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10 and saith unto him, "Every man at first setteth on good wine; and when men have drunk largely, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now." 11 This beginning of miracles Jesus made in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory: and his disciples believed in him. After this, he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they remained' there not many days.

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Now the passover of the Jews was near; and Jesus went 14 up to Jerusalem; and found in the temple those who sold cattle, and sheep, and doves, and the money-changers sit15 ting: and, when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the cattle; and poured out the money of the exchangers, and 16 overturned their tables; and said to those who sold doves, "Take these things hence; make not my Father's house 17 an house of merchandise." And his disciples remembered that it was written, "A zeal for thine house consumeth me." Then the Jews spake and said unto him, "What sign 19 showest thou unto us, since thou doest these things?" Jesus answered and said unto them, "Destroy this temple, and 20 in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "Forty and six years hath this temple been in building; and 21 wilt thou raise it up in three days?" But he spake concern22 ing the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this: and they believed the scripture, and the words which Jesus had spoken.

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Now, when he was in Jerusalem, at the feast of the passover3, many believed on his name, when they beheld the 24 miracles which he did. But Jesus did not trust himself to 25 them, because he knew all of them: and because he needed

1he remained, Mss. 2 unto them, R. T. and N. 3 Gr. at the passover, even at the feast.

not that any should testify of man: for he himself knew what was in man.

CH. III. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nico2 demus, a ruler of the Jews: this man came to him' by night, and said unto him, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles 3 which thou doest, unless God be with him.” Jesus answered and said unto him, "Verily verily I say unto thee, Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 4 God." Nicodemus saith unto him, "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his 5 mother's womb, and be born?" Jesus answered, " Verily verily I say unto thee, Unless a man be born of water, and 6 of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of 7 the spirit, is spirit. Wonder not that I said unto thee, Ye 8 must be born again. The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest its sound, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the spi9 rit." Nicodemus answered and said unto him, "How can 10 these things be?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "Art thou a teacher in Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily verily I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and testify that which we have seen; and yet ye re12 ceive not our testimony. If I have told you earthly thingst, and ye believe not; how will ye believe, if I tell 13 you heavenly things? Now no man hath ascended ‡ up to 2 Master, or My Master, N.

to Jesus, R. T. and N.

Some understand ver. 11. as the remark of the Evangelist. +"Earthly things," i. e. truths plain, intelligible and familiar. "Heavenly things," i. e. truths remote from common apprehension, opposite to vulgar prejudices, what could not be known but by intercourse with Heaven, or by divine revelation. See Deut. xxx. 12; Rom. x. 6, and the note on ver. 13.

No man hath ascended up to heaven.] "No man goeth up to heaven," Newcome; who remarks, after bishop Pearce, that the preter is here put for the present, and that again for the future. So that the expression, No man hath ascended up into heaven, means, No man will hereafter ascend. This surely

heaven, but he who came down from heaven *, even the 14 Son of man, [who is in heaven +.] And as Moses lifted up

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the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted 15 up: that every one who believeth in him may [not perish, 16 but] have everlasting life." For God hath so loved the world, that he hath given his only Son, that every one who believeth in him may not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God hath not sent his Son into the world, to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He who believeth in him, shall not be condemned: but he that believeth not, is condemned already, because he hath 19 not believed on the name of the only1 Son of God. And this is the condemnation; that light is come into the world, and yet men have loved darkness rather than light; for 20 their deeds were evil: for every one who doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his deeds should

1 only begotten, N. Gr.

is a forced interpretation. The Polish Socinians interpret the expression of a local ascent of Christ into heaven, whither they suppose him to have been taken at the commencement of his ministry, to receive divine instruction. A much more probable interpretation is that which has been proposed by Raphelius,and adopted by Dr. Doddridge and others, viz. that to ascend into heaven signifies, scrutari, et Dei novisse consilia, to search into and to understand the counsels of God. See Raphelius, Annot. vol. i. præf. Dr. Doddridge says that the phrase of ascending into heaven is plainly used in the sense of searching into the truths of God. Deut. xxx. 12; Rom. x. 6; Prov. xxx. 4. Fam. Expos. in. loc. See also Cameron and Erasmus upon the text.

