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Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?
John 7:45 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”
  • BSB Then the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?”
  • NKJV Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
  • NASB The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”
  • NLT When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

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 officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, who demanded why they had not brought Jesus. The failure to arrest Him provokes the leaders' frustration.

Overview

The temple officers, sent to arrest Jesus (v. 32), come back empty-handed, and the leaders confront them. Their question sets up the officers' striking testimony in the next verse. The scene exposes both the authorities' determination to silence Jesus and the unexpected impact of His words even on those sent against Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • John 7:32The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.
  • Acts 5:21–27And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

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 7:45YouTube · 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 7:45 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.