John 5:7

Joh 5:7. The impotent man answered, I have no man — I am poor as well as lame, and unable to hire any one to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and I have neither friend nor relation to do this kind office for me. He seems to consider Christ’s question as implying an imputation of carelessness and neglect in him, and, therefore, gives the reason why he was not made whole, notwithstanding his desire. While I am coming, another steppeth down before me — He signifies that he had made many efforts to get into the pool, but hitherto without success, one or another always preventing him; and none having the charity to say, Your case is worse than mine; do you go in now, and I will stay till the next time; for the old maxim is but too true, Every one for himself. Observe, reader, how mildly this man speaks of the unkindness of those about him, making no peevish reflections on any one. As we should be thankful for the least kindness, so we should be patient under the greatest contempts: and whatever cause we may think we have for resentment, yet we should take care that our expressions be always calm. And observe further, to his praise, that though he had waited so long in vain, yet still he continued lying by the pool side, hoping that some time or other help would come.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 5:7. Ἀπεκρίθη, answered) He gives no answer as to His wish to be made whole. The surer and the nearer the hope is, the greater is the wish: when the hope is small, the wish becomes dormant.—οὐκ ἔχω, I have not) He was a man very needy, and, as it seems, untutored. See Joh 5:11, notes.—βάλῃ, to put [mittat]) having taken me up quickly to let me down gently.—πρὸ ἐμοῦ, before me) It would have been the part of love, that all the other sick men with one consent should have conceded the first place to him in particular; but all were eager to be made whole themselves. [Would that there were as great an anxiety for the healing of the soul!—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sir, I have no man, &c.--Instead of saying he wished to be cured, he just tells with piteous simplicity how fruitless had been all his efforts to obtain it, and how helpless and all but hopeless he was. Yet not quite. For here he is at the pool, waiting on. It seemed of no use; nay, only tantalizing,

while I am coming, another steppeth down before me--the fruit was snatched from his lips. Yet he will not go away. He may get nothing by staying, he may drop into his grave ere he get into the pool; but by going from the appointed, divine way of healing, he can get nothing. Wait therefore he will, wait he does, and when Christ comes to heal him, lo! he is waiting his turn. What an attitude for a sinner at Mercy's gate! The man's hopes seemed low enough ere Christ came to him. He might have said, just before "Jesus passed by that way," "This is no use; I shall never get in; let me die at home." Then all had been lost. But he held on, and his perseverance was rewarded with a glorious cure. Probably some rays of hope darted into his heart as he told his tale before those Eyes whose glance measured his whole case. But the word of command consummates his preparation to receive the cure, and instantaneously works it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. Sir, I have no man] Ναι, Κυριε - "Yes, sir; but I have no man:" - this is the reading of C*GH, fourteen others, both the Syriac, later Persic, Arabic, and Chrysostom. Reader, be thankful to God for health and outward comforts. When long affliction has been allied to deep poverty, how deplorable is the state!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. I have no man. This diseased man does what almost all of us are wont to do; for he limits the assistance of God according to his own thought, and does not venture to promise to himself any thing more than he conceives in his mind. Christ forgives his weakness, and in this we have a mirror of that forbearance of which every one of us has daily experience, when, on the one hand, we keep our attention fixed on the means which are within our reach, and when, on the other hand, contrary to expectation, he displays his hand from hidden places, and thus shows how far his goodness goes beyond the narrow limits of our faith. Besides, this example ought to teach us patience. Thirty-eight years were a long period, during which God had delayed to render to this poor man that favor which, from the beginning, He had determined to confer upon him. However long, therefore, we may be held in suspense, though we groan under our distresses, let us never be discouraged by the tediousness of the lengthened period; for, when our afflictions are long continued, though we discover no termination of them, still we ought always to believe that God is a wonderful deliverer, who, by His power, easily removes every obstacle out of the way.

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.

(7) What does the question mean? Will this Stranger, whom he has never seen before, do for him what none of those who often saw him had ever done? Will he watch for the bubbling water, and place him first in it? Is there one being in all the world who regards his state as calling for loving pity, rather than scornful loathing?

I have no man.—There is an eloquence of helplessness more powerful than that of words. Day by day he has watched, listened for the first sound, caught the first movement in the bath, summoned the feeble vestiges of strength to an action on which all depended, and hoping each succeeding time, in spite of despair in which last time’s hope has been engulfed, has been coming, when “another goeth down before.” “I have no man” is to-day the helpless, unspoken cry of thousands imaged here.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. I have no man] He is not only sick but friendless.

is troubled] No doubt this took place at irregular intervals, else there would be no need to wait and watch for it.

to put me into the pool] Literally, in order to (Joh_4:47) throw me into the pool; perhaps implying that the gush of water did not last long and there was no time to be lost in quiet carrying. But in this late Greek ballein (= throw) has become weakened in meaning. Comp. Joh_13:2, Joh_20:25.

while I am coming] Unaided, and therefore slowly.

another steppeth down] This seems to shew that the place where the bubbling appeared was not large. He does not say ‘others step down before me:’ one is hindrance enough.

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.

