^7:14When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts³⁰ and began to teach.³¹^7:15Then the Jewish leaders³² were astonished³³ and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?”³⁴

Read in Logos

Footnotes

30 Grk “to the temple.”
31 Or “started teaching.” An ingressive sense for the imperfect verb (“began to teach” or “started teaching”) fits well here, since the context implies that Jesus did not start his teaching at the beginning of the festival, but began when it was about half over.
32 Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. .
33 Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.
34 Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3). He has never had formal instruction. Ironically when the Jewish leaders came face to face with the Word become flesh—the preexistent Logos, creator of the universe and divine Wisdom personified—they treated him as an untaught, unlearned person, without the formal qualifications to be a teacher.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned, since he hasn’t been trained?”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now when the feast was already half over, Jesus went to the temple courts and began to teach. Then the Jews were astonished, saying, “How does this man possess knowledge, because he has not been taught?”

KJV 1900King James Version

Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

Public Domain