There was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “Not so, but he leads the multitude astray.”
Parallel Translations
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There was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “Not so, but he leads the multitude astray.”
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And moche murmurynge was ther of him amonge the people. Some sayde: He is good. Wother sayde naye but he deceaveth the people.
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And much murmuring was there of him among the people. Some said, He is a good man: other sayd, Nay: but he deceiueth the people.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to John 7:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 7:40-43 Many of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This is truly the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “What, does the Christ come out of Galilee? Hasn’t the Scripture said that the Christ comes of the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So a division arose in the multitude because of him.
- John 9:16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was division among them.
- John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.
- John 7:47 The Pharisees therefore answered them, “You aren’t also led astray, are you?
- Acts 11:24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
- Matthew 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!
- Matthew 16:13-16 Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They said, “Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Matthew 21:46 When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.
- Matthew 27:63 saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’
- Luke 6:45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
- Luke 7:16 Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”
- Luke 18:19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one: God.
- Luke 23:47 When the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.”
- Luke 23:50 Behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man
- John 6:14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”
- John 7:52 They answered him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search, and see that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”
- John 10:19-21 Therefore a division arose again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane! Why do you listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon. It isn’t possible for a demon to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”
- Romans 5:7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die.
- Philippians 2:14 Do all things without complaining and arguing,
- John 7:25-27 Therefore some of them of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this he whom they seek to kill? Behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ? However we know where this man comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 12. And there was much murmuring. He means that,…
12. And there was much murmuring. He means that, wherever men were collected in crowds, as usually happens in large assemblies, they held secret conversations about Christ. The diversity of opinion, which is here related, proves that it is not a new evil, that men should differ in their opinions about Christ, even in the very bosom of the Church. And as we do not hesitate to receive Christ, who was formerly condemned by the greater part of his own nation, so we ought to be armed with the same kind of shield, that the dissensions which we see daily may not disturb us. Again, we may perceive how great is the rashness of men in the things of God. In a matter of no importance, they would not have taken so great liberty, but when the question relates to the Son of God and to his most holy doctrine, they immediately hasten to give judgment respecting it. So much the greater moderation ought we to maintain, that we may not thoughtlessly condemn our life with the eternal truth of God. And if the world holds us for impostors, let us remember that these are the marks and brands of Christ, provided that we show, at the same time, that we are faithful. This passage shows likewise that in a great multitude, even when the whole body is in a state of confusion, there are always some who think aright; but those few persons, whose minds are well regulated, are swallowed up by the multitude of those whose understandings are bewildered.
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 12 And there was much murmuring among the people…
12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.
Ver. 12. For some said] All men were not of a mind concerning Christ. Sooner shall the fingers of their hands be all of a length, than men will be all of a judgment in matters of religion. Nullum bellum citius exardescit, nullum deflagrat tardius quam theologicum, ut sacramentarium. (Bucholcer.)
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 Our Saviour’s constant attendance at these public festivals, did…
Our Saviour’s constant attendance at these public festivals, did not only create an expectation of his being there amongst his enemies, who therefore sought him there, that they might destroy him; but amongst the generality of the people, who had very different opinions about him. Some having heard his doctrine, and hearing nothing from him but what was good and spiritual, tending to show them the way of holiness, and the true path way to eternal life and happiness, concluded that he was a good man; others said he was a mere impostor, one that deceived and cheated the more ignorant common people.
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 Howbeit, no man spoke openly of him,.... So loud…
Howbeit, no man spoke openly of him,.... So loud as to be overheard, at least by many, but in a secret and whispering way; or did not speak with freedom, or all their mind, what they really thought of him, nor with courage and boldness:
for fear the Jews; for fear of being mobbed by them, or up and prosecuted, or turned out of the synagogue; for a law was made, that whoever confessed him, should be so used; and this deterred persons from expressing the true sentiments of their minds about him.
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 There was much murmuring among the multitude - Much…
There was much murmuring among the multitude - Much whispering; many private debates with each other, among those who were come from distant parts.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Some said, He is a good man]…
Verse 12. Some said, He is a good man] The multitude were divided in their opinions concerning him: those who knew him best said, He is a good man. Those who spoke according to the character given him by the priests, c., said, Nay but he deceiveth the people. Those who spoke evil of him spoke out, because they had the rulers on their side; but those who spoke good of him were obliged to do it in private, because they feared these rulers. Calumny and slander are among the privileged orders; they stalk abroad with their thousand brazen mouths, and blast the reputation of the followers of God. Benevolence and candour are only on sufferance; and a whisper in secret is the most they are permitted to give in behalf of Christ and his followers, whose laws and maxims condemn a vicious world, and goad it to revenge.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Murmuring - Contention, disputing.
