Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom
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John 2:7-9 sits inside this longer paragraph.
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!” This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Parallel Translations
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Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.
He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it.
When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom
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And Iesus sayde vnto them: fyll the water pottes with water. And they fylled them vp to the brym.
And he sayde vnto them: drawe out now and beare vnto the governer of the feaste. And they bare it.
When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was turned vnto wyne and knewe not whence it was (but the ministres which drue the water knew). He called the brydegrome
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And Iesus sayde vnto them, Fill the waterpots with water. Then they filled them vp to the brim.
Then he sayde vnto them, Draw out nowe and beare vnto the gouernour of the feast. So they bare it.
Nowe when the gouernour of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, (for he knewe not whence it was: but the seruants, which drewe the water, knewe) the gouernour of ye feast called the bridegrome,
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Cross-references (16)
- 2 Kings 4:2-6 (v7) Elisha said to her, “What should I do for you? Tell me: what do you have in the house?” She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house,…
- John 4:46 (v9) Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at…
- John 2:5 (v7) His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”
- John 7:17 (v9) If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
- 1 Kings 17:13 (v7) Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and…
Show all 16 cross-references
- Proverbs 3:5-6 (v8) Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your…
- John 2:3 (v7) When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.”
- John 2:9 (v8) When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water…
- Mark 11:2-6 (v7) and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied,…
- Mark 14:12-17 (v7) On the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare…
- Joshua 6:3-5 (v7) All of your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days. Seven priests shall bear seven…
- 2 Kings 5:10-14 (v7) Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be…
- Psalms 119:100 (v9) I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts.
- Numbers 21:6-9 (v7) Yahweh sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died. The people came to Moses, and said, “We…
- Acts 8:26-40 (v7) But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is…
- Romans 13:7 (v8) Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv7–8 7. Fill the water-pots with water. The servants might…
7. Fill the water-pots with water. The servants might be apt to look upon this injunction as absurd; for they had already more than enough of water. But in this way the Lord often acts towards us, that his power may be more illustriously displayed by an unexpected result; though this circumstance is added to magnify the miracle; for when the servants drew wine out of vessels which had been filled with water, no suspicion can remain.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with…
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
Ver. 7. Up to the brim] God permits his people an honest affluence. Christ supplies them here with great store of wine, to the quantity of a thousand and eight hundred pounds, as Beza computes, {a} No small gifts fall from so great a hand, Jas 1:5.
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{a} Nimirum ad libras mille octingentas: quod pertinet ad miraculi magnitudinem.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Either the water was defiled by some persons washing…
Either the water was defiled by some persons washing in it, or else the vessels were not full. Our Lord commands them to be filled (the water pots, not wine vessels)
with water, pure water; he commands them all to be filled by the servants, who could attest the miracle, that there was nothing in the vessels but pure water. Here was no new creature to be produced; he doth not therefore command the production of wine out of nothing; but only the transformation of a creature already existent into a creature of another kind. The servants dispute not his command, nor ask any reason of his command, but yield that ready and absolute obedience which we all of us owe to Divine precepts. They fill them, and so full that they could hold no more.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Jesus saith unto them,.... To the servants that waited…
Jesus saith unto them,.... To the servants that waited at the feast,
fill the water pots with water. The Ethiopic version adds, "to their brims", as they did. Christ chose the water pots, and not the vessel, or vessels, or bottles, now empty, out of which they had drank their wine; that it might not be said that there was any left therein, which gave colour and flavour to the water: and he ordered them to be filled with water by the servants, that they might take notice, and be witnesses, that that, and nothing else, was put into them; and up to the brims, so that they could not he capable of having any other liquor infused into them:
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and they filled them up to the brim; strictly observing the orders of Christ, and the instructions of his mother.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v9 The governor of the feast - The bridegroom generally…
The governor of the feast - The bridegroom generally procured some friend to order all things at the entertainment.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v8 Verse 8. Governor of the feast.] The original word,…
Verse 8. Governor of the feast.] The original word, αρχιτρικλινος, signifies one who is chief or head over three couches, or tables. In the Asiatic countries, they take their meals sitting, or rather reclining, on small low couches. And when many people are present, so that they cannot all eat together, three of these low tables or couches are put together in form of a crescent, and some one of the guests is appointed to take charge of the persons who sit at these tables. Hence the appellation of architriclinus, the chief over three couches or tables, which in process of time became applied to the governor or steward of a feast, let the guests be many or few; and such person, having conducted the business well, had a festive crown put on his head by the guests, at the conclusion of the feast. See Ecclesiasticus, 32:1-3. It is very common for the Hindoos to appoint a person who is expert in conducting the ceremonies of a feast to manage as governor. This person is seldom the master of the house.
