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and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.
John 20:7 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
  • BSB The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths.
  • NKJV and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.
  • NASB and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but folded up in a place by itself.
  • NLT while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.

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 face cloth lies neatly rolled up by itself. The orderly arrangement argues against a stolen body.

Overview

Grave robbers would not have unwrapped a corpse and tidily folded the head cloth; the calm order suggests no theft or struggle. The body appears to have passed out of the wrappings, leaving them behind. This telling detail prepares for the beloved disciple's dawning faith in the next verse.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • John 11:44He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 20:7YouTube · 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 20:7 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.