*He who came down from heaven.] This clause is correlative to the preceding. If the former is to be understood of a local ascent, the latter must be interpreted ́of a local descent. ` But if the former clause is to be understood figuratively, as Raphelius and Doddridge explain it, the latter ought in all reason to be interpreted figuratively likewise. If "to ascend into heaven," signifies to become acquainted with the truths of God, “to descend from heaven,” is to bring down, and to discover those truths to the world. And this text clearly explains the meaning of the phrase, wherever it occurs in this evangelist. "Coming down from heaven means coming from God, (see ver. 2.) as Nicodemus expres sed it, who did not understand this of a local descent, but of a divine commission. So Christ interprets it ver. 17." Sn.

+ Who is in heaven.] This clause is wanting in some of the best copies. If its authenticity is allowed, it is to be understood of the knowledge which Christ possessed of the Father's will. See John i. 18,

21 be discovered. But he who doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God *.

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After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and bap23 tized. And John also was baptizing in Enon, near Salim; because much water was there; and the people came, and 24 were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison.

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Then a question arose between some of John's disciples 26 and a Jew', about purifying t. And some came to John, and said unto him, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, he baptizeth, 27 and all men come to him." John answered and said, “A

man can receive nothing, unless it be given him from hea28 ven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not 29 the Christ, but I am sent before his face.' He that hath the bride, is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly, because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease ‡. He that cometh 31 from above is above all: he that is from the earth, is from the earth, and speaketh from the earth: he that cometh from 32 heaven [is above all§; and] testifieth what he hath seen 33 and heard; and yet none receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony, hath set his seal to confirm that 34 God is true. For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God: for [God] giveth him not the spirit by mea

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"in a godlike manner, divinely. See Schleusner." Sn. through faith in God. N. t.

+ baptizing, N. ch. ii. 6. The question probably was, whether Jesus or John should be resorted to for the administration of this rite. See Newcome.

Some think that the Baptist's speech ends here, and that the rest of the chapter contains the remarks of the Evangelist.

"If coming from above, or from heaven, meant only receiving a divine commission, then John came from above, or from heaven, as well as Jesus." Newcome. This remark of the learned primate is perfectly just; accordingly

35 sure. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things 36 into his hand. He who believeth on the Son, hath ever

lasting life and he who disbelieveth the Son will not see life; but the anger of God abideth' on him."

CH. IV. When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that he made and baptized more disciples than 2 John; (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disci3 ples;) he left Judea, and went again into Galilee. Now he 4 must needs go through Samaria. He cometh therefore to a 5 city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the portion of land 6 which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well

was there. So Jesus, being wearied with his journey, sat 7 afterward on the well. (It was about the sixth hour.) A woman of Samaria cometh to draw water. Jesus saith unto 8 her, "Give me to drink." (For his disciples were gone to 9 the city, that they might buy food.) Then the Samaritan woman saith unto him, "Why dost thou, being a Jew, ask drink of me, that am a Samaritan?" (for the Jews have no 10 friendly dealings with the Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said unto her, "If thou knewest the bounty of God, and who he is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink;' thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee 11 living water." The woman saith unto him, "Sir, thou hast no vessel to draw with, and the well is deep: whence 12 then canst thou have that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and himself 13 drank of it, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus answered

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'Or, will abide, Mss.

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2 Gr. hast thou.

the Baptist is said to have been sent from God, ch. i. 6, and his baptism to have come from heaven, Matt. xxi. 25; Mark xi. 30; Luke xx. 4. When therefore he speaks of Christ as coming from above, and from heaven, in contradistinc tion to himself, he can only mean to express the great superiority of our Lord's mission, character, and powers. So ver. 34, he describes Christ as he whom God had sent, meaning that he was such by way of eminence and distinction from all others, but not intending to discredit his own divine mission, or to insinuate that he did not himself deliver a message from God. See ch. i. 9. See Lindsey, Seq. p. 217. and Grotius in loc.

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