a spiritual approach, a turning of one's heart and mind towards Christ. In the historical and scriptural context, coming to Jesus implies faith, trust, and reliance on Him as the Messiah. It is an invitation to enter into a relationship with Him, acknowledging Him as the source of spiritual truth and salvation.

to have life
The phrase "to have life" is profound in its theological implications. The Greek word for life here is "ζωή" (zoe), which refers to eternal life, the divine life that Jesus offers. This is not merely biological existence but a quality of life that is abundant and everlasting, rooted in a relationship with God. In the scriptural context, life is a central theme in the Gospel of John, where Jesus is repeatedly identified as the source of life (John 1:4, 10:10). Historically, this promise of life would have been revolutionary to Jesus' audience, who were accustomed to a religious system focused on law and ritual rather than personal relationship and spiritual renewal.

(40) And ye will not come to me.--The real hindrance is once more traced to the will. (See Note on John 3:9.) It is moral, not intellectual. The result of a true willingness to know the truth is certain, not problematic. "Ye search because ye think ye have: if ye were willing to come, ye should really have."

The lesson is wide in its bearing. The Rabbinic spirit is not confined to Rabbis, nor is the merely literal study of the Scriptures limited to those of Judaea. Dictionaries, and grammars, and commentaries, are tools; but the precious ore is in the mine, and is to be extracted by every man for himself. He who wisely uses the best means will know most of God and His truth; but this knowledge no man can purchase, and the essentials of it none need lack. It is to be learned in the closet, rather than in the library; in action and trust, rather than in scholarship and thought. Religion is not philosophy, and the world by knowledge has never known God. For every humble heart that willeth to be a scholar, God Himself willeth to be the Teacher.

Verse 40. - And ye will not come to me, that ye may have life. This fearful conclusion of the whole matter is charged upon the responsibility of man. Doubtless, elsewhere, the will is described as itself made willing by the Divine attraction, by the grace of the Father. "He that hath seen and heard of the Father [seen, i.e. his shape and heard his voice - seen his shape and heard his voice in my ministry and manifestation], cometh unto me." Yet the grace of God working directly on character or indirectly by other revelations, never obliterates the sense of responsibility. The appeal of God is made to the will of man, whether we consciously or unconsciously are made "willing in the day of his power" (cf. John 7:17; John 6:44, 67; John 8:44). The sad tone of this solemn charge corresponds with and does much to explain the pathetic cry, "O Jerusalem... how often would I have gathered thy children... and ye would not!" while the entire passage suggests that this appeal was only one specimen out of many such discourses, one hint of the numerous sayings and self-manifestations, one of many accumulated proofs of his Divine commission, out of which the belief of the evangelists and the invincible assent of the Church arose, that he was indeed "the Word made flesh," "the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
yet
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

you refuse
θέλετε (thelete)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2309: To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.

to come
ἐλθεῖν (elthein)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 2064: To come, go.

to
πρός (pros)
Preposition
Strong's 4314: To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.

Me
με (me)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

to
ἵνα (hina)
Conjunction
Strong's 2443: In order that, so that. Probably from the same as the former part of heautou; in order that.

have
ἔχητε (echēte)
Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

life.
ζωὴν (zōēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2222: Life, both of physical (present) and of spiritual (particularly future) existence. From zao; life.


Links
John 5:40 NIV
John 5:40 NLT
John 5:40 ESV
John 5:40 NASB
John 5:40 KJV

John 5:40 BibleApps.com
John 5:40 Biblia Paralela
John 5:40 Chinese Bible
John 5:40 French Bible
John 5:40 Catholic Bible

NT Gospels: John 5:40 Yet you will not come to me (Jhn Jo Jn)
John 5:39
Top of Page
Top of Page