The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Parallel translations
- WEB During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,
- KJV And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
- NKJV And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,
- NASB And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,
- NLT It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
During supper, the devil had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus. It signals the dark spiritual conflict surrounding Christ's passion.
Overview
John names the betrayal's spiritual source: the devil's influence at work in Judas. Yet this evil unfolds within God's sovereign plan of redemption (cf. v. 1, 3). The verse heightens the contrast between Christ's self-giving love and the treachery and darkness that oppose Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jas 1:13–17When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
- Acts 5:3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?
- Luke 22:3Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve.
- John 13:26–27Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.
- John 6:70–71Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”
- Luke 22:31Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
- Eph 2:3All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.
- 2 Cor 8:16But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.
- Rev 17:17For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
- Ezra 7:27Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,
- Neh 2:12I set out at night with a few men. I did not tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with me was the one on which I was riding.
- John 13:4So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 13:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.