John 12:32

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
As for me, if I am lifted up

King James Version (1611)
And I, if I be lifted vp from the earth, will draw all men vnto me.

King James Version
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

English Standard Version
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

New American Standard Bible
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

New Century Version
If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people toward me."

Amplified Bible
"And I, if and when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw all people to Myself [Gentiles, as well as Jews]."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

Legacy Standard Bible
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

Berean Standard Bible
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

Contemporary English Version
If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me."

Complete Jewish Bible
As for me, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself."

Darby Translation
and I, if I be lifted up out of the earth, will draw all to me.

Easy-to-Read Version
I will be lifted up from the earth. When that happens, I will draw all people to myself."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And I, if I were lift vp from the earth, will drawe all men vnto me.

George Lamsa Translation
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw every man to me.

Good News Translation
When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me."

Lexham English Bible
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

Literal Translation
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself.

American Standard Version
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.

Bible in Basic English
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will make all men come to me.

Hebrew Names Version
And I, if I am lifted up from the eretz, will draw all people to myself."

International Standard Version
As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself."John 3:14; 8:28; Romans 5:18; Hebrews 2:9;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And I, when I have been lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Murdock Translation
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I, yf I were lyft vp from the earth, wyll drawe all men vnto me.

English Revised Version
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.

World English Bible
I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me.

Weymouth's New Testament
And I-- if I am lifted up from the earth--will draw all men to me."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And if Y schal be enhaunsid fro the erthe, Y schal drawe alle thingis to my silf.

Update Bible Version
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I, if I shall be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] to me.

New English Translation
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

New King James Version
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

New Living Translation
And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself."

New Life Bible
And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will attract all people toward Me."

New Revised Standard
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, I, if I be lifted up out of the earth, will draw, all, unto myself.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.

Revised Standard Version
and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And I yf I were lifte vp from the erthe will drawe all men vnto me.

Young's Literal Translation
and I, if I may be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And I whan I am lift vp from the earth, wyl drawe all vnto me.

Mace New Testament (1729)
as for me, when I shall be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.

Simplified Cowboy Version
I will be lifted up for all the world to see, and I will gather the herd to me."

Contextual Overview

²⁷"Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this'? No, this is why I came in the first place. I'll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.'" A voice came out of the sky: "I have glorified it, and I'll glorify it again." ²⁹ The listening crowd said, "Thunder!" Others said, "An angel spoke to him!" ³⁰Jesus said, "The voice didn't come for me but for you. At this moment the world is in crisis. Now Satan, the ruler of this world, will be thrown out. And I, as I am lifted up from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me." He put it this way to show how he was going to be put to death. ³⁴ Voices from the crowd answered, "We heard from God's Law that the Messiah lasts forever. How can it be necessary, as you put it, that the Son of Man ‘be lifted up'? Who is this ‘Son of Man'?" ³⁵Jesus said, "For a brief time still, the light is among you. Walk by the light you have so darkness doesn't destroy you. If you walk in darkness, you don't know where you're going. As you have the light, believe in the light. Then the light will be within you, and shining through your lives. You'll be children of light." Jesus said all this, and then went into hiding. All these God-signs he had given them and they still didn't get it, still wouldn't trust him. This proved that the prophet Isaiah was right: God, who believed what we preached? Who recognized God's arm, outstretched and ready to act? First they wouldn't believe, then they couldn't—again, just as Isaiah said: Their eyes are blinded, their hearts are hardened, So that they wouldn't see with their eyes and perceive with their hearts, And turn to me, God, so I could heal them. Isaiah said these things after he got a glimpse of God's cascading brightness that would pour through the Messiah. On the other hand, a considerable number from the ranks of the leaders did believe. But because of the Pharisees, they didn't come out in the open with it. They were afraid of getting kicked out of the meeting place. When push came to shove they cared more for human approval than for God's glory. Jesus summed it all up when he cried out, "Whoever believes in me, believes not just in me but in the One who sent me. Whoever looks at me is looking, in fact, at the One who sent me. I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won't have to stay any longer in the dark. "If anyone hears what I am saying and doesn't take it seriously, I don't reject him. I didn't come to reject the world; I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I'm saying, is willfully choosing rejection. The Word, the Word-made-flesh that I have spoken and that I am, that Word and no other is the last word. I'm not making any of this up on my own. The Father who sent me gave me orders, told me what to say and how to say it. And I know exactly what his command produces: real and eternal life. That's all I have to say. What the Father told me, I tell you."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

