Limitless Word
But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
John 5:47 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
  • KJV But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
  • NKJV But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
  • NASB But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
  • NLT But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

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

If they do not believe Moses' writings, how will they believe Jesus' words? Rejecting Scripture's witness leaves them rejecting Christ.

Overview

Jesus exposes the inconsistency of claiming to honor Moses while rejecting the one Moses foretold. Disbelief of the written word and disbelief of the living Word go together. This closes his defense by tying faith in Scripture inseparably to faith in Christ himself.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Luke 16:31Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
  • Luke 16:29But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’

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 5:47YouTube · 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 5:47 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.