Section 2:1–12

Jesus changed water into wine

In this section Jesus, his disciples, and his mother went to a wedding. The guests there drank all the wine that the host had provided. Jesus’ mother told Jesus that there was no more wine, and then she told the servants to obey Jesus.

Jesus told the servants to fill the water jars with water. When they did that, he told them to serve some to the man in charge of the wedding. The man tasted it and said that the bridegroom had saved the best wine until the end of the wedding. This miracle convinced Jesus’ disciples to believe in him.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Jesus did a miracle at a wedding
-or-
The wedding at Cana

Paragraph 2:1–2

This paragraph introduces the setting for the story of the wedding at Cana.

2:1a

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee: This sentence introduces the place and time of this event in the story of Jesus. Translate it in a way that is natural for beginning such a narrative.

third day: The Hebrew way of counting days was from sunset to sunset. A part of any day was counted as a whole day. So Jesus talked to Nathaniel on one day. John does not tell us what happened the next day. But on the day after that there was a wedding. Express this in the way most natural in your language. For example:

Two days later (Good News Translation)
-or-
The day after the next day

a wedding took place: A wedding is a celebration that marks the beginning of a new marriage. In Jewish culture at that time, the parents first promised that their son and daughter would marry one another. Then several weeks or months later the bridegroom brought his bride home. This was celebrated by a week of feasting, with many guests invited. This celebration is the wedding referred to here. Here are other ways to translate this expression:

a wedding was celebrated
-or-
a man and woman celebrated their marriage

Cana in Galilee: Cana was a small town in the province or area of Galilee. In some languages it may be more natural to include this information here. For example:

⌊the village of⌋ Cana in ⌊the province of⌋ Galilee
-or-
the town of Cana in Galilee (New Century Version)

2:1b

Jesus’ mother was there: Jesus’ mother Mary was present at the wedding celebration. She is an important person in this story.

General Comment on 2:1a–b

In some languages it may be natural to combine the information in 2:1a and b. For example:

Three days later Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at a wedding feast in the village of Cana in Galilee. (Contemporary English Version)

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