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But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
John 5:13 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
  • BSB But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while the crowd was there.
  • NKJV But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.
  • NASB But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.
  • NLT The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd.

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 healed man did not know who Jesus was, for he had slipped away in the crowd. The healing came before the man fully knew his healer.

Overview

John notes that Jesus had withdrawn, leaving the man ignorant of his identity. This shows grace given before full knowledge, and it sets up their later meeting in the temple. It reminds us that Christ often works before we understand who he is.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Luke 4:30But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.
  • Luke 24:31Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight.
  • John 8:59Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.
  • John 14:9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’

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 5:13YouTube · 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 5:13 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.