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John 11:47–53

47 Then the chief priests and the Phariseesu called a meetingv of the Sanhedrin.w

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.x 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas,y who was high priest that year,z spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”a

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.b 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.c

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John 11:47–53 — English Standard Version (ESV)

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

John 11:47–53 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. 49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; 52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. 53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

John 11:47–53 — New Living Translation (NLT)

47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”

49 Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! 50 You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

51 He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. 52 And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.

53 So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.

John 11:47–53 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.

John 11:47–53 — New Century Version (NCV)

47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What should we do? This man is doing many miracles. 48 If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation.”

49 One of the men there was Caiaphas, the high priest that year. He said, “You people know nothing! 50 You don’t realize that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

51 Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for their nation 52 and for God’s scattered children to bring them all together and make them one.

53 That day they started planning to kill Jesus.

John 11:47–53 — American Standard Version (ASV)

47 The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many signs. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. 49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 nor do ye take account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 Now this he said not of himself: but, being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; 52 and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day forth they took counsel that they might put him to death.

John 11:47–53 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

47 The chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man does many signs. 48 If we let him thus alone, all will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. 49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, Ye know nothing 50 nor consider that it is profitable for you that one man die for the people, and not that the whole nation perish. 51 But this he did not say of himself; but, being high priest that year, prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation; 52 and not for the nation only, but that he should also gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53 From that day therefore they took counsel that they might kill him.

John 11:47–53 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What are we doing? This man is performing a lot of miracles. 48 If we let him continue what he’s doing, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will take away our position and our nation.” 

49 One of them, Caiaphas, who was chief priest that year, told them, “You people don’t know anything. 50 You haven’t even considered this: It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” 

51 Caiaphas didn’t say this on his own. As chief priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He prophesied that Jesus wouldn’t die merely for this nation, but that Jesus would die to bring God’s scattered children together and make them one. 

53 From that day on, the Jewish council planned to kill Jesus.

John 11:47–53 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do since this man does many signs? 48 If we let Him continue in this way, everyone will believe in Him! Then the Romans will come and remove both our place and our nation.”

49 One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You’re not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children of God. 53 So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.

John 11:47–53 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

John 11:47–53 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs! 48 If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas (who was high priest in that year), said to them, “You do not know anything at all! 50 Nor do you consider that it is profitable for you that one man should die for the people, and the whole nation not perish.” 51 (Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest in that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also that the children of God who are scattered would be gathered into one.) 53 So from that day they resolved that they should kill him.

John 11:47–53 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What can we do?” they asked. “This man is doing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him keep on doing this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come. They will take away our temple and our nation.”

49 One of them spoke up. His name was Caiaphas. He was high priest at that time. He said, “You don’t know anything at all! 50 You don’t realize what is good for you. It is better if one man dies for the people than if the whole nation is destroyed.”

51 He did not say this on his own. But he was high priest at that time. So he told ahead of time that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He also prophesied that Jesus would die for God’s children scattered everywhere. He would die to bring them together and make them one.

53 So from that day on, the Jewish rulers planned to kill Jesus.

John 11:47–53 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.

48 If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,

50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”

51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,

52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.


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