^4:46Now he came again to Cana⁹⁷ in Galilee where he had made the water wine.⁹⁸ In⁹⁹ Capernaum¹⁰⁰ there was a certain royal official¹⁰¹ whose son was sick. ^4:47When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him¹⁰² to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. ^4:48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people¹⁰³ see signs and wonders you will never believe!”¹⁰⁴^4:49“Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” ^4:50Jesus told him, “Go home;¹⁰⁵ your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home.¹⁰⁶

^4:51While he was on his way down,¹⁰⁷ his slaves¹⁰⁸ met him and told him that his son was going to live. ^4:52So he asked them the time¹⁰⁹ when his condition began to improve,¹¹⁰ and¹¹¹ they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon¹¹² the fever left him.” ^4:53Then the father realized that it was the very time¹¹³ Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household. ^4:54Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign¹¹⁴ when he returned from Judea to Galilee.

Read in Logos

John 4:50: Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.

Footnotes

97 For location see ; ; .
99 Grk “And in.”
100 Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. For location see ; ; .
101 Although βασιλικός (basilikos) has often been translated “nobleman” it is almost certainly refers here to a servant of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee (who in the NT is called a king, Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14–29). Capernaum was a border town, so doubtless there were many administrative officials in residence there.
102 The direct object of ἠρώτα (ērōta) is supplied from context. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
103 The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than the royal official alone).
104 Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteusēte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.
105 Grk “Go”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
106 Grk “and left.” The words “for home” are implied by the following verse.
107 While he was on his way down. Going to Capernaum from Cana, one must go east across the Galilean hills and then descend to the Sea of Galilee. The 20 mi (33 km) journey could not be made in a single day. The use of the description on his way down shows the author was familiar with Palestinian geography.
108 Traditionally, “servants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. notes that “ ‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times … in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” ( ). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
109 Grk “the hour.”
110 κομψότερον translates the idiom κομψότερον ἔχειν (kompsoteron echein) as “begin to improve.”
111 The second οὖν (oun) in 4:52 has been translated as “and” to improve English style by avoiding redundancy.
112 Grk “at the seventh hour.”
113 Grk “at that hour.”
114 This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. 2:11 where the same construction occurs.

Cross references

98 See John 2:1–11.