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Streams of Life-Giving Water
37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! 38 Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.” 39Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory.
The People Take Sides
40When the crowd heard Jesus say this, some of them said, “He must be the Prophet!” 41Others said, “He is the Messiah!” Others even said, “Can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of King David. Doesn't this mean that he will be born in David's hometown of Bethlehem?” 43The people started taking sides against each other because of Jesus. 44Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.
The Leaders
45When the temple police returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, they were asked, “Why didn't you bring Jesus here?”
46They answered, “No one has ever spoken like this man!”
47The Pharisees said to them, “Have you also been fooled? 48Not one of the chief priests or the Pharisees has faith in him. 49And these people who don't know the Law are under God's curse anyway.”
50 Nicodemus was there at the time. He was a member of the council, and was the same one who had earlier come to see Jesus. He said, 51“Our Law doesn't let us condemn people before we hear what they have to say. We cannot judge them before we know what they have done.”
52Then they said, “Nicodemus, you must be from Galilee! Read the Scriptures, and you will find that no prophet is to come from Galilee.”
Jesus Promises Living Water
37On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
Division and Unbelief
40When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.” 41Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” 43So the crowd was divided about him. 44Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.
45When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46“We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.
47“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. 48“Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? 49This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”
50Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. 51“Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.
52They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!”
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[The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]
37On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40On hearing his words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’
41Others said, ‘He is the Messiah.’
Still others asked, ‘How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?’ 43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44Some wanted to seize him, but no-one laid a hand on him.
Unbelief of the Jewish leaders
45Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn’t you bring him in?’
46‘No-one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards replied.
47‘You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. 48‘Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law – there is a curse on them.’
50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51‘Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’
52They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.’
[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53–8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]