And they bare it.] A question has been asked, "Did our Lord turn all the water into wine which the six measures contained?" To which I answer: There is no proof that he did; and I take it for granted that he did not. It may be asked, "How could a part be turned into wine, and not the whole?" To which I answer: The water, in all likelihood, was changed into wine as it was drawn out, and not otherwise. "But did not our Lord by this miracle minister to vice, by producing an excess of inebriating liquor?" No; for the following reasons:
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1. The company was a select and holy company, where no excess could be permitted. And,
2. Our Lord does not appear to have furnished any extra quantity, but only what was necessary. "But it is intimated in the text that the guests were nearly intoxicated before this miraculous addition to their wine took place; for the evangelist says, οτανμεθυσθωσι, when they have become intoxicated." I answer:
1. It is not intimated, even in the most indirect manner, that these guests were at all intoxicated.
2. The words are not spoken of the persons at that wedding at all: the governor of the feast only states that such was the common custom at feasts of this nature; without intimating that any such custom prevailed there.
3. The original word bears a widely different meaning from that which the objection forces upon it. The verbs μεθυσκω and μεθυω, from μεθυ, wine, which, from μετα θυειν, to drink after sacrificing, signify not only to inebriate, but to take wine, to drink wine, to drink enough: and in this sense the verb is evidently used in the Septuagint, Ge 43:34; So 5:1; 1 Macc. 16:16; Hag 1:6; Ecclus. 1:16. And the Prophet Isaiah, Isa 58:11, speaking of the abundant blessings of the godly, compares them to a watered garden, which the Septuagint translate, ως κηπος μεθυων, by which is certainly understood, not a garden drowned with water, but one sufficiently saturated with it, not having one drop too much, nor too little.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v7 Joh 2:7-10. Jesus saith unto them — After some…
Joh 2:7-10. Jesus saith unto them — After some convenient pause, that the failing of the wine might be the more observed; Fill the water-pots with water — Choosing, for wise reasons, to make use of these rather than the vessels in which the wine had before been contained: one of which reasons might be to prevent any suspicion that the tincture or taste of the water was in any degree derived from any remainder of wine in the vessels. Draw out now, and bear unto the governor — “Among the Greeks, Romans, and Jews, it was usual, at great entertainments, especially marriage-feasts, to appoint a master of ceremonies, who not only gave directions concerning the form and method of the entertainment, but likewise prescribed the laws of drinking. Jesus, therefore, ordered the wine which he had formed to be carried to the governor of the feast, that by his judgment passed upon it, in the hearing of all the guests, it might be known to be genuine wine of the best kind.” When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, &c. — The governor of the feast, on tasting the wine, being highly pleased with its flavour and richness, but not knowing how it had been procured, addressed himself to the bridegroom, in the hearing of all the guests, and, commending the wine, as far preferable to what they had been drinking, praised him for the elegance of his taste, and for his civility, in giving the company better wine during the progress of the entertainment than at the beginning of it, which showed that he did not grudge the quantity they might use. This declaration of the governor, no doubt, surprised the bridegroom, who knew nothing of the matter, and occasioned an inquiry to be made about it. It is reasonable, therefore, to suppose, that the servants were publicly examined, and the company received an account of the miracle from them. For it is expressly said, that by it Jesus manifested his glory, that is, demonstrated his power and character, to the conviction of the disciples, and of all the guests. The expression in the tenth verse, οταν μεθυσθωσι, here rendered, when men have well drunk, though it may sometimes signify to drink to excess, yet frequently in Scripture, and sometimes in other writings, denotes no more than to drink sufficiently, or to satisfaction: and “it would be very unjust and absurd to suppose it implies here, that these guests had already transgressed the rules of temperance. None can seriously imagine the evangelist to be so destitute of common sense as to represent Christ as displaying his glory by miraculously furnishing the company with wine to prolong a drunken revel. It is much more reasonable to conclude, that it signifies here, (as it does Gen 43:34; Son 5:1; Hag 1:6, in the Septuagint,) only to drink so freely as innocently to exhilarate the spirit. And even this, perhaps, might only be the case with some of them, and particularly not of those who, drawn by a desire to converse with Jesus, might be but lately come in.” — Doddridge.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7–9 With water - This was done by the servants…
With water - This was done by the servants employed at the feast. It was done by “them,” so that there might be no opportunity of saying that the disciples of Jesus had filled them with wine to produce the “appearance” of a miracle. In this case there could be no deception. The quantity was very considerable. The servants would know whether the “wine” or “water” had been put in these vessels. It could not be believed that they had either the power or the disposition to impose on others in this manner, and the way was therefore clear for the proof that Jesus had really changed what was known to be water into wine.