The impotent man answered him, Sir,.... Which was a common and courteous way of speaking, much in use with the Jews, especially to strangers. The Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, "yea Lord", which is a direct answer to the question:

I have no man; the Ethiopic version reads, "men"; he had no servant, so Nonnus, or servants, to wait upon him, and take him up in their arms, and carry him into the pool; he was a poor man, and such God is pleased to choose and call by his grace:

when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; that is, as soon as it is troubled by the angel, to put him in first before any other; for it was the first man only that had a cure this way:

but while I am coming; in a slow way, by the help of his crutches, or in the best manner he could:

another steppeth down before me; not so much disordered, or more active and nimble: so among those that wait on the ministry of the word, some are sooner in Christ, or earlier called by his grace, than others; some lie here a long time, and see one and another come to Christ, believe in him, profess his name, and are received into the church; and they still left, in an uncalled and unconverted estate.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

Ver. 7. I have no man, &c.] He looked that Christ should have done him that good office; and could not think of any other way of cure. How easy is it with us to measure God by our model, to cast him into our mould, to think he must needs go our way to work!

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.

Sir, I have no man ... - The answer of the man implied that he did wish it, but, in addition to all his other trials, he had no “friend” to aid him. This is an additional circumstance that heightened his affliction.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

What his particular impotency was the Scripture doth not tell us. Some have (not improbably) judged it the palsy, which deprives the person of motion, by the stoppage of the animal spirits, so that without help he cannot move from one place to another, which it is manifest this poor man could not; for he complains for want of help, that he could not get into the pool.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. I have no man—Doubtless the paralytic expected either some medicine or some aid from Jesus in moving into the pool at the proper instant. He knew not the presence of the great physician.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sick (impotent) man answered him: Sir,i have no man, when the water has been troubled, to put meinto the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. This implies that some special advantage accompanied the troubling of the water. The sudden escape of the medicinal gas may have soon subsided, and, with it, the special virtue of the well. The difficulty which the sick man found in reaching the point of disturbance may be accounted for in many ways. The steps which led into the water; the weakness of the sufferer, which made it an impossible task without help; the eagerness at many other impotent folk to take advantage of the supposed cure, jostling one another with selfish haste; or the absence of any personal friend to fight his battle for him, and cast him (balh) with the required plunge into water. The last point may be explained on the supposition that he was a comparative stranger in Jerusalem, and had made no friends; or by another, which several other allusions justify, viz. that he was a man who, from some reason or other, could neither make nor retain friendship. The melancholy recital of his frequent disappointment is given with an air of mendicant resignation a kind of morbid satisfaction with his lot. The phrase, "while I am coming, another," etc., implies that he could move, if slowly, without help. The moroseness of self-dependence characterizes some sufferers, who rather glory in isolation than lament it. Still, the words express the hopelessness of thousands who, for lack of human help, are jostled out of life, peace, and salvation.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sick man answered - Giving the reason why he was not made whole, notwithstanding his desire.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

7. I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool. His answer reveals the ideas that prevailed. The water was agitated at intervals, probably by an intermittent spring, and they supposed that the first one to enter after would receive the benefit. Only one could be healed at a time. No doubt many were, even without a miracle. In nervous diseases, faith is the great healing power.

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.

Sir, I do not have

Here the word "sir" is a polite form of address.

when the water is stirred up

This can be translated in an active form. AT: "when the angel moves the water" (See: Active or Passive)

into the pool

This was a hole in the ground that people filled with water. Sometimes they lined the pools with tiles or other stonework. See how you translated "pool" in John 5:2.

another steps down before me

"someone else always goes down the steps into the water before me"

Get up

"Stand up!"

take up your bed, and walk

"Pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!"

translationWords

lord

Jesus

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

7. ἄνθρ. οὐκ ἔχω. Not only sick, but friendless. See on Joh 4:11.

ὅταν ταραχθῇ. Whenever &c. The disturbance took place at irregular intervals: hence the need to wait and watch for it.

βάλῃ. Literally, throw me in; perhaps implying that the gush of water did not last long, and there was no time to be lost in quiet carrying. But in this late Greek βάλλειν has become weakened in meaning: Joh 12:6, Joh 13:2, Joh 18:11, Joh 20:25; Mat 9:2; Mat 9:17; Mat 10:34.

ἔρχομαι ἐγώ. Unaided and therefore slowly.

ἄλλος. Not ἄλλοι; one other is hindrance enough, so small is the place in which the bubbling appeared.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7.] The man’s answer implies the popular belief which the spurious but useful insertion in vv. 3, 4 expresses. Bauer asks why the person who brought him there every day, could not have put him in? But no such person is implied. The same slow motion which he describes here, would suffice for his daily coming and going.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. κύριε, ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω κτλ. The sick man explains that it is not his will that is deficient, but that he is unable, because of his infirmity, to get quickly enough down to the water when it becomes “troubled,” because he has no one to assist him. (The paralytic of Mar 2:3 was helped by four friends to get access to Jesus.)

ὅταν ταραχθῇ τὸ ὕδωρ κτλ. Apparently the popular belief was that, when the water began to bubble at a particular spot, the person who first bathed at that point received relief, but that the spring did not benefit more than one. He who came second had to wait for cure until another overflow.

ἴνα … βάλῃ με εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν. βάλλειν, “to cast,” implies rapidity of movement, which would be impossible for an invalid without assistance.

βάλῃ. So אABC2DLWΘ: the rec. has βάλλῃ.

ἐν ᾧ δὲ ἔρχομαι ἐγώ κτλ. “But while I (ἐγώ being emphatic) am coming, another steps down before me.”

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Put [βαλη] . Literally, cast; indicating the hasty movement required to bring him to the water before its agitation should have ceased. See on Mr 7:30; Luk 16:20.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.