In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
Parallel translations
- WEB In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water;
- BSB On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
- NKJV In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
- NASB In these porticoes lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, limping, or paralyzed.
- NLT Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the 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
A great crowd of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people lay there. The scene shows the depth of human suffering Jesus enters.
Overview
The gathering of the afflicted pictures humanity's helplessness under sickness and, by extension, the brokenness of a fallen world. Into this place of despair Jesus comes. The setting magnifies the compassion and power he is about to display.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Mark 3:1–4And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
- Luke 7:22Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
- Matt 15:30And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:
- Zech 11:17Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
- Lam 3:26It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
- Jas 5:7Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
- 1 Kgs 13:4And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
- Rom 8:25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
- Prov 8:34Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
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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 5:3 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.