John 2:8

Contemporary English Version

he said, "Now take some water and give it to the man in charge of the feast." The servants did as Jesus told them,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.”

King James Version (1611)
And hee saith vnto them, Drawe out now, and beare vnto the gouernor of the feast. And they bare it.

King James Version
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

English Standard Version
And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it.

New American Standard Bible
And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." And they took it to him.

New Century Version
Then he said to them, "Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast." So they took the water to the master.

Amplified Bible
Then He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter [of the banquet]." So they took it to him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him.

Legacy Standard Bible
And He *said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him.

Berean Standard Bible
"Now draw some out," He said, "and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so,

Complete Jewish Bible
He said, "Now draw some out, and take it to the man in charge of the banquet"; and they took it.

Darby Translation
And he says to them, Draw out now, and carry [it] to the feast-master. And they carried [it].

Easy-to-Read Version
Then he said to them, "Now dip out some water and take it to the man in charge of the feast." So they did what he said.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then he sayde vnto them, Draw out nowe and beare vnto the gouernour of the feast. So they bare it.

George Lamsa Translation
Then he said to them, Draw out now, and bring it to the chief guest of the feast. And they brought it.

Good News Translation
and then he told them, "Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast." They took him the water,

Lexham English Bible
And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the head steward. So they took it.

Literal Translation
And He said to them, Now draw out and carry to the master of the feast. And they carried it.

American Standard Version
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And they bare it.

Bible in Basic English
Then he said to them, Now take some, and give it to the master of the feast. So they took it to him.

Hebrew Names Version
He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast." They took it.

International Standard Version
Then he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the man in charge of the banquet." So they took it.

Etheridge Translation
He saith to them, Draw now, and carry to the chief of the guests. And they carried.

Murdock Translation
He said to them: Draw now, and carry to the master of the feast. And they carried.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he sayth vnto them: drawe out nowe, and beare vnto the gouernour of feast. And they bare it.

English Revised Version
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And they bare it.

World English Bible
He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast." They took it.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he saith to them, Draw out now, and carry to the governor of the feast.

Weymouth's New Testament
Then He said, "Now, take some out, and carry it to the President of the feast."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Jhesus seide to hem, Drawe ye now, and bere ye to the architriclyn. And thei baren.

Update Bible Version
And he says to them, Draw out now, and bear to the ruler of the feast. And they bore it.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he saith to them, Draw out now, and bear to the governor of the feast. And they bore [it].

New English Translation
Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the head steward," and they did.

New King James Version
And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it.

New Living Translation
he said, "Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies." So the servants followed his instructions.

New Life Bible
Then He said, "Take some out and give it to the head man who is caring for the people." They took some to him.

New Revised Standard
He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he saith unto them - Draw out now, and be bearing unto the master of the feast. And they bare.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it.

Revised Standard Version
He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he sayde vnto them: drawe out now and beare vnto the governer of the feaste. And they bare it.

Young's Literal Translation
and he saith to them, `Draw out, now, and bear to the director of the apartment;' and they bare.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he sayde vnto the: Drawe out now, & brynge vnto the Master of the feast. And they bare it.

Mace New Testament (1729)
now fill out, said he, and carry it to the steward of the feast, which accordingly they did.

THE MESSAGE
"Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did.

Simplified Cowboy Version
he said, "Take some out and give it to the person in charge of the party." The staff hurried and did as instructed.

Contextual Overview

¹ Three days later Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at a wedding feast in the village of Cana in Galilee. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited and were there. ³ When the wine was all gone, Mary said to Jesus, "They don't have any more wine." ⁴ Jesus replied, "Mother, my time hasn't yet come: You must not tell me what to do." ⁵ Mary then said to the servants, "Do whatever Jesus tells you to do." ⁶ At the feast there were six stone water jars that were used by the people for washing themselves in the way that their religion said they must. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus told the servants to fill them to the top with water. Then after the jars had been filled, ⁸ he said, "Now take some water and give it to the man in charge of the feast." The servants did as Jesus told them, ⁹ and the man in charge drank some of the water that had now turned into wine. He did not know where the wine had come from, but the servants did. He called the bridegroom over ¹⁰ and said, "The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Draw: John 2:9, Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:6, Ecclesiastes 9:6

the governor: Romans 13:7

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 17:15 - vanity Esther 1:8 - the officers Psalms 31:6 - lying Proverbs 30:8 - Remove Romans 1:25 - into a lie

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
The Lord made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.

Genesis 2:9
The Lord God placed all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees in the garden. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of the trees gave life—the other gave the power to know the difference between right and wrong.

Genesis 3:24
Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.

Genesis 4:16
But Cain had to go far from the Lord and live in the Land of Wandering, which is east of Eden.

Genesis 13:10
This happened before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt.