if: John 3:14, John 8:28, John 19:17, Deuteronomy 21:22, Deuteronomy 21:23, 2 Samuel 18:9, Psalms 22:16-18, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 3:18

will: John 6:44, Song of Solomon 1:4, Hosea 11:4

all men: John 1:7, Isaiah 49:6, Romans 5:17-19, 1 Timothy 2:6, Hebrews 2:9, 1 John 2:2, Revelation 5:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 49:10 - the gathering Numbers 21:9 - A serpent of Psalms 65:2 - unto thee Isaiah 11:10 - which shall Isaiah 45:24 - even Isaiah 60:3 - the Gentiles Daniel 9:26 - Messiah Hosea 2:14 - I will John 11:52 - not John 12:24 - if John 18:32 - the saying Acts 10:11 - and a Romans 5:18 - all men Romans 11:32 - concluded them all Colossians 1:13 - the power Colossians 2:15 - triumphing Hebrews 12:2 - for

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,.... The death of Christ is here signified by his being "lifted up from the earth", in allusion to the lifting up of the brazen serpent on the pole; and shows, that his death would not be natural, but violent, and would be public, and not private; and fitly expresses his mediation between God, and men, being lifted up between the heavens and the earth; and points out the death of the cross, as is intimated in the next verse: and the "if" here does not suppose that his death, and the manner of it, were uncertain, for it was determined by God, agreed to by himself, predicted in the Scriptures, signified by types, and foretold by himself, and was necessary for the salvation of his people; but it designs the time of his drawing persons to himself, which is afterwards expressed, and may be rendered, "when I am lifted up", as it is by the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions: now when this will be, Christ says,

I will draw all men to me; which is not to be understood of the concourse of people about him, when on the cross, some for him, and others against him, some to bewail him, and others to reproach him; but rather of the gathering of the elect to him, and in him, as their head and representative, when he was crucified for them; or of the collection of them, through the ministry of the apostles, and of their being brought to believe on him for eternal life and salvation: and this drawing of them to him, in consequence of his death, supposes distance from him, want of power, and will, to came to him, and the efficacious grace of God to bring them, though without any force and compulsion; and this is to be understood not of every individual of human nature; for all are not drawn to Christ, or enabled to come to him, and believe in him. There were many of the Jews who would not, and did not come to him for life; and who instead of being drawn to him in this sense, when lifted up on the cross, vilified and reproached him; moreover, in the preceding verse, "a world" is spoken of, whose judgment, or condemnation, was now come; and besides, there was at this time a multitude of souls in hell, who could not, nor never will be, drawn to Christ; and a greater number still there will be at the last day, who, instead of drawing to him in this gracious way and manner, will be bid to depart from him, as having been workers of iniquity. Christ died indeed for all men who are drawn unto him; but this is not true of all men, that are, were, or shall be in the world. Add to this, that the word "men" is not in the text, it is only παντας, "all": Beza's most ancient copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version read παντα, "all things"; and by "all" are meant, all the elect of God, all the children of God, "that were scattered abroad"; the Persic version reads, "I will draw my friends to me"; it designs some of all sorts of men, of every state, condition, age, sex, and nation, Gentiles as well as Jews, and especially the former; which agrees with the ancient prophecy, Genesis 49:10, and with the context, and the occasion of the words, which was the desire of the Greeks, that were come to the feast, to see Jesus; and which was a specimen of the large numbers of them, that should be drawn to Christ, through the preaching of the Gospel, after his death: the Jews say, that in the time to come, or in the days of the Messiah, all the proselytes shall be גרורים, "drawn", shall freely become proselytes e. The allusion here, is to the setting up of a standard or ensign, to gather persons together. Christ's cross is the standard, his love is the banner, and he himself is the ensign, which draw souls to himself, and engage them to enlist themselves under him, and become his volunteers in the day his power; see

Isaiah 11:10.

e T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 24. 1. & Gloss. in ib.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Be lifted up - See John 3:14; John 8:28.

