John 2:14 BSB — MannaFest

John 2:14

In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

KJV

And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

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Commentary

4 voices

Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2 (444)

The Jews are again hereby too convicted of despising the laws given them, and making of no account the Mosaic writings, looking only to their own love of gain.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

And found in the temple,.... Not in the holy place itself, nor in the court of the priests, where the sacrifices were offered, nor in the court of the women, nor in the court of the Israelites, where the people worshipped; but in the court of the Gentiles, or the outward court, even all that space of ground which was between the wall which divided the whole from common ground, and the buildings of the temple, and which was open to the air; for the whole sacred enclosure, or all within the wall, went by the name of the temple.

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Oxen, and sheep, and doves - Used for sacrifice: And the changers of money - Those who changed foreign money for that which was current at Jerusalem, for the convenience of them that came from distant countries.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Found in the temple those that sold oxen, etc. - This is a similar fact to that mentioned Mat 21:12; Mar 11:15; Luk 19:45. See it explained on Mat 21:12 (note). If it be the same fact, then John anticipates three years of time in relating it here; as that cleansing of the temple mentioned by the other evangelists took place in the last week of our Lord’s life.

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)

The second miracle which our Lord is recorded to have wrought demands our attention in these verses. Like the first miracle at Cana, it is eminently typical and significant of things yet to come. To attend a marriage feast, and cleanse the temple from profanation were among the first acts of our Lord's ministry at His first coming. To purify the whole visible Church, and hold a marriage supper, will be among His first acts, when He comes again. We see, for one thing, in this passage, how much Christ disapproves all irreverent behavior in the house of God .

Voices on this verse

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Hebraic traditional view

Why there were money-changers in the Temple

It was Passover, one of the three feasts when the Law brought all Israel to Jerusalem, and the courts were a marketplace by design: pilgrims needed animals guaranteed fit for sacrifice, and the Temple tax could not be paid in Roman coins bearing the emperor's image, so approved silver had to be exchanged. The Mishnah records the system plainly: from the 25th of the month Adar, the money-changers' tables were set up IN THE TEMPLE itself (Shekalim 1:3).

So Jesus is not objecting to a black market that snuck in; He is overturning licensed furniture, in the outer court, the one court open to the nations, and calling the whole arrangement what it had made His Father's house.

Sources: Mishnah Shekalim 1:3 (the tables in the Temple) · Exodus 30:13 (the half-shekel the changers served)

Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
εὗρεν	heuren	He found	G2147 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
τῷ	tō	the	G3588 →
ἱερῷ	hi'erō	temple	G2411 →
τοὺς	tous	those	G3588 →
πωλοῦντας	pōlountas	selling	G4453 →
βόας	boas	oxen	G1016 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
πρόβατα	probata	sheep	G4263 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
περιστερὰς	peristeras	doves	G4058 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
τοὺς	tous	the	G3588 →
κερματιστὰς	kermatistas	money changers	G2773 →
καθημένους,	kathēmenous	sitting,	G2521 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Mark 11:17
Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of…
leads to
- Isaiah 56:7
  I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called…
- Jeremiah 7:11
  Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.
- Luke 19:46
  He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- John 2:16
  To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”
- 1 Kings 8:41–48
  And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name—
Through
Mark 11:15
When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of…
leads to
- John 2:13–17
  When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
- Matthew 21:12–16
  Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
- Luke 19:45–47
  Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there.

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The Marriage at Cana — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain

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Continue: John 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

Why there were money-changers in the Temple

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About John

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About John