John 5 · Verse 12

John 5:12

Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
John 5:12, King James Version

John 5:12 in other translations

BSB“Who is this man who told you to pick it up and walk?” they asked.
WEBThen they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your mat and walk’?”
ASVThey asked him, Who is the man that said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
YLTthey questioned him, then, ‘Who is the man who is saying to thee, Take up thy couch and be walking?'
DARBYThey asked him therefore, Who is the man who said to thee, Take up thy couch and walk?
BBEThen they put to him the question: Who is the man who said to you, Take it up and go?
WebsterThen they asked him, What man is that who said to thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

What does John 5:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 5:10-16

10-16. The Jews--that is, those in authority. (See on Joh 1:19.) it is not lawful to carry thy bed--a glorious testimony to the cure, as instantaneous and complete, from the lips of the most prejudiced! (And what a contrast does it, as all our Lord's miracles, present to the bungling miracles of the Church of Rome!) In ordinary circumstances, the rulers had the law on their side (Ne 13:15; Jr 17:21). But when the…

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Barnes' Notes
Verse 12. What man is he, &c. In this verse there is a remarkable instance of the perverseness of men, of their want of candour, and of the manner in which they often look at a subject. Instead of looking at the miracle, and at the man's statement of the manner in which he was healed, they look only at what they thought to be a violation of the law. They assumed it as certain that nothing could make his conduct, in carrying his bed on the Sabbath-day, proper; and they meditated vengeance, not only on the man who was carrying his bed, but on him, also, who had told him to do it. Thus men often assume that a certain course or opinion is proper, and when anyone differs from them they look only at the difference, but not at the reasons for it. One great source of dispute among men is that they look only at the points in which they differ, but are unwilling to listen to the reasons why others do not believe as they do. It is always enough to condemn one in the eyes of a bigot that he differs from him, and he looks upon him who holds a different opinion, as the Jews did at this man, as certainly wrong; and such a bigot looks at the reasons why others differ from him just as the Jews did at the reason why this man bore his bed on the Sabbath--as not worth regarding or hearing, or as if they could not possibly be right.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 5:10-16

Those eased of the punishment of sin, are in danger of returning to sin, when the terror and restraint are over, unless Divine grace dries up the fountain. The misery believers are made whole from, warns us to sin no more, having felt the smart of sin. This is the voice of every providence, Go, and sin no more. Christ saw it necessary to give this caution; for it is common for people, when sick, to promise much…

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John 5:12 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἠρώτησανērōtēsanThey askedG2065
οὖνounthereforeG3767
αὐτόν·autonhim;G846
τίςtisWhoG5101
ἐστινestinisG1510
ὁhotheG3588
ἄνθρωποςanthrōposmanG444
ὁho<the>G3588
εἰπώνeipōnhaving saidG2036
σοι·soito you;G4771
ἆρονarondo take upG142
κράββατονkrabbatonmatG2895
σουsouof youG4771
καὶkaiandG2532
περιπάτει;peripateido walk?’G4043

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 5:12

  • Matthew 21:23

    And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

  • Romans 10:2

    For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

  • Judges 6:29

    And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

  • 1 Samuel 14:38

    And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
What.
Jud 6:29; 1Sa 14:38; Mt 21:23; Ro 10:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 5:11

    He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

  • John 5:12

    Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

  • John 5:13

    And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

Read all of John 5

John 5:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Preguntáronle entonces: ¿Quién es el que te dijo: Toma tu lecho y anda?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ils lui demandèrent donc: Qui est l’homme qui t’a dit: Prends ton petit lit, et marche?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da fragten sie ihn: Wer ist der Mensch, der zu dir sagte: Nimm dein Bett auf und wandle?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Interrogaverunt ergo eum: Quis est ille homo qui dixit tibi: Tolle grabatum tuum et ambula?