John 12 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

(Mat 26:6–13; Mar 14:3–9 )

Jhn 12:1Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

Jhn 12:2

Jhn 12:2So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.

Jhn 12:3

Jhn 12:3Mary therefore took a pound[fn] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Jhn 12:4

Jhn 12:4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,

Jhn 12:5

Jhn 12:5“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[fn] and given to the poor?”

Jhn 12:6

Jhn 12:6He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Jhn 12:7

Jhn 12:7Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it[fn] for the day of my burial.

Jhn 12:8

Jhn 12:8For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

Jhn 12:9

Jhn 12:9When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus[fn] was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

Jhn 12:10

Jhn 12:10So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,

Jhn 12:11

Jhn 12:11because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

(Mat 21:1–11; Mar 11:1–11; Luk 19:28–40 )

Jhn 12:12

Jhn 12:12The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

Jhn 12:13

Jhn 12:13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Jhn 12:14

Jhn 12:14And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

Jhn 12:15

Jhn 12:15“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

Jhn 12:16

Jhn 12:16His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

Jhn 12:17

Jhn 12:17The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.

Jhn 12:18

Jhn 12:18The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

Jhn 12:19

Jhn 12:19So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

Jhn 12:20

Jhn 12:20Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.

Jhn 12:21

Jhn 12:21So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

Jhn 12:22

Jhn 12:22Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

Jhn 12:23

Jhn 12:23And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Jhn 12:24

Jhn 12:24Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Jhn 12:25

Jhn 12:25Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Jhn 12:26

Jhn 12:26If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

Jhn 12:27

Jhn 12:27“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

Jhn 12:28

Jhn 12:28Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

Jhn 12:29

Jhn 12:29The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

Jhn 12:30

Jhn 12:30Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.

Jhn 12:31

Jhn 12:31Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Jhn 12:32

Jhn 12:32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Jhn 12:33

Jhn 12:33He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

Jhn 12:34

Jhn 12:34So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

Jhn 12:35

Jhn 12:35So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

Jhn 12:36

Jhn 12:36While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

The Unbelief of the People

Jhn 12:37

Jhn 12:37Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,

Jhn 12:38

Jhn 12:38so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

Jhn 12:39

Jhn 12:39Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

Jhn 12:40

Jhn 12:40“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”

Jhn 12:41

Jhn 12:41Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

Jhn 12:42

Jhn 12:42Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;

Jhn 12:43

Jhn 12:43for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

Jhn 12:44

Jhn 12:44And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.

Jhn 12:45

Jhn 12:45And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.

Jhn 12:46

Jhn 12:46I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Jhn 12:47

Jhn 12:47If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

Jhn 12:48

Jhn 12:48The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

Jhn 12:49

Jhn 12:49For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.

Jhn 12:50

Jhn 12:50And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(12:3)

Greek litra; a litra (or Roman pound) was equal to about 11 1/2 ounces or 327 grams

(12:5)

A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer

(12:7)

Or Leave her alone; she intended to keep it

(12:9)

Greek he

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John Chapter 12 — Additional Translations:

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