Murmuring - Contention, disputing.
He deceiveth the people - That is, he is deluding them, or drawing them away by pretending to be the Messiah.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain It was the people that held the favourable opinion…
It was the people that held the favourable opinion of Christ, whilst on the contrary, the Scribes and Pharisees speak ill of him, saying, he seduceth not us, but he seduceth the multitude. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xlviii. in Joan.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain much murmuring--buzzing.
much murmuring--buzzing.
among the people--the multitudes; the natural expression of a Jewish writer, indicating without design the crowded state of Jerusalem at this festival [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].
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a good man . . . Nay . . . deceiveth the people--the two opposite views of His claims, that they were honest, and that they were an imposture.
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 12. The people—Among these masses there are of course…
12. The people—Among these masses there are of course all shades of opinion. The friends of Jesus would consist of Galileans and scattered inhabitants of Judea, who from the time of John’s and Jesus’s baptisms in the Jordanic region had never forgotten their faith. As the fierce inquiries after Jesus by the Jews are heard, a murmur passes through the crowd. Favorable but feeble assertions are heard that he is a good man; to which the charge of being a popular deceiver is retorted. The friends of Jesus are in a timid minority; and even if they were in a majority the organized force is in the hands of the Jews. A quiet doubtless ensued as the conclusion arose, perhaps from the report of his brothers, that he was not to be present at the feast. Things are in this condition for the first three days of the feast, when an unexpected event takes place.
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 12. murmuring] Talking in an under tone, not necessarily…
12. murmuring] Talking in an under tone, not necessarily complaining: see on Joh_6:41; Joh_6:61. Here some are for, and some against Him. ‘Among the people’ should rather be among the multitudes; the word is plural, and this is the only place in the Gospel where the plural is used: the singular (He leadeth the multitude astray) is common.
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 (12) And there was much murmuring among the people.—The…
(12) And there was much murmuring among the people.—The original word for “people” is here, and here only in St. John, in the plural, and is best rendered by multitudes. It refers to the throngs of people assembled during the various parts of the ritual of the feast, and, perhaps, specially on the one hand to the Galilean multitude, some of whom had been present at the last great work recorded in this Gospel, and some of whom had been present at other works, and influenced by other teaching of Jesus and the Apostles; and on the other hand, to the Judæan multitude, who had been prevented from accepting Him in the same degree by the stronger influence of the hierarchy. Among these multitudes there arose, as before among the Jews and among the disciples (Joh_6:41; Joh_6:61), a murmuring; but the subject of this discussion is not His teaching, but His character. Their practical test-question was, Is He a good man, or a deceiver? (Comp. Mat_27:63.) Some would think of deeds and words which established His goodness beyond all doubt; but if He is a good man, then His claim cannot be false. Others would think of deceivers, who had led away the multitude before (comp. Notes on Act_5:36-37), and that He was one of them.
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 And there was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning…
And there was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. This vivid dramatic touch lifts a veil, and we see the eager excitement of those who fancied themselves duped, or who were at least disappointed by his non-appearance. Some said one thing, and some another. One group was loud in his praises, and another suspicious either of his orthodoxy or his patriotism, or both. Some said, He is a good man; i.e. one who was unselfish, kind, true, beneficent, and honest in his intentions, and one personally trustworthy. But others said or, were saying; i.e. the murmur, the head shaking, of others was a flat denial of his agayothvNay; but (on the other hand) he leadeth the multitude astray. The "multitude" in this clause is probably the vulgar crowd, and the contemptuous reference to them may be the language of the Jerusalem populace rather than the provincial caravans. The multitude would escape from the Pharisaic leading strings, should they embrace his views either concerning the sabbath or the expected Messiah.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 This refers to the unpleasant feeling a person has…
fear
This refers to the unpleasant feeling a person has when there is a threat of harm to himself or others.
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the Jews
The word "Jews" is a synecdoche for the leaders of the Jews who opposed Jesus. AT: "the Jewish leaders" (See: Synecdoche)
he leads the crowds astray
Here "leads ... astray" is a metaphor for persuading someone to believe something that is not true. AT: "he deceives the people" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
good
astray
fear
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.