John 18 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 After Jesus had finished speaking, he and his disciples crossed over the Kidron brook and went into an olive grove.
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.
2 Judas the betrayer knew the place, for Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.
3 So Judas took with him a troop of soldiers together with guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They arrived there carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons.
3 Judas then, having taken a detachment of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
4 Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him. He went to meet them, and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
4 Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were happening to him, went out and said to them, “Who are you looking for?”
5 “Are you Jesus of Nazareth?” they asked. “I am,” Jesus told them. Judas the betrayer was standing with them.
5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas also, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
6 When Jesus said “I am,” they fell back and dropped to the ground.
6 When therefore he said to them, “I am he,” they went backward and fell to the ground.
7 So he asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” “Are you Jesus of Nazareth?” they asked again.
7 Again therefore he asked them, “Who are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 “I already told you I am,” Jesus replied. “So if I'm the one you're looking for, let these others go.”
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way,”
9 These words fulfilled what he had previously said: “I have not lost any of those you gave me.”
9 that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, “Of those whom you have given me, I have lost none.”
10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and struck Malchus, the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear.
10 Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
11 Jesus told Peter, “Put the sword away! Do you think I shouldn't drink the cup the Father has given me?”
11 Jesus therefore said to Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?”
12 Then the soldiers, their commander, and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus and tied his hands.
12 So the detachment, the commanding officer, and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and bound him,
13 First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the current high priest.
13 and led him to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
14 Caiaphas was the one who had told the Jews, “It's better that one man die for the people.”
14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should perish for the people.
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and another disciple did so too. This disciple was well-known to the high priest, and so he entered the high priest's courtyard with Jesus.
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest;
16 Peter had to remain outside by the door. So the other disciple who was known to the high priest went and spoke to the servant girl watching the door and brought Peter inside.
16 but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought in Peter.
17 The girl asked Peter, “Aren't you one of that man's disciples?” “Me? No, I'm not,” he replied.
17 Then the maid who kept the door said to Peter, “Are you also one of this man’s disciples?” He said, “I am not.”
18 It was cold, and the servants and guards were standing by a fire they had made, warming themselves. Peter went and stood with them, warming himself.
18 Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, for it was cold. They were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming himself.
19 Then the chief priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and what he had been teaching.
19 The high priest therefore asked Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.
20 “I've spoken openly to everyone,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in the synagogues and in the Temple where all the Jewish people meet. I haven't said anything in secret.
20 Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret.
21 So why are you questioning me? Ask the people who heard me what I told them. They know what I said.”
21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Behold, they know the things which I said.”
22 When he said this, one of the guards standing nearby slapped Jesus, saying, “Is that any way to speak to the high priest?”
22 When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?”
23 Jesus replied, “If I said something wrong, tell everyone what was wrong with it. But if what I said was right, why did you hit me?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if well, why do you beat me?”
24 Annas sent him, his hands still tied, to Caiaphas the high priest.
24 Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.
25 As Simon Peter stood warming himself by the fire, the people there asked him, “Aren't you one of his disciples?” Peter denied it and said, “No, I'm not.”
25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”
26 One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked Peter, “Didn't I see you in the olive grove with him?”
26 One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
27 Peter denied it again, and immediately a cock crowed.
27 Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.
28 Early in the morning they took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. The Jewish leaders didn't enter the palace because if they did they would become ceremonially unclean and they wanted to be able to eat the Passover meal.
28 They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
29 So Pilate came out to meet them. “What charge are you bringing against this man?” he asked.
29 Pilate therefore went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
30 “If he wasn't a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you,” they answered.
30 They answered him, “If this man weren’t an evildoer, we wouldn’t have delivered him up to you.”
31 “Then you take him and judge him according to your law,” Pilate told them. “We're not permitted to execute anyone,” the Jews answered.
31 Pilate therefore said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is illegal for us to put anyone to death,”
32 This fulfilled what Jesus had said about how he would die.
32 that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
33 Pilate went back into the governor's palace. He summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
33 Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 “Did you think of this question yourself, or did others talk to you about me?” Jesus responded.
34 Jesus answered him, “Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate countered. “It was your own people and high priests who handed you over to me. What is it that you've done?”
35 Pilate answered, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it was of this world, my subjects would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from here.”
36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
37 Then Pilate asked, “So you are a king, then?” “You say that I'm a king,” Jesus replied. “The reason why I was born and I came to the world was to give evidence for the truth. All those who accept the truth pay attention to what I say.”
37 Pilate therefore said to him, “Are you a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Having said this Pilate went back out to the Jews and told them, “I find him not guilty of any crime.
38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
39 However, it is customary for me to release a prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?”
39 But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 “No, not him! We want Barabbas instead!” they shouted back. Barabbas was a rebel.
40 Then they all shouted again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Annas
Named as high priest alongside Caiaphas when John began preaching, and as the father-in-law of Caiaphas, to whom Jesus was brought first.
Cited in the guide: Luke 3:2; John 18:13; John 18:24
Malchus
The servant of the high priest whose right ear Simon Peter cut off in the garden.
