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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

John 12:20

Some Greeks had gone to Jerusalem to worship during Passover.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Andrew;   Curiosity;   Desire;   Feasts;   Greece;   Jerusalem;   Jesus Continued;   Philip;   Scofield Reference Index - Inspiration;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bringing Men to Jesus;   Greeks;   Proselytes;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Bethany;   Proselyte;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Greece;   Philip;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Ascension of Jesus Christ;   Paul the Apostle;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Heathen;   Hellenists;   Judgment, Last;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Andrew;   Philip the Apostle;   Proselytes;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Eternal Life;   Hour;   Pilgrimage;   Proselytes;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greeks, Grecians;   John, Gospel of;   Judas Iscariot;   Martha;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Activity;   Andrew ;   Appreciation (of Christ);   Betrayal;   Cosmopolitanism;   Father, Fatherhood;   Following;   Grecians Greeks;   Grecians, Greeks;   Hellenism;   Hopefulness ;   Hour;   Ministry;   Mission;   Palestine;   Philip ;   Prayer (2);   Proselyte (2);   Religious Experience;   Restitution;   Sayings (Unwritten);   Social Life;   Temple (2);   Transfiguration (2);   Truth (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Greek,;   New Testament;   Zechariah, Prophecy of;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Bethany;   Martha;   Passover;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Phil'ip;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Hellenists;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Grecians;   Luke, the Evangelist;   Philip (2);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Jerusalem;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for October 21;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
There were some Greeks there too. These were some of the people who went to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover festival.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Ther were certayne Grekes amoge them that came to praye at the feast:
Hebrew Names Version
Now there were certain Yevanim among those that went up to worship at the feast.
International Standard Version
Now some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival.1 Kings 8:41-42; Acts 8:27; 17:4;">[xr]
New American Standard Bible
Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
New Century Version
There were some Greek people, too, who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast.
Update Bible Version
Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast:
Webster's Bible Translation
And there were certain Greeks among them, that came to worship at the feast.
English Standard Version
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
World English Bible
Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Now among those who came up to worship at the feast, there were certain Greeks.
Weymouth's New Testament
Now some of those who used to come up to worship at the Festival were Greeks.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And there weren summe hethene men, of hem that hadden come vp to worschipe in the feeste dai.
English Revised Version
Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast:
Berean Standard Bible
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.
Amplified Bible
Now there were some Greeks (Gentiles) among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
American Standard Version
Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast:
Bible in Basic English
Now there were some Greeks among the people who had come up to give worship at the feast:
Complete Jewish Bible
Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greek-speaking Jews.
Darby Translation
And there were certain Greeks among those who came up that they might worship in the feast;
Etheridge Translation
Now there were also from the Gentiles men who had ascended to worship at the feast.
Murdock Translation
And there were also among the people, some who had come up to worship at the feast.
King James Version (1611)
And there were certaine Greeks among them, that came vp to worship at the feast:
New Living Translation
Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration
New Life Bible
Some Greek people had come to worship at the religious gathering. They were among the others who had come to worship.
New Revised Standard
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Nowe there were certaine Greekes among them that came vp to worship at the feast.
George Lamsa Translation
Now there were some Gentiles * among them who had come up to worship at the feast.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now there were certain Greeks, from among them who were coming up that they might worship in the feast.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Now there were certain Gentiles among them, who came up to adore on the festival day.
Revised Standard Version
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
There were certaine Grekes among them, that came to worship at the feast:
Good News Translation
Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival.
Christian Standard Bible®
Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival.
King James Version
And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
Lexham English Bible
Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up in order to worship at the feast.
Literal Translation
And there were some Greeks among those coming up, that they might worship at the Feast.
Young's Literal Translation
And there were certain Greeks out of those coming up that they may worship in the feast,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
There were certayne Grekes (amonge the that were come vp to Ierusale to worshipe at the feast)
Mace New Testament (1729)
In the mean time, among the rest that came to worship at the feast,
THE MESSAGE
There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee: "Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?"
New English Translation
Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast.
New King James Version
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.
Simplified Cowboy Version
There were some people from Greece who were in town for the Passover party.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
Legacy Standard Bible
Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;

