| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. | 1Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
| 2Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. | 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda. |
| 3Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. | 3On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. |
| 5One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. | 5One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. |
| 6When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” | 6When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?” |
| 7“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” | 7“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.” |
| 8Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” | 8Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” |
| 9Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, | 9Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Now this happened on the Sabbath day, |
| 10so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” | 10so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It is unlawful for you to carry your mat.” |
| 11But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” | 11But he answered, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” |
| 12“Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. | 12“Who is this man who told you to pick it up and walk?” they asked. |
| 13The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. | 13But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while the crowd was there. |
| 14But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” | 14Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.” |
| 15Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him. Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God | 15And the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. |
| 16So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. | 16Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him. |
| 17But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” | 17But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.” |
| 18So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God. | 18Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. |
| 19So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. | 19So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. |
| 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. | 20The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these. |
| 21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. | 21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. |
| 22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, | 22Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, |
| 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him. | 23so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. |
| 24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. | 24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. |
| 25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. | 25Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. |
| 26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. | 26For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. |
| 27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. | 27And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. |
| 28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, | 28Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice |
| 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. | 29and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. |
| 30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. Witnesses to Jesus | 30I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. |
| 31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. | 31If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid. |
| 32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. | 32There is another who testifies about Me, and I know that His testimony about Me is valid. |
| 33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. | 33You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. |
| 34 Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. | 34Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved. |
| 35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. | 35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light. |
| 36 But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. | 36But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me. |
| 37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, | 37And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form, |
| 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you. | 38nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent. |
| 39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! | 39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, |
| 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. | 40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. |
| 41 “Your approval means nothing to me, | 41I do not accept glory from men, |
| 42 because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. | 42but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. |
| 43 For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. | 43I have come in My Father’s name, and you have not received Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him. |
| 44 No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God. | 44How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? |
| 45 “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. | 45Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. |
| 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. | 46If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. |
| 47 But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” | 47But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” |
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