Limitless Word
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
John 13:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,
  • BSB The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
  • 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 1:13–17Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
  • Acts 5:3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
  • Luke 22:3Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
  • John 13:26–27Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
  • John 6:70–71Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
  • Luke 22:31And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
  • Eph 2:3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
  • 2 Cor 8:16But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.
  • Rev 17:17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
  • Ezra 7:27Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:
  • Neh 2:12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
  • John 13:4He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 13:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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.