In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, 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;
- KJV In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, 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.
- 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 3:1–4He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had his hand withered.
- Luke 7:22Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
- Matt 15:30Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them,
- Zech 11:17Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!”
- Lam 3:26It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.
- Jas 5:7Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.
- 1 Kgs 13:4When the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” His hand, which he put out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to himself.
- Rom 8:25But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.
- Prov 8:34Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.
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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.