John 2
1 On the third day,a there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother was there. 2 Jesus and his students were also invited to the wedding. 3 When there was not enough wine, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.”
4 “Ma’am,”b Jesus said to her, “What does that have to do with you and me? My time isn’t here yet.”
5 His mother said to the servants,c “Do whatever he tells you to do.”
6 Six stone water jars had been placed there for the cleansing requirements of the Jews,d each with space for about 18 to 27 gallons.e
7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them, and they filled them to the top.
8 “Now,” he told them, “Draw some out and bring it to the lead dining attendant,” so they brought it.
9 When the lead dining attendant tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it was from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the lead dining attendant called the groom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the fine wine first and when people get drunk they serve the lesser wine. You have reserved the fine wine until now!”
11 Jesus did this in Cana of Galilee as the first of the signsf and brought to light his praiseworthiness, and his students placed their trust in him.
12 Afterward, he, along with his mother and siblingsg and students, went down to Capernaum and stayedh there a few days.i
13 It was almost time for the Jewish Passoverj festival, and Jesus went upk to Jerusalem. 14 In the sacred grounds,l he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves and people sitting there to exchange currency. 15 He made a whip out of ropes and drove them out of the sacred grounds, as well as the sheep and oxen, and he dumped outm the currency exchangers’ coins and flippedn their tables.
16 “Take these away from here!” he told the dove sellers. “Don’t make my Father’s house a place of business!”o
17 His students were reminded that it is written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”p
18 Then the Judean authoritiesq responded, “What signr can you give us since you are doing these things?”s
19 “Destroy this temple,” Jesus answered, “And I will raise it up in three days.”
20 Then the Judean authorities said, “This temple was under construction for 46 years—and you will raise it up in three days?”
21 But Jesust was talking about his body as the temple.u 22 So, when he was raisedv from among the dead, his students were reminded that he had said this, and they trusted the scripture and what Jesus had said in conversation.w
23 While he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many people placed their trust in himx since they saw the signs he was producing. 24 However, Jesus did not trust their commitmenty to him since he understood them all. 25 He did not need to have anyone explain about humanity because he understood what humanity was like.z
FOOTNOTES:
a This probably refers to a Tuesday, the third day of the week
b Literally, the word means ‘woman.’ However, addressing a woman as ‘woman’ in our culture is considered rude, an attempt to put her in her place, especially when done by a man. In Jesus’ culture, it was done as a respectful way to address someone.
c The word diakonos* can be translated as servants, whereas doulos is often translated as ‘slave.’ Both words often referred to people who worked without payment or were underpaid, sometimes as a means of working off debts. Some interchangeable use was possible and other distinctions were also possible, but a common distinction was between ‘house servants’ who had duties like waiting tables (diakonos) and ‘enslaved laborers’ (doulos).
d Compare to Matthew 15:1-11ff.
e Often translated as ‘twenty to thirty gallons,’ the actual Greek is ‘two to three metretai.’ Each metretes was the equivalent of about nine gallons.
f The Greek word semeion can be translated as ‘proof’ or ‘demonstration.’ It carries the essential idea of something that verifies or authenticates the validity of someone’s trustworthiness or credentials, whether to act on their own authority or as a representative of another authority. Several other words could work, such as ‘indication,’ ‘verification,’ and ‘token.’ The word is about something people can see or hear that points to something else. In the context of this verse and most of the book of John, it points to the idea that Jesus is trustworthy, that the people can trust that he is worth following and listening to because what he does is in line with the Path of God and the teaching of Torah and he illuminates what God communicates to the whole world and how to pursue true life.
g This word, adelphoi, can be used for ‘brothers’ or ‘siblings’ or even more loosely as ‘relatives.’ Like other languages, such as Spanish, when the masculine form of the word is plural, it can be used for a group of all males or a group that includes both males and females. When the word is singular, it refers specifically to whichever gender form is used. When the feminine form is used, it always only includes females. Both brothers and sisters of Jesus are referenced in the scriptures (see Matthew 12:46-50; 13:55-56).
h Or ‘were present’
i Literally, ‘not many days.’
j The Greek word is pascha, which is an adaptation of the Hebrew word pesach, referring to the Passover Festival. See Exodus 12:1-28.
k In Jewish custom, any travel toward Jerusalem was ‘going up to Jerusalem’ regardless of the starting point, and any travel away from Jerusalem was ‘going down from Jerusalem’ regardless of the destination.
l Traditionally, ‘temple courts.’ The word literally means ‘sacred place.’ It was used regarding the courtyard within the temple walls.
m The Greek word ekcheo,
n This same word can be translated as ‘subverted’ or ‘overthrew,’ the same that would be used in a revolution against a ruler.
o See Zechariah 14:1-21 (especially verse 21). Jesus’ reference of this verse indicates he sees what he is doing as bringing the whole chapter to reality.
p Citation of Psalm 69:9
q The word Ioudiaos can mean either Judean or Jew. The context of this incident is in Jerusalem, the capital city of the province of Judea. The religious and political authorities of this region would have been the ones responding, not all Jews.
r ‘Sign’ refers to something that signifies they should trust him, something that proves he has the authority to do what he is doing, that verifies his qualification.
s Jesus’ actions and scripture quotations point to him as the meshiah, the divinely appointed king working to restore justice and peace to the nation. They are demanding he show them something to prove it.
t Literally, ‘that one’ (a common word used interchangeably with ‘he’ but more emphatic) referring to Jesus.
u Literally, ‘the temple of his body.’
v Or ‘woken up’
w This is ‘they trusted the sc
x Literally, ‘trusted in his name.’ The idea is that they trusted him enough to commit their allegiance to him.
y The words ‘their commitment’ is not present in the Greek, but the Greek wording must have something supplied to make sense in English. Very literally, this sentence is something like, “But Jesus himself did not trust himself to/with/for them because of him knowing all” (all is in a form that is about people, not things).
z The Greek is something like “understood what was in/with humanity” or “understood what there was regarding humanity” in a very literal wording with the preposition en conveying a connection between ‘understood what was’ and ‘humanity’ without specifying the precise relationship, being something along the lines of ‘understood what was in regard to humanity.’