John 5:17

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
Jesus	Ἰησοῦς Iēsous	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
answered	ἀπεκρίνατο apekrinato	G611	to conclude for oneself · verb — aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
them	αὐτοῖς· autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
My	μοῦ moû	G3450	of me
Father	πατήρ patēr	G3962	a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
worketh	ἐργάζεται, ergazetai	G2038	to toil (as a task · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
hitherto	ἄρτι arti	G737	just now · adverb
and I	κἀγώ kagṓ	G2504	so also the dative case
work	ἐργάζομαι. ergazomai	G2038	to toil (as a task · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 1st person singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
John 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that…
1 Corinthians 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,…
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had b…
Genesis 2:1-2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by…
Acts 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our heart…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 5:17-30

We have here Christ's discourse upon occasion of his being accused as a sabbath-breaker, and it seems to be his vindication of himself before the sanhedrim, when he was arraigned before them: whether on the same day, or two or three days after, does not appear; probably the same day. Observe, I. The doctrine laid down, by which he justified what he did on the sabbath day (Joh 5:17): He answered them. This supposes that he had something laid to his charge: or what they suggested one to another, when they sought to slay him (Joh 5:16), he knew, and gave this reply to, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. At other times, in answer to the like charge, he had pleaded the example of David's eat…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 5:17

My Father worketh hitherto and I work--The "I" is emphatic; "The creative and conservative activity of My Father has known no sabbath-cessation from the beginning until now, and that is the law of My working."

Adam Clarke on John 5:17

My Father worked hitherto, and I work - Or, As my Father worketh until now, etc., καθως being understood. God created the world in six days: on the seventh he rested from all creating acts, and set it apart to be an everlasting memorial of his work. But, though he rested from creating, he never ceased from preserving and governing that which he had formed: in this respect he can keep no sabbaths; for nothing can continue to exist, or answer the end proposed by the Divine wisdom and goodness, without the continual energy of God. So I work - I am constantly employed in the same way, governing and supporting all things, comforting the wretched, and saving the lost; and to me, in this respect, t…

Read the whole note in the console

John Gill on John 5:17

But Jesus answered them,.... Being convened before them, and charged by them with the violation of the sabbath, he vindicated himself in the following manner, saying; my Father worketh hitherto: he who is my Father, not by creation, or adoption, but by nature, though he ended all his work on the seventh day, and rested from what he had done; yet he did not cease from working at all, but has continued to work ever since, on sabbath days, as well as on other days; in upholding and governing the world, in continuing the species of beings, and all creatures in their being; in providing for them, and in dispensing the bounties of his providence to them; in causing his sun to shine, and showers o…

The Church Fathers

(de Con. Ev. l. iv. c. x) The words, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work, suppose Him to be equal to the Father. This being understood, it followed from the Father's working, that the Son worked: inasmuch as the Father cloth nothing without the Son.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

"My Father," saith He, "worketh hitherto, and I work." He sent a great commotion among them: the water is troubled by the coming of the Lord, but yet He that troubles is not seen. Yet one great sick one is to be healed by the troubled water, the whole world by the death of the Lord.
— Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 17

And this one may see more clearly from what He had before said, for "My Father worketh, and I work," is the expression of One declaring Himself equal to God. For in these words He has marked no difference. He said not, "He worketh, and I minister," but, "As He worketh, so work I"; and hath declared absolute Equality.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 38

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Christ Is God · As unrestricted by the law of the sabbath, equally with the Father — As unrestricted by the law of the sabbath, equally with the Father
Power · .As the — .As the
Power Of Christ, The · As the Son of God, is the power of God — As the Son of God, is the power of God

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

John 5:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 5:17-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 5:17

Adam Clarke on John 5:17

John Gill on John 5:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 5:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 5:17-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 5:17

Adam Clarke on John 5:17

John Gill on John 5:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 5:17-19

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 5:17