John 5:37

Green's Literal Translation

And the Father, the One sending Me, has Himself borne witness concerning Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor have you seen His form.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
And the Father who sent me has given proof about me himself. But you have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he looks like.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And the father him silfe which hath sent me beareth witnes of me. Ye have not hearde his voyce at eny tyme nor ye have sene his shape:

Hebrew Names Version
The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.

International Standard Version
Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his appearance,Deuteronomy 4:12; Matthew 3:17; 17:5; John 1:18; 6:27; 8:18; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 John 4:12;">[xr]

New American Standard Bible
"And the Father who sent Me, He has testified about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.

New Century Version
And the Father himself who sent me has given proof about me. You have never heard his voice or seen what he looks like.

Update Bible Version
And the Father that sent me, he has borne witness of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the Father himself who hath sent me, hath borne testimony concerning me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

English Standard Version
And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,

World English Bible
The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the Father who hath sent me, he hath testified of me: ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.

Weymouth's New Testament
And the Father who sent me, *He* has given testimony concerning me. None of you have ever either heard His voice or seen what He is like.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the fadir that sente me, he bar witnessyng of me. Nether ye herden euere his vois, nether ye seien his licnesse.

English Revised Version
And the Father which sent me, he hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.

Berean Standard Bible
And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form,

Contemporary English Version
The Father who sent me also speaks for me, but you have never heard his voice or seen him face to face.

Amplified Bible
"And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form [His majesty and greatness—what He is like].

American Standard Version
And the Father that sent me, he hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.

Bible in Basic English
And the Father himself who sent me has given witness about me. Not one of you has ever given ear to his voice; his form you have not seen.

Complete Jewish Bible
"In addition, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice or seen his shape;

Darby Translation
And the Father who has sent me himself has borne witness concerning me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor have seen his shape,

Etheridge Translation
And the Father who hath sent me, he testifieth of me: but his voice you have never heard, nor his appearance seen.

Murdock Translation
And the Father who sent me, he testifieth of me. Ye have not at any time heard his voice, nor have ye seen his visage.

King James Version (1611)
And the Father himselfe which hath sent me, hath borne witnesse of me. Ye haue neither heard his voyce at any time, nor seene his shape.

New Living Translation
And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face,

New Life Bible
The Father has told of Me and has sent Me. You have never heard His voice. You have never seen Him.

New Revised Standard
And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form,

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Father himselfe, which hath sent me, beareth witnesse of me. Ye haue not heard his voyce at any time, neither haue ye seene his shape.

George Lamsa Translation
And the Father who sent me has testified concerning me. But you have never heard his voice, nor seen his appearance.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And so, the Father who sent me, he, hath borne witness concerning me; Neither, a sound of him, at any time, have ye heard, nor, a form of him, have ye seen;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Father himself who hath sent me hath given testimony of me: neither have you heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

Revised Standard Version
And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness to me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the father hymselfe which hath sent me, hath borne witnesse of me. Ye haue not hearde his voyce at any tyme, nor seene his shape,

Good News Translation
And the Father, who sent me, also testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his face,

Christian Standard Bible®
The Father who sent me has himself testified

King James Version
And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

Lexham English Bible
And the Father who sent me, that one has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form.

Young's Literal Translation
`And the Father who sent me Himself hath testified concerning me; ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor His appearance have ye seen;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And ye father him self which hath sent me, beareth wytnesse of me. Ye haue nether herde his voyce at eny tyme, ner sene his shappe:

Mace New Testament (1729)
and the father who sent me, hath himself born witness of me. his voice you have never heard, nor ever seen his appearance,

New English Translation
And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time,

New King James Version
And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.

Simplified Cowboy Version
My words and my miracles are the testimony of God that I AM who I say I AM. Y'all have never seen God face to voice or heard his voice with your own ears,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.

Contextual Overview

³¹ If I witness concerning Myself, My witness is not true; ³² it is Another that witnesses concerning Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses concerning Me is true. ³³ You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ But I do not receive witness from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. ³⁵ That one was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to exult in his light for an hour. ³⁶ But I have the greater witness than John's, for the works which the Father has given Me, that I should finish them, the works which I do, themselves, witness concerning Me, that the Father has sent Me. ³⁷ And the Father, the One sending Me, has Himself borne witness concerning Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor have you seen His form. ³⁸ And you do not have His Word abiding in you, for the One whom that One sent, this One you do not believe. ³⁹ You search the Scriptures, for you think in them you have everlasting life. And they are the ones witnessing concerning Me. ⁴⁰ And you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

John 5:32

borne: John 6:27, John 8:18, Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5

