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John 2:13–21

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 tThe Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus uwent up to Jerusalem. 14 vIn the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, Take these things away; do not make wmy Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, x“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 So the Jews said to him, y“What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, zDestroy this temple, and in three days aI will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,3 and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about bthe temple of his body.

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John 2:13–21 — The New International Version (NIV)

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

John 2:13–21 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

13 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

John 2:13–21 — New Living Translation (NLT)

13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”

18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”

19 All right,” Jesus replied. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body.

John 2:13–21 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”

19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”

21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

John 2:13–21 — New Century Version (NCV)

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast, Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves. He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging different kinds of money. 15 Jesus made a whip out of cords and forced all of them, both the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of those who were exchanging it. 16 Then he said to those who were selling pigeons, Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place for buying and selling!”

17 When this happened, the followers remembered what was written in the Scriptures: “My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.”

18 Some of his people said to Jesus, “Show us a miracle to prove you have the right to do these things.”

19 Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will build it again in three days.”

20 They answered, “It took forty-six years to build this Temple! Do you really believe you can build it again in three days?”

21 (But the temple Jesus meant was his own body.

John 2:13–21 — American Standard Version (ASV)

13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 and he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew their tables; 16 and to them that sold the doves he said, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise. 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for thy house shall eat me up. 18 The Jews therefore answered and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

John 2:13–21 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

13 And the passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And he found in the temple the sellers of oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting; 15 and, having made a scourge of cords, he cast them all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the change of the money-changers, and overturned the tables, 16 and said to the sellers of doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it is written, The zeal of thy house devours me. 18 The Jews therefore answered and said to him, What sign shewest thou to us, that thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple building, and thou wilt raise it up in three days? 21 But he spoke of the temple of his body.

John 2:13–21 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 He found those who were selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons in the temple courtyard. He also found moneychangers sitting there. 15 He made a whip from small ropes and threw everyone with their sheep and cattle out of the temple courtyard. He dumped the moneychangers’ coins and knocked over their tables. 

16 He told those who sold pigeons, “Pick up this stuff, and get it out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 

17 His disciples remembered that Scripture said, “Devotion for your house will consume me.” 

18 The Jews reacted by asking Jesus, “What miracle can you show us to justify what you’re doing?” 

19 Jesus replied, “Tear down this temple, and I’ll rebuild it in three days.” 

20 The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple. Do you really think you’re going to rebuild it in three days?” 

21 But the temple Jesus spoke about was his own body.

John 2:13–21 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple complex He found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and He also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords, He drove everyone out of the temple complex with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, Get these things out of here! Stop turning My Father’s house into a marketplace!”

17 And His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for Your house will consume Me.

18 So the Jews replied to Him, “What sign of authority will You show us for doing these things?”

19 Jesus answered, Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it up in three days.”

20 Therefore the Jews said, “This sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?”

21 But He was speaking about the sanctuary of His body.

John 2:13–21 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body.

John 2:13–21 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

13 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14 And he found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated. 15 And he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, both the sheep and the oxen, and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 And to the ones selling the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 So the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign do you show to us, because you are doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up!” 20 Then the Jews said, “This temple has been under construction forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

John 2:13–21 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

13 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courtyard he found people who were selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money.

15 So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple area. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

17 His disciples remembered what had been written. It says, “My great love for your house will destroy me.”

18 Then the Jews asked him, “What miraculous sign can you show us? Can you prove your authority to do all of this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple. I will raise it up again in three days.”

20 The Jews replied, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it up in three days?”

21 But the temple Jesus had spoken about was his body.

John 2:13–21 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.

15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”

17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.”

18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”

19 Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”

21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.


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