Will draw - John 6:44. The same word is used in both places.

All men - I will incline all kinds of men; or will make the way open by the cross, so that all men may come. I will provide a way which shall present a strong motive or inducement - the strongest that can be presented to all men to come to me.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 32. I - will draw all men unto me. — After I shall have died and risen again, by the preaching of my word and the influence of my Spirit, I shall attract and illuminate both Jews and Gentiles. It was one of the peculiar characteristics of the Messiah, that unto him should the gathering of the people be, Genesis 49:10. And probably our Lord refers to the prophecy, Isaiah 11:10, which peculiarly belonged to the Gentiles: "There shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ENSIGN of the people, to it shall the GENTILES seek, and his rest shall be glorious." There is an allusion here to the ensigns or colours of commanders of regiments, elevated on high places, on long poles, that the people might see where the pavilion of their general was, and so flock to his standard.

Instead of παντας, the Codex Bezae, another, several versions, and many of the fathers, read παντα, all men, or all things: so the Anglo-Saxon, [A.S.], I will draw all things to myself. But παντα may be here the accusative singular, and signify all men.

The ancients fabled that Jupiter had a chain of gold, which he could at any time let down from heaven, and by it draw the earth and all its inhabitants to himself. See a fine passage to this effect in Homer, Iliad viii. ver. 18-27.

Ειδ' αγε, πειρησασθε θεοι, ἱνα ειδετε παντες,

Σειρην χρυσειην εξ ουρανοθεν κρεμασαντες·

Παντες δ' εξαπτεσθε θεοι, πασαι τε θεαιναι. κ. τ. λ.

"Now prove me: let ye down the golden chain

From heaven, and pull at its inferior links,

Both goddesses and gods: but me your king,

Supreme in wisdom, ye shall never draw

To earth from heaven, strive with me as ye may.

But I, if willing to exert my power,

The earth itself, itself the sea, and you,

Will lift with ease together, and will wind

The chain around the spiry summit sharp

Of the Olympian, that all things upheaved

Shall hang in the mid heaven. So much am I,

Alone, superior both to gods and men.

COWPER.

By this chain the poets pointed out the union between heaven and earth; or, in other words, the government of the universe by the extensive chain of causes and effects. It was termed golden, to point out, not only the beneficence of the Divine Providence, but also that infinite philanthropy of God by which he influences and by which he attracts all mankind to himself. It was possibly in allusion to this that our Lord spoke the above words. Should it be objected that it is inconsistent with the gravity of the subject, and the dignity of our Lord, to allude to the fable of a heathen poet, I answer:

1. The moral is excellent, and, applied to this purpose, expresses beautifully our Lord's gracious design in dying for the world, viz. That men might be united to himself, and drawn up into heaven.

2. It is no more inconsistent with the gravity of the subject, and his dignity, for our blessed Lord to allude to Homer, than it was for St. Paul to quote Aratus and Cleanthes, Acts 17:28, and Epimenides, Titus 1:12; for he spoke by the same Spirit.

So justice was sometimes represented under the emblem of a golden chain, and in some cases such a chain was constructed, one end attached to the emperor's apartment, and the other hanging within reach; that if any person were oppressed he might come and lay hold on the chain, and by shaking it give the king notice that he was oppressed, and thus claim protection from the fountain of justice and power. In the Jehangeer Nameh, a curious account of this kind is given, which is as follows. The first order which Jehangeer issued on his accession to the throne (which was A.H. 1014, answering to A.D. 1605) was for the construction of the GOLDEN CHAIN of Justice. It was made of pure gold, and measured thirty yards in length, consisting of sixty links, and weighing, in the whole, four Hindostany maunds (about four hundred pounds avoirdupois.) One end of the chain was suspended from the royal bastion of the fortress of Agra, and the other fastened in the ground near the side of the river. The intention of this was, that if the officers of the courts of law were partial in their decisions, or dilatory in the administration of justice, the injured parties might come themselves to this chain, and, making a noise by shaking the links of it, give notice that they were waiting to represent their grievances to his majesty. Hist. of Hindostan, p. 96, Calcutta, 1788. Such a communication, prayer and faith establish between the most just and most merciful GOD, and the wretched and oppressed children of men. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come! Psalms 65:2.