The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?”
Parallel translations
- KJV Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
- BSB “This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”
- NKJV Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
- NASB The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?”
- NLT “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?”
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
The leaders object that the temple took forty-six years to build and cannot be raised in three days. They misunderstand Jesus by taking His words literally.
Overview
Pointing to the lengthy, ongoing construction of Herod's temple, the authorities find Jesus' words absurd, missing His deeper meaning. Their literalism exemplifies a recurring pattern in John's Gospel, where people grasp the surface but miss the spiritual reality. Their misunderstanding heightens the irony, since Jesus speaks of His resurrection.
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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 2:20 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
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