To the brim - To the top. So full that no wine could be poured in to give the appearance of a mixture. Further, vessels were used for this miracle in which wine had not been kept. These pots were never used to put wine in, but simply to keep “water” in for the various purposes of ablution. A large number was used on this occasion, because there were many guests.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 Fill . . . draw . . . bear--directing…
Fill . . . draw . . . bear--directing all, but Himself touching nothing, to prevent all appearance of collusion.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv7–8 7. Up to the brim—That the surface of the…
7. Up to the brim—That the surface of the liquid might be seen to be water.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 7. Fill the waterpots] It is difficult to see…
7. Fill the waterpots] It is difficult to see the meaning of this command, if (as some contend) only the water which was drawn out was turned into wine. The pitchers had been partially emptied by the ceremonial ablutions of the company, i.e. pouring water over their hands. Note that in His miracles Christ does not create; He increases the quantity, or changes the quality of things already existing.
to the brim] His Mother’s words (Joh_2:5) have done their work. Our attention seems here to be called to the great quantity of water changed into wine.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–9 (7) Fill the waterpots.—It is implied that the pitchers…
(7) Fill the waterpots.—It is implied that the pitchers were wholly or in part empty, the water in them having been used for the ablutions before the feast. The persons ordered are the servants (Joh_2:5). “Up to the brim” marks the willing care with which the order was obeyed, and an expectation through the household of some work to be wrought.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Jesus saith to them, Fill the water pets with…
Jesus saith to them, Fill the water pets with water. And they filled them to the brim. They had, therefore, been emptied already for the purifying purposes and processes of the large party, probably suggesting that the friends of the bridegroom were solicitous to obey the religious discipline which was believed to be in harmony with the Divine will. The expression, ewv anw , seems added to emphasize the quantity of wine thus provided. The miracle took place between the filling of the jars and their being drawn upon. We are not permitted to look more closely into this mystery. The finger of God, the will of the Creator, determines the result. The servants knew that they had filled the jars with water. The next thing, and all that we know, is that the Lord said
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv8–9 8. He saith, Draw out now, and bear unto…
8. He saith, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. “He that had made wine that day in those six water-pots does the same every year in the vines. For as what the servants put in the water-pots was changed into wine by the operation of the Lord, just so what the clouds pour forth is changed into wine by the operation of the same law.—Augustine.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v9 but the servants who had drawn the water knew
but the servants who had drawn the water knew
This is background information. (See: Background Information)
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drunk
unable to tell the difference between cheap wine and expensive wine because of drinking too much alcohol
translationWords
wine
servant
bridegroom
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v9 2:9-10 The master of ceremonies cited a proverb. The…
2:9-10 The master of ceremonies cited a proverb. The best wine was always served first when palates were most sensitive; yet this miraculous wine, served last, was the very best. Good wine symbolized God’s blessing (Amos 9:13-14). The Messiah, God’s greatest blessing, had arrived at last.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.