And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
- BSB Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.
- NKJV Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.
- NASB Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
- NLT (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.)
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 Passover feast was near. This note connects the feeding miracle to themes of redemption and the bread of life.
Overview
John mentions the approaching Passover, the feast commemorating Israel's deliverance and the Passover lamb. This timing enriches the meaning of the coming sign and Jesus' bread of life discourse. It points to Christ as the true Passover Lamb who gives himself for the life of the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 2:13And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
- John 11:55And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.
- John 5:1After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
- Deut 16:1Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
- Lev 23:7In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
- John 13:1Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
- John 12:1Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
- Lev 23:5In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’s passover.
- Exod 12:6–14And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
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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 6:4 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.