John 5:6

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

King James Version (1611)
When Iesus saw him lie, & knew that hee had beene now a long time in that case, he sayth vnto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

King James Version
When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

English Standard Version
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"

New American Standard Bible
Jesus, upon seeing this man lying there and knowing that he had already been in that condition for a long time, said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

New Century Version
When Jesus saw the man and knew that he had been sick for such a long time, Jesus asked him, "Do you want to be well?"

Amplified Bible
When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?"

Legacy Standard Bible
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been sick a long time, He *said to him, "Do you wish to get well?"

Berean Standard Bible
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?"

Contemporary English Version
When Jesus saw the man and realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be healed?"

Complete Jewish Bible
Yeshua, seeing this man and knowing that he had been there a long time, said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"

Darby Translation
Jesus seeing this [man] lying [there], and knowing that he was [in that state] now a great length of time, says to him, Wouldest thou become well?

Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been sick for a very long time. So he asked him, "Do you want to be well?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
When Iesus sawe him lie, and knew that he nowe long time had bene diseased, he saide vnto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

George Lamsa Translation
Jesus saw this man lying down, and he knew that he had been waiting for a long time; so he said to him, Do you wish to be healed?

Good News Translation
Jesus saw him lying there, and he knew that the man had been sick for such a long time; so he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

Lexham English Bible
Jesus, when he saw this one lying there and knew that he had been sick a long time already, said to him, "Do you want to become well?"

Literal Translation
Seeing him lying, and knowing that he had already spent much time, Jesus said to him, Do you desire to become well?

American Standard Version
When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wouldest thou be made whole?

Bible in Basic English
When Jesus saw him there on the floor it was clear to him that he had been now a long time in that condition, and so he said to the man, Is it your desire to get well?

Hebrew Names Version
When Yeshua saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be made well?"

International Standard Version
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

Etheridge Translation
Jeshu saw this (man) as he lay, and knew that for a long time he had (been thus), and said to him, Art thou willing to be healed ?

Murdock Translation
Jesus saw him lying, and knew that [fn] had been a long time upon him, and said to him: Desirest thou to be healed?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When Iesus sawe hym lye, & knewe that he nowe long tyme had ben diseased, he sayth vnto hym: Wylt thou be made whole?

English Revised Version
When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wouldest thou be made whole?

World English Bible
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be made well?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Jesus seeing him lie, and knowing that he had now been diseased a long time, saith to him, Desirest thou to be made whole?

Weymouth's New Testament
Jesus saw him lying there, and knowing that he had been a long time in that condition, He asked him, "Do you wish to have health and strength?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne Jhesus hadde seyn hym liggynge, and hadde knowun, that he hadde myche tyme, he seith to hym, Wolt thou be maad hool?

Update Bible Version
When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been [sick] now a long time, he says to him, Do you want to be made whole?

Webster's Bible Translation
When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been now a long time [in that case], he saith to him, Wilt thou be healed?

New English Translation
When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, "Do you want to become well?"

New King James Version
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

New Living Translation
When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?"

New Life Bible
Jesus saw him lying there and knew the man had been sick a long time. Jesus said to him, "Would you like to be healed?"

New Revised Standard
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Jesus, seeing, this one, lying, and taking note that now, a long time, had he continued, saith unto him - Desirest thou to be made, well?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Him when Jesus had seen lying, and knew that he had been now a long time, he saith to him: Wilt thou be made whole?

Revised Standard Version
When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
When Iesus sawe him lye and knewe that he now longe tyme had bene diseased he sayde vnto him. Wilt thou be made whoale?

Young's Literal Translation
him Jesus having seen lying, and having known that he is already a long time, he saith to him, `Dost thou wish to become whole?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whan Iesus sawe him lye, & knewe that he had lyen so longe, he saide vnto him: Wilt thou be made whole?

Mace New Testament (1729)
Jesus seeing him lie there, and knowing that he had been sick a long time, said to him, will you be cured?

Simplified Cowboy Version
Someone told Jesus about the man. Jesus went over to him and asked the man, "How would you like to be made well?"

Contextual Overview

¹Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?" ⁷ The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in." ⁸Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking." The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules." But he told them, "The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.'" They asked, "Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?" But the healed man didn't know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd. A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen." The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I." That really set them off. The Jews were now not only out to expose him; they were out to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, putting himself on a level with God. So Jesus explained himself at length. "I'm telling you this straight. The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing. "But you haven't seen the half of it yet, for in the same way that the Father raises the dead and creates life, so does the Son. The Son gives life to anyone he chooses. Neither he nor the Father shuts anyone out. The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonors the Son, dishonors the Father, for it was the Father's decision to put the Son in the place of honor. "It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. "It's urgent that you get this right: The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. And he has given him the authority, simply because he is the Son of Man, to decide and carry out matters of Judgment. "Don't act so surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear his voice. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment. "I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. Furthermore, you all saw and heard John, and he gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn't he? "But my purpose is not to get your vote, and not to appeal to mere human testimony. I'm speaking to you this way so that you will be saved. John was a torch, blazing and bright, and you were glad enough to dance for an hour or so in his bright light. But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John's witness. It's the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously. "You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want. "I'm not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God's love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God? "But don't think I'm going to accuse you before my Father. Moses, in whom you put so much stock, is your accuser. If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me. If you won't take seriously what he wrote, how can I expect you to take seriously what I speak?" ¹⁰Even on the Sabbath Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?" The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in." Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking." The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules." ¹¹ But he told them, "The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.'" ¹²They asked, "Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?" But the healed man didn't know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd. ¹⁴ A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen." ¹⁵The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and knew: John 21:17, Psalms 142:3, Hebrews 4:13, Hebrews 4:15

Wilt: Isaiah 65:1, Jeremiah 13:27, Luke 18:41

Reciprocal: Mark 5:25 - twelve Mark 9:21 - How Luke 5:18 - General Luke 8:43 - twelve Luke 13:11 - eighteen Acts 3:4 - Look

Gill's Notes on the Bible

When Jesus saw him lie,.... In such a helpless condition:

and knew that he had been now a long time, [in that case], or "in his disease", as the Ethiopic version supplies; even seven years before Christ was born; which is a proof of his omniscience: the words may be literally rendered, as they are in the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, "that he had had much time"; or as the Arabic version, "that he had had many years"; that is had lived many years, and was now an old man; he had his disorder eight and thirty years, and which seems from John 5:14 to have arisen from some sin of his, from a vicious course of living, perhaps intemperance; so that he might be a middle aged man, when this distemper first seized him, and therefore must be now stricken in years:

he saith unto him, wilt thou be made whole? which question is put, not as if it was a doubt, whether he was desirous of it, or not; for to what purpose did he lie and wait there else? but partly to raise in the man an expectation of a cure, and attention in the people to it: and it may be his sense and meaning is, wilt thou be made whole on this day, which was the sabbath; or hast thou faith that thou shall be made whole in this way, or by me?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 5:6. Wilt thou be made whole? — Christ, by asking this question, designed to excite in this person faith, hope, and a greater desire of being healed. He wished him to reflect on his miserable state, that he might be the better prepared to receive a cure, and to value it when it came. Addresses of this kind are always proper from the preachers of the Gospel, that the hearts, as well of hardened as of desponding sinners, may be stirred up to desire and expect salvation. Do you wish to be healed? Do you know that you are under the power of a most inveterate and dangerous disease? If so, there is a remedy - have immediate recourse to the physician. Questions of this kind are frequently asked in the secret of our souls, by the inspirations of God's Spirit. Happy those who pay attention to them, and give right answers.