2 Kings 19:12
The Assyrian kings before me destroyed the towns of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and everyone from Eden who lived in Telassar. What good did their gods do them?

Isaiah 51:3
Though Zion is in ruins, the Lord will bring comfort, and the city will be as lovely as the garden of Eden that he provided. Then Zion will celebrate; it will be thankful and sing joyful songs.

Ezekiel 27:23
You also did business with merchants from the cities of Haran, Canneh, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad,

Ezekiel 28:13
You lived in the garden of Eden and wore jewelry made of brightly colored gems and precious stones. They were all set in gold and were ready for you on the day you were born.

Ezekiel 31:16
This tree will crash to the ground, and I will send it to the world below. Then the nations of the earth will tremble. The trees from Eden and the choice trees from Lebanon are now in the world of the dead, and they will be comforted when this tree falls.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he saith unto them, draw out now,.... As soon as ever the vessels were filled with water, without any more delay, he ordered the servants to draw out of those larger, into lesser vessels; he does not say what, water or wine:

and bear unto the governor of the feast; who either had the ordering and management of the feast, and the command of the whole affair; hence the Ethiopic version calls him, "the master of the waiters", or servants: or he was the chief guest, as the word seems to import, who sat, or rather lay, on the chief couch at the table; and so a proper person to begin with, and put the cup round: or else he might be doctor or chaplain: for such an one was necessary at a marriage; since there were six or seven benedictions to be pronounced; and particularly a blessing was said over the cup of wine; for if there was any wine, a cup of it was brought, and he blessed over it first, and ordered every thing concerning the cup: and this made up seven blessings at such a time y; and therefore was a very fit person to bear the wine to first:

and they bore it; the servants having drawn out of the stone vessels, by cocks, into smaller ones, carried the liquor, as they were ordered, to the above person.

y Maimon. Hilchot Ishot, c. 10. sect. 3, 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Draw out now - This command was given to the servants. It showed that the miracle had been performed immediately. As soon as they were filled the servants were directed to take to the governor of the feast. Jesus made no parade about it, and it does not even appear that he approached the waterpots. He willed it, and it was done. This was a clear exertion of divine power, and made in such a manner as to leave no doubt of its reality.

The governor - One who presided on the occasion. The one who stood at the “head” or upper end of the table. He had the charge of the entertainment, provided the food, gave directions to the servants, etc.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 2:8. Governor of the feast. — The original word, αρχιτρικλινος, signifies one who is chief or head over three couches, or tables. In the Asiatic countries, they take their meals sitting, or rather reclining, on small low couches. And when many people are present, so that they cannot all eat together, three of these low tables or couches are put together in form of a crescent, and some one of the guests is appointed to take charge of the persons who sit at these tables. Hence the appellation of architriclinus, the chief over three couches or tables, which in process of time became applied to the governor or steward of a feast, let the guests be many or few; and such person, having conducted the business well, had a festive crown put on his head by the guests, at the conclusion of the feast. See Ecclesiasticus, 32:1-3. It is very common for the Hindoos to appoint a person who is expert in conducting the ceremonies of a feast to manage as governor. This person is seldom the master of the house.

And they bare it. — A question has been asked, "Did our Lord turn all the water into wine which the six measures contained?" To which I answer: There is no proof that he did; and I take it for granted that he did not. It may be asked, "How could a part be turned into wine, and not the whole?" To which I answer: The water, in all likelihood, was changed into wine as it was drawn out, and not otherwise. "But did not our Lord by this miracle minister to vice, by producing an excess of inebriating liquor?" No; for the following reasons:

1. The company was a select and holy company, where no excess could be permitted. And,

2. Our Lord does not appear to have furnished any extra quantity, but only what was necessary. "But it is intimated in the text that the guests were nearly intoxicated before this miraculous addition to their wine took place; for the evangelist says, οτανμεθυσθωσι, when they have become intoxicated." I answer:

1. It is not intimated, even in the most indirect manner, that these guests were at all intoxicated.

2. The words are not spoken of the persons at that wedding at all: the governor of the feast only states that such was the common custom at feasts of this nature; without intimating that any such custom prevailed there.

3. The original word bears a widely different meaning from that which the objection forces upon it. The verbs μεθυσκω and μεθυω, from μεθυ, wine, which, from μετα θυειν, to drink after sacrificing, signify not only to inebriate, but to take wine, to drink wine, to drink enough: and in this sense the verb is evidently used in the Septuagint, Genesis 43:34; Song of Solomon 5:1; 1 Macc. 16:16; Haggai 1:6; Ecclus. 1:16. And the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 58:11, speaking of the abundant blessings of the godly, compares them to a watered garden, which the Septuagint translate, ως κηπος μεθυων, by which is certainly understood, not a garden drowned with water, but one sufficiently saturated with it, not having one drop too much, nor too little.