Now in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, there is a pool which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porticoes.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, “Bethesda”, having five porches.
- KJV Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
- BSB Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda.
- NKJV Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
- NLT Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.
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
By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem stood a pool called Bethesda with five porches. The precise location grounds the miracle in real history.
Overview
John supplies concrete geographical detail, since confirmed by archaeology, anchoring the account in real time and place. The pool was a gathering point for the sick seeking healing. Such specificity supports the historical reliability of John's testimony to Jesus.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Neh 12:39and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, even to the sheep gate: and they stood still in the gate of the guard.
- Neh 3:1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They sanctified it, and set up its doors. They sanctified it even to the tower of Hammeah, to the tower of Hananel.
- Isa 22:11You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn’t look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who purposed it long ago.
- Neh 3:32Between the ascent of the corner and the sheep gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.
- John 19:17He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”,
- John 20:16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!”
- John 19:13When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called “The Pavement”, but in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.”
- Isa 22:9You saw the breaches of David’s city, that they were many; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
- Acts 21:40When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people. When there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
- John 19:20Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
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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 5:2 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.