John 7:44
in John 7Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
KJV
And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
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This verse in John 7
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThey who had been sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to take the Lord, made the dissension of the multitude with one another a seasonable pretext for their daring deed. For they imagined that they would with less dispute suffer them to bear Him away, as no longer careful what should befall Him, but that as having been an occasion of fighting and disturbance, they would be altogether glad at His being insulted.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
This, if nothing else, might have been sufficient to cause compunction in them, but they felt it not, as the Prophet saith, "They were cleft asunder, and were not pricked in heart." (Ps. xxxv. 15 LXX.)
Others said, "When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is" (ver. 27); and there was a difference of opinion, as might be expected in a confused multitude; for not attentively did they listen to His words, nor for the sake of learning. Wherefore He maketh them no answer; yet they said, "Doth Christ come out of Galilee?" And He had praised, as being "an Israelite indeed," Nathanael, who had said in a more forcible and striking manner, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (c. i. 46.) But then these men, and they who said to Nicodemus, "Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet" (ver. 52), said it not seeking to learn, but merely to overturn the opinion concerning Christ. Nathanael said this, being a lover of the truth, and knowing exactly all the ancient histories; but they looked only to one thing, and that was to remove the opinion that He was the Christ, on which account He revealed nothing to them. For they who even contradicted themselves, and said at one time, "No man knoweth whence He cometh," at another, "From Bethlehem," would manifestly even if they had been informed have opposed Him. For be it that they knew not the place of His birth, that He was from Bethlehem, because of His dwelling in Nazareth, (yet this cannot be allowed, for He was not born there,) were they ignorant of His race also, that He was "of the house and lineage of David"? How then said they, "Doth not Christ come of the seed of David?" (Ver. 42.) Because they wished to conceal even this fact by that question, saying all that they said with malicious intent. Why did they not come to Him and say, "Since we admire thee in other respects, and thou biddest us believe thee according to the Scriptures, tell us how it is that the Scriptures say that Christ must come from Bethlehem, when thou art come from Galilee?" But they said nothing of the kind, but all in malice. […]
The Medieval Church3 voices
Not among the rulers; for they were resolved one way, viz. not to acknowledge Him as Christ. The more moderate of them only used malicious words, in order to oppose Christ's path to glory; but the more malignant wished to lay hands on Him: And some of them would have taken Him.
"But certain ones from among them," namely the officers, "wished to apprehend him," according, that is, to the command given to them; above in the same chapter: "The Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to apprehend Jesus." "But no one laid hands on him," …
That is, because He Who had the power to control their designs, did not permit it.
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Some of them attempted to seize Christ; so he says, some of them, that is, those who had said, "Would the Christ come from Galilee?" wanted to apprehend him, to kill him out of hatred: "Pursue and seize him" (Ps 70:11); "The enemy said: 'I …
Those more moderate in malice opposed the glory of Christ only in words, while the more shameless wanted to lay hands on Him as well. However, divine power invisibly restrained them. Yet even this miracle did not strike them. David rightly said of them: "They …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And some of them would have taken him,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Would have taken him - Or, they wished to seize him. And this they would have done, and destroyed him too at that time, had they been unanimous; but their being divided in opinion, Joh 7:43, was the cause, under God, why his life was at that time preserved. How true are the words of the prophet: The wrath of man shall praise thee; and the remainder thereof thou wilt restrain! Psa 76:10.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
These verses show us, for one thing, how useless is knowledge in religion, if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly where Christ was to be born. They referred to Scripture, like men familiar with its contents. "Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their own Messiah stood before them, and they neither received, nor believed, nor obeyed Him.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
These verses show us, for one thing, how useless is knowledge in religion, if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly where Christ was to be born. They referred to Scripture, like men familiar with its contents. "Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their own Messiah stood before them, and they neither received, nor believed, nor obeyed Him. A certain degree of religious knowledge, beyond doubt, is of vast importance. Ignorance is certainly not the mother of true devotion, and helps nobody toward heaven. An "unknown God" can never be the object of a reasonable worship. Happy indeed would it be for Christians if they all knew the Scriptures as well as the Jews seem to have done, when our Lord was on earth! But while we value religious knowledge, we must take care that we do not overvalue it. We must not think it enough to know the facts and doctrines of our faith, unless our hearts and lives are thoroughly influenced by what we know. The very devils know the creed intellectually, and "believe and tremble," but remain devils still. (James 2:19.) It is quite possible to be familiar with the letter of Scripture, and to be able to quote texts appropriately, and reason about the theory of Christianity, and yet to remain dead in trespasses and sins. Like many of the generation to which our Lord preached, we may know the Bible well, and yet remain faithless and unconverted. Heart-knowledge, we must always remember, is the one thing needful. It is something which schools and universities cannot confer. It is the gift of God.
How the passage was read
On John 7:1-53On John 7:1-53
The water ceremony He interrupted
“The Feast of Booths” is Tabernacles, in Hebrew Sukkot: the autumn week when Israel lived (and Jewish families still eat) in leafy shelters remembering the wilderness. In Temple times each morning of the feast a priest carried water in gold from the pool of Siloam up to the altar and poured it out, praying for the year's rain, while the crowds sang: the Mishnah calls it the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing, and the Talmud says whoever never saw it “has never seen rejoicing in his life” (Sukkah 51a).
That is the scene on “the last day of the feast, the great day,” when Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”: a claim staged inside the feast's own ceremony, at the moment all Jerusalem was thinking about water from God.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Sukkah 4:9 (the water-drawing rite) · Sukkah 51a (“has never seen rejoicing”)
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τινὲς | tines | Some | G5100 → | 528 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἤθελον | ethelon | were desiring | G2309 → | 208 times |
| ἐξ | ex | of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| αὐτῶν | auton | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| πιάσαι | piasai | to seize | G4084 → | 12 times |
| αὐτόν, | auton | Him, | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἀλλ᾽ | all᾽ | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| οὐδεὶς | oudeis | no [one] | G3762 → | 232 times |
| ἐπέβαλεν | epebalen | laid | G1911 → | |
| ἐπ᾽ | ep᾽ | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τὰς | tas | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| χεῖρας.¶ | cheiras | hands. | G5495 → | 175 times |
τινὲςSome
tinesG5100 →528 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
ἤθελονwere desiring
ethelonG2309 →208 times
ἐξof
exG1537 →911 times
αὐτῶνthem
autonG846 →5565 times
πιάσαιto seize
piasaiG4084 →12 times
αὐτόν,Him,
autonG846 →5565 times
ἀλλ᾽but
all᾽G235 →635 times
οὐδεὶςno [one]
oudeisG3762 →232 times
ἐπέβαλενlaid
epebalenG1911 →
ἐπ᾽on
ep᾽G1909 →883 times
αὐτὸνHim
autonG846 →5565 times
τὰςthe
tasG3588 →19766 times
χεῖρας.¶hands.
cheirasG5495 →175 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 18:10For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Exodus 4:12
Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
Through
Acts 23:11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”
it leads to
- Acts 18:9
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
- 2 Timothy 4:17
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of…
- Matthew 14:27
But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
- Acts 18:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About John
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alcuin of York, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 7; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 5; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 51; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.