Berean Standard Bible
(BSB)

The Pool of Bethesda

^<1>Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

^<2>Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew¹ is called Bethesda.^{2 <3>}On these walkways³ lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.⁴

^<5>One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ^<6>When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

^<7>“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.”

^<8>Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.”

^<9>Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk.

Now this happened on the Sabbath day, ^<10>so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It is unlawful for you to carry your mat.”

^<11>But he answered, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

^<12>“Who is this man who told you to pick it up and walk?” they asked.

^<13>But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while the crowd was there.

^<14>Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”

^<15>And the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Word Come Alive
(WCA)
(An extended translation)*

The healing at the pool

^<1>A while later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. ^<2>Now near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, which is called Bethesda in Aramaic. The pool is surrounded by five walkways with columns supporting the roof.

^<3>Many disabled people—people who were blind, lame or paralysed—used to lie there. It is said that they waited for the water to move, ^<4>5which was caused when an angel of the Lord came and gently stirred the water. Something extraordinary happened then. The first person who stepped into the pool after the water had stirred was healed of their disability.

^<5–6>Jesus noticed one man lying by the pool. He had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus realised the man had been like that for such a long time, he looked deep inside him and asked him, ‘Do you really want to get well? Are you prepared for the changes in your life that healing would bring?’

^<7>The man answered him, ‘Sir, there’s no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. Every time I try to get in, someone else always steps in before me.’

^<8>Jesus looked at him again and told him, ‘Get up on your feet! Pick up your mat and start walking.’ ^<9>That is exactly what happened! As Jesus spoke those words, power surged through the man’s body and he was immediately completely healed. He stood up by himself, picked up his mat and walked off.

All this took place on the Sabbath, ^<10>so the Jewish leaders told the man who had been miraculously healed, ‘Today is the Sabbath, when you’re not allowed to carry your mat.’

^<11>But the man answered them, ‘The man who healed me simply told me, “Pick up your mat and start walking.” ’

^<12>‘Who is this fellow who told you to pick up your mat and start walking?’ they asked him.

^<13>The man who had been healed didn’t have the faintest idea who had healed him. Jesus had slipped away unnoticed into the crowd that had gathered.

^<14>A while later Jesus met the man again, this time in the temple. He warned him, ‘See, you are now completely well. Don’t sin any more or something even worse will happen to you.’

^<15>The man then went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Study Guide

In this passage we see Jesus heal someone for the second time.

1. John 4:43-54, Jesus healed the son of a royal official.
2. John 5:1-15, Jesus healed an invalid.

Compare the two incidents:

► Who initiated the conversation with Jesus that lead to the healing of:

1. the son of a royal official?
2. the invalid?

► How would you describe the faith of:

1. the royal official?
2. the invalid?

► What was the result of Jesus healing:

• the son of the royal official?
• the invalid?

► What does this passage teach you about Jesus?

Study Resources

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