Ye have: John 1:18, John 14:9, John 15:24, Exodus 20:19, Deuteronomy 4:12, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:16, 1 John 1:1, 1 John 1:2, 1 John 4:12, 1 John 4:20

Reciprocal: Judges 13:22 - we have Isaiah 26:10 - and will not Jeremiah 13:11 - but Zechariah 4:9 - and Matthew 21:32 - repented Mark 1:11 - there Mark 9:7 - This John 6:46 - any John 10:36 - sent John 17:3 - and Jesus Acts 15:8 - bare Hebrews 7:25 - he is 2 Peter 1:17 - God 1 John 4:14 - the Father

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Father himself, which hath sent me,.... Not only the works he gave him to do, and which he did, but he himself in person:

hath borne witness of me; not only in the writings of Moses, and the prophecies of the Old Testament, but by an audible articulate voice from heaven, at the time of Christ's baptism, Matthew 3:17; which was a full testimony of the sonship of Christ, and of the Father's well pleasure in him; and which was repeated at his transfiguration on the mount, Matthew 17:5; and the sonship of Christ is the grand thing which the three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, testify of, 1 John 5:7;

ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape; for the voices that were heard, and the forms that were seen under the Old Testament dispensation, from the first of this kind in Eden's garden, to the incarnation of Christ, which are ascribed to God, or to a divine person, were either by the ministry of angels, or they were voices uttered by the Son of God, or forms assumed by him, who often appeared in an human form, as a prelude of his incarnation; so that it was unusual, and wonderful, and remarkable, that the Father should bear a testimony to the sonship of Christ by a voice from heaven; and which therefore ought to be attended to, and received as a sufficient and valid testimony.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Father himself ...hath borne witness of me - This God had done,

1. By the miracles which Jesus had performed, and of which he was conversing.
2. At the baptism of Jesus, where he said, “This is my beloved Son,” Matthew 3:17.
3. In the prophecies of the Old Testament. It is not easy to say here to which of these he refers. Perhaps he has reference to all.

Ye have neither heard his voice - This difficult passage has been interpreted in various ways. The main design of it seems to be clear - to reprove the Jews for not believing the evidence that he was the Messiah. In doing this he says that they were indisposed to listen to the testimony of God. He affirmed that God had given sufficient evidence of his divine mission, but they had disregarded it. The first thing that he notices is that they had not heard his voice. The word “hear,” in this place, is to be understood in the sense of “obey” or listen to. See the notes at John 5:25. The voice of God means his commands or his declarations, however made; and the Saviour said that it had been the “characteristic” of the Jews that they had not listened to the voice or command of God. As this had been their general characteristic, it was not wonderful that they disregarded now his testimony in regard to the Messiah. The voice of God had been literally heard on the mount. See Deuteronomy 4:12; “Ye heard the voice of the words.”

At any time - This has been the uniform characteristic of the nation that they have disregarded and perverted the testimony of God, and it was as true of that generation as of their fathers.

Nor seen his shape - No man hath seen God at any time, John 1:18. But the word “shape,” here, does not mean “God himself.” It refers to the visible “manifestation” of himself; to the “appearance” which he assumed. It is applied in the Septuagint to his manifesting himself to Moses, Numbers 12:8; “With him will I speak mouth to mouth, ‘even apparently;’” in Greek, “in a form” or “shape” the word used here. It is applied to the visible symbol of God that appeared in the cloud and that rested on the tabernacle, Numbers 9:15-16. It is the same word that is applied to the Holy Spirit appearing in bodily shape like a dove, Luke 3:22. Jesus does not here deny that God had “appeared” in this manner, but he says they had not seen - that is, had not “paid attention to,” or “regarded,” the appearance of God. He had manifested himself, but they disregarded it, and, in particular, they had disregarded his manifestations in attestation of the Messiah. As the word “hear” means to obey, to listen to, so the word “see” means “to pay attention to, to regard” 2Jo 1:8; 1 John 3:6, and thus throws light on John 14:9; “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” “I am a ‘manifestation’ of God - God appearing in human flesh, as he appeared formerly in the symbol of the cloud; and he that ‘regards me,’ or attends to me, regards the Father.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 37. The Father himself - hath borne witness — That is, by his prophets.

Ye have neither heard his voice — I make these words, with Bp. Pearce, a parenthesis: the sense is-"Not that my Father ever appeared visibly or spake audibly to any of you; but he did it by the mouths of his prophets." Lately, however, he had added to their testimony his own voice from heaven, on the day of Christ's baptism. See Matthew 3:17.