Cited in the guide: John 18:10
Pontius Pilate
Roman governor of Judea who questioned Jesus, found no guilt in Him, released Barabbas, and gave Him up to be crucified and permitted Joseph of Arimathea to take the body.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 27:2; Luke 3:1; John 18:38
Cross references (39)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Samuel 15:23; Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:32; John 18:26; Luke 22:39–40
- 2 Luke 21:37; Luke 22:39; Mark 11:11–12
- 3 John 18:12; Luke 22:47–53; Psalm 3:1–2; Acts 1:16; Psalm 22:12
- 4 John 13:1; John 18:7; Acts 2:28; Acts 20:22–23; Psalm 27:3
- 5 Isaiah 3:9; John 1:46; Matthew 21:11; Matthew 2:23; John 19:19
- 6 Psalm 27:2; Psalm 70:2–3; 2 Kings 1:9–15; Acts 4:29–30; Luke 9:54–56
- 7 John 18:4
- 8 John 10:28; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 5:7; John 13:1
- 9 John 17:12
- 10 Matthew 26:51–54; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49–51; John 18:26; Mark 14:30
- 11 Matthew 26:39; Matthew 20:22; John 20:17; John 12:27–28; Hebrews 12:2
- 12 John 18:3; Matthew 26:57; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:54; Acts 22:24–28
- 13 John 18:24; Luke 3:2; Matthew 26:3; John 11:51; Matthew 26:57
- 14 John 11:49–52
- 15 Luke 22:54; Mark 14:54; Matthew 26:58–68; Matthew 26:3
- 16 Luke 22:55–57; Matthew 26:69; Mark 14:66–68
- 17 Matthew 26:69–70; Mark 14:66–68; John 18:25; Matthew 26:33; Luke 22:56–57
- 18 Mark 14:54; John 18:25; Luke 22:55–56; Mark 14:67; Psalm 26:4–10
- 19 Mark 14:55–65; Luke 20:20; Luke 11:53–54; Matthew 26:59–68; Luke 22:63–71
- 20 John 7:26; Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 4:23; Luke 21:37; Matthew 26:55
- 21 Luke 22:67; Mark 14:55–59; Matthew 26:59–60; Acts 24:18–20; Acts 24:12–13
- 22 John 19:3; Luke 22:63–64; Mark 14:65; Isaiah 50:5–7; Matthew 26:67–68
- 23 1 Peter 2:20–23; 2 Corinthians 10:1; Matthew 5:39; Acts 23:2–5
- 24 John 18:13; Matthew 26:57
- 25 Mark 14:67–72; John 18:17–18; Matthew 26:71–75; Proverbs 29:25; Genesis 18:15
- 26 John 18:10; John 18:1; Mark 14:70–71; Luke 22:59–60; Matthew 26:73
- 27 John 13:38; Mark 14:71–72; Luke 22:60–62; Matthew 26:34; Mark 14:30
- 28 John 18:33; John 19:9; John 19:14; Mark 15:1–5; Matthew 27:27
- 29 Mark 15:2–5; Matthew 27:23; Matthew 27:11–14; Luke 23:2–3; Acts 23:28–30
- 30 Mark 15:3; John 19:12; Luke 23:2–5; Mark 10:33; Luke 20:19–26
- 31 John 19:6–7; John 19:15; Ezekiel 21:26–27; Acts 25:18–20; Hosea 3:4–5
- 32 John 3:14; Matthew 26:2; Matthew 20:19; John 12:32–33; Luke 18:32–33
- 33 Luke 23:3–4; John 19:3; Acts 2:34–36; John 12:13; Zechariah 9:9
- 35 John 19:11; Acts 22:22–24; Acts 25:19–20; John 19:6; Nehemiah 4:2
- 36 Luke 17:20–21; Colossians 1:12–14; John 6:15; Romans 14:17; Daniel 2:44
- 37 1 John 4:6; John 8:47; John 8:14; John 10:26–27; 1 John 3:19
- 38 John 19:4; John 19:6; Luke 23:4; Acts 17:32; Acts 24:25–26
- 39 Matthew 27:15–18; Mark 15:6–14; Luke 23:16–23; Matthew 27:20–23
- 40 Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; Matthew 27:16; Luke 23:25; Mark 15:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
When the grand and lengthened discourse was concluded which the Lord delivered after supper, and on the eve of shedding His blood for us, to the disciples who were then with Him, and had added the prayer addressed to His Father, the evangelist John began thereafter the narrative of His passion in these words: "When Jesus had so spoken, He …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)
An awful thing is death, and very full of terror, but not to those who have learnt the true wisdom which is above. For he that knows nothing certain concerning things to come, but deems it to be a certain dissolution and end of life, with reason shudders and is afraid, as though he were passing into non-existence.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 14 (1889)
… the precepts which He taught, did not offer the other cheek to the servant of the high priest when smiting Him thereon; but, so far from that, said, "If I have spoken evil, hear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?" Yet was He not on that account unprepared in heart, for the salvation of all, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
For, because both continued with Him at His crucifixion, taking away the ground of his own commendation, he saith, "That disciple was known unto the high priest." But James survived not a long time, but from the beginning he was so greatly filled with warmth, and so forsook all the things of men, and mounted up to an height unutterable, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Ought he not to have followed the example of Jesus, and said, If ye seek Me, let these go their way?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)