Joh 7:2-53 | ESV | STEP | Now the Jews ’ Feast of Booths was at hand .

2 Now ^athe Jews’ Feast of ^bBooths was at hand. 3 ^cSo his brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10} said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, ^eshow yourself to the world.” 5 ^fFor not even ^ghis brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, ^h“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but ⁱit hates me because I testify about it that ^jits works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add yet} going up to this feast, for ^lmy time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after ^mhis brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 ⁿThe Jews ^owere looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much ^pmuttering about him among the people. ^qWhile some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, ^rhe is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet ^sfor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up ^tinto the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore ^umarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, ^{▼▼Or this man knows his letters} when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, ^w“My teaching is not mine, but his ^xwho sent me. 17 ^yIf anyone’s will is to do God’s ^{▼▼Greek his} will, ^aahe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I ^abam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority ^acseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 ^adHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. ^aeWhy do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, ^af“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did ^agone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 ^ahMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ^aifrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, ^ajare you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 ^akDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Can This Be the Christ?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom ^althey seek to kill? 26 And here he is, ^amspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that ^anthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But ^aowe know ^apwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, ^aqno one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, ^aras he taught in the temple, ^as“You know me, and you know where I come from. But ^atI have not come of my own accord. ^auHe who sent me is true, ^avand him you do not know. 29 ^awI know him, for I come ^axfrom him, and ^ayhe sent me.” 30 ^azSo they were seeking to arrest him, but ^bano one laid a hand on him, ^bbbecause his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet ^bcmany of the people believed in him. They said, ^bd“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd ^bemuttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent ^bfofficers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, ^bg“I will be with you a little longer, and then ^bhI am going to him who sent me. 34 ^biYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? ^bjDoes he intend to go to ^bkthe Dispersion among ^blthe Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ^bm‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Rivers of Living Water

37 ^bnOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ^bo“If anyone thirsts, let him ^bpcome to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, ^bqas ^{▼▼Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As} the Scripture has said, ^bs‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of ^btliving water.’” 39 Now ^buthis he said about the Spirit, ^bvwhom those who believed in him were to receive, ^bwfor as yet the Spirit had not been ^bxgiven, ^bybecause Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

40 When they heard these words, ^bzsome of the people said, “This really is ^cathe Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is ^cbthe Christ.” But some said, ^cc“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes ^cdfrom the offspring of David, and comes ^cefrom Bethlehem, the village ^cfwhere David was?” 43 So there was ^cga division among the people over him. 44 ^chSome of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 ^ciThe officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, ^cj“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, ^ck“Have you also been deceived? 48 ^clHave any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 ^cmNicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 ^cn“Does our law judge a man without first ^cogiving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, ^cp“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that ^cqno prophet arises from Galilee.”

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.] ^{▼▼Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text}

The Woman Caught in Adultery

53 [[They went each to his own house,

John 7:2-53