Contextual Overview

20 Some Greeks had gone to Jerusalem to worship during Passover. 21 Philip from Bethsaida in Galilee was there too. So they went to him and said, "Sir, we would like to meet Jesus." 22 Philip told Andrew. Then the two of them went to Jesus and told him. 23 Jesus said: The time has come for the Son of Man to be given his glory. 24 I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat. 25 If you love your life, you will lose it. If you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life. 26 If you serve me, you must go with me. My servants will be with me wherever I am. If you serve me, my Father will honor you.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Greeks: John 7:35, Mark 7:26, Acts 14:1, Acts 16:1, Acts 17:4, Acts 20:21, Acts 21:28, Romans 1:16, Romans 10:12, Galatians 2:3, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11

to worship: 1 Kings 8:41-43, Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah 60:2-14, Isaiah 66:19-21, Acts 8:27

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 6:32 - the stranger Isaiah 56:7 - them will Isaiah 60:3 - the Gentiles Malachi 3:16 - spake Acts 2:5 - were Acts 16:14 - worshipped

Cross-References

Genesis 12:6
Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time,
Genesis 12:14
As soon as Abram and Sarai arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians noticed how beautiful she was.
Genesis 12:15
The king's officials told him about her, and she was taken to his house.
Exodus 18:27
After Moses and his father-in-law Jethro had said good-by to each other, Jethro returned home.
Proverbs 21:1
The Lord controls rulers, just as he determines the course of rivers.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And there were certain Greeks,.... "Hellenes", so called, from Hellen, a king of that name, as Pliny says r These were not Graecizing Jews, or Jews that dwelt in Greece, and spoke the Greek language; for they were called not Hellenes, but Hellenists; but these were, as the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions render it, Gentiles; and were either mere Gentiles, and yet devout and religious men, who were allowed to offer sacrifice, and to worship, in the court of the Gentiles; or they were proselytes, either of righteousness, and so were circumcised, and had a right to eat of the passover, as well as to worship at it; or of the gate, and so being uncircumcised, might not eat of the passover, yet might worship at it; which latter seems to be the case, by what follows: for these were

among them, that came up to worship at the feast; of the passover, which was near at hand: these were among those, that went forth to meet Jesus, and that attended him to Jerusalem, who were come up out of the country to this feast; and these came along with them to worship at it, to offer their sacrifices, and join in prayer, though they might not eat of the passover.

r Nat. His. l. 4. c. 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Certain Greeks - In the original, “some Hellenists” - -the name commonly given to the Greeks. The same name was commonly used by the Jews to denote all the pagan nations, because most of those whom they knew spoke the Greek language, John 7:34; Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9-10; Romans 3:9. “Jews and Greeks.” The Syriac translates this place, “Some of the Gentiles.” There are three opinions in regard to these persons:

1.That they were Jews who spoke the Greek language, and dwelt in some of the Greek cities. It is known that Jews were scattered in Asia Minor, Greece, Macedonia, Egypt, etc., in all which places they had synagogues. See the notes at John 7:35,

2.That they were proselytes from the Greeks.

3.That they were still Gentiles and idolaters, who came to bring offerings to Yahweh to be deposited in the temple. Lightfoot has shown that the surrounding pagans were accustomed not only to send presents, sacrifices, and offerings to the temple, but that they also frequently attended the great feasts of the Jews. Hence, the outer court of the temple was called the court of the Gentiles. Which of these opinions is the correct one cannot be determined.



Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 12:20. Certain Greeks — There are three opinions concerning these:

1. That they were proselytes of the gate or covenant, who came up to worship the true God at this feast.

2. That they were real Jews, who lived in Grecian provinces, and spoke the Greek language.

3. That they were mere Gentiles, who never knew the true God: and hearing of the fame of the temple, or the miracles of our Lord, came to offer sacrifices to Jehovah, and to worship him according to the manner of the people of that land. This was not an unfrequent case: many of the Gentiles, Romans, and others, were in the habit of sending sacrifices to the temple at Jerusalem. Of these opinions the reader may choose; but the first seems best founded.


 
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