---
title: "John 12 – Catholic Bible (CPDV) & Latin Vulgate · Bless"
url: https://blessbible.app/bible/john/12/
description: "The anointing of Christ's feet. His riding into Jerusalem upon an ass. A voice… John 12 in the Catholic Public Domain Version, with the Latin Vulgate."
---

# John 12

John 12 is chapter 12 of 21 in the Gospel of John. Here are all 50 verses in the Catholic Public Domain Version, with the Latin of the Clementine Vulgate beside them.

> The anointing of Christ's feet. His riding into Jerusalem upon an ass. A voice from heaven.
>
> — Bp. Richard Challoner, chapter summary

## John 12 (Catholic Public Domain Version)

1. Then six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethania, where Lazarus had died, whom Jesus raised up.
2. And they made a dinner for him there. And Martha was ministering. And truly, Lazarus was one of those who were sitting at table with him.
3. And then Mary took twelve ounces of pure spikenard ointment, very precious, and she anointed the feet of Jesus, and she wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was soon to betray him, said,
5. “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the needy?”
6. Now he said this, not out of concern for the needy, but because he was a thief and, since he held the purse, he used to carry what was put into it.
7. But Jesus said: “Permit her, so that she may keep it against the day of my burial.
8. For the poor, you have with you always. But me, you do always not have.”
9. Now a great multitude of the Jews knew that he was in that place, and so they came, not so much because of Jesus, but so that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10. And the leaders of the priests planned to put Lazarus to death also.
11. For many of the Jews, because of him, were going away and were believing in Jesus.
12. Then, on the next day, the great crowd that had come to the feast day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13. took branches of palm trees, and they went ahead to meet him. And they were crying out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who arrives in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!”
14. And Jesus found a small donkey, and he sat upon it, just as it is written:
15. “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your king arrives, sitting on the colt of a donkey.”
16. At first, his disciples did not realize these things. But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that these things happened to him.
17. And so the crowd that had been with him, when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead, offered testimony.
18. Because of this, too, the crowd went out to meet him. For they heard that he had accomplished this sign.
19. Therefore, the Pharisees said among themselves: “Do you see that we are accomplishing nothing? Behold, the entire world has gone after him.”
20. Now there were certain Gentiles among those who went up so that they might worship on the feast day.
21. Therefore, these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and they petitioned him, saying: “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22. Philip went and told Andrew. Next, Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23. But Jesus answered them by saying: “The hour arrives when the Son of man shall be glorified.
24. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
25. it remains alone. But if it dies, it yields much fruit. Whoever loves his life, will lose it. And whoever hates his life in this world, preserves it unto eternal life.
26. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there too my minister shall be. If anyone has served me, my Father will honor him.
27. Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say? Father, save me from this hour? But it is for this reason that I came to this hour.
28. Father, glorify your name!” And then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
29. Therefore, the crowd, which was standing near and had heard it, said that it was like thunder. Others were saying, “An Angel was speaking with him.”
30. Jesus responded and said: “This voice came, not for my sake, but for your sakes.
31. Now is the judgment of the world. Now will the prince of this world be cast out.
32. And when I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself.”
33. (Now he said this, signifying what kind of death he would die.)
34. The crowd answered him: “We have heard, from the law, that the Christ remains forever. And so how can you say, ‘The Son of man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of man?”
35. Therefore, Jesus said to them: “For a brief time, the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. But whoever walks in darkness does not know where is he going.
36. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may be sons of the Light.” Jesus spoke these things, and then he went away and hid himself from them.
37. And although he had done such great signs in their presence, they did not believe in him,
38. so that the word of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, which says: “Lord, who has believed in our hearing? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39. Because of this, they were not able to believe, for Isaiah said again:
40. “He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, so that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and be converted: and then I would heal them.”
41. These things Isaiah said, when he saw his glory and was speaking about him.
42. Yet truly, many of the leaders also believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, so that they would not be cast out of the synagogue.
43. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
44. But Jesus cried out and said: “Whoever believes in me, does not believe in me, but in him who sent me.
45. And whoever sees me, sees him who sent me.
46. I have arrived as a light to the world, so that all who believe in me might not remain in darkness.
47. And if anyone has heard my words and not kept them, I do not judge him. For I did not come so that I may judge the world, but so that I may save the world.
48. Whoever despises me and does not accept my words has one who judges him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him on the last day.
49. For I am not speaking from myself, but from the Father who sent me. He gave a commandment to me as to what I should say and how I should speak.
50. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things that I speak, just as the Father has said to me, so also do I speak.”

## John 12 in Latin (Clementine Vulgate, 1592)

1. Jesus ergo ante sex dies Paschæ venit Bethaniam, ubi Lazarus fuerat mortuus, quem suscitavit Jesus.
2. Fecerunt autem ei cœnam ibi, et Martha ministrabat, Lazarus vero unus erat ex discumbentibus cum eo.
3. Maria ergo accepit libram unguenti nardi pistici pretiosi, et unxit pedes Jesu, et extersit pedes ejus capillis suis: et domus impleta est ex odore unguenti.
4. Dixit ergo unus ex discipulis ejus, Judas Iscariotes, qui erat eum traditurus:
5. Quare hoc unguentum non veniit trecentis denariis, et datum est egenis?
6. Dixit autem hoc, non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum, sed quia fur erat, et loculos habens, ea quæ mittebantur, portabat.
7. Dixit ergo Jesus: Sinite illam ut in diem sepulturæ meæ servet illud.
8. Pauperes enim semper habetis vobiscum: me autem non semper habetis.
9. Cognovit ergo turba multa ex Judæis quia illic est, et venerunt, non propter Jesum tantum, sed ut Lazarum viderent, quem suscitavit a mortuis.
10. Cogitaverunt autem principes sacerdotum ut et Lazarum interficerent:
11. quia multi propter illum abibant ex Judæis, et credebant in Jesum.
12. In crastinum autem, turba multa quæ venerat ad diem festum, cum audissent quia venit Jesus Jerosolymam,
13. acceperunt ramos palmarum, et processerunt obviam ei, et clamabant: Hosanna, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, rex Israël.
14. Et invenit Jesus asellum, et sedit super eum, sicut scriptum est:
15. Noli timere, filia Sion: ecce rex tuus venit sedens super pullum asinæ.
16. Hæc non cognoverunt discipuli ejus primum: sed quando glorificatus est Jesus, tunc recordati sunt quia hæc erant scripta de eo, et hæc fecerunt ei.
17. Testimonium ergo perhibebat turba, quæ erat cum eo quando Lazarum vocavit de monumento, et suscitavit eum a mortuis.
18. Propterea et obviam venit ei turba: quia audierunt fecisse hoc signum.
19. Pharisæi ergo dixerunt ad semetipsos: Videtis quia nihil proficimus? ecce mundus totus post eum abiit.
20. Erant autem quidam gentiles, ex his qui ascenderant ut adorarent in die festo.
21. Hi ergo accesserunt ad Philippum, qui erat a Bethsaida Galilææ, et rogabant eum, dicentes: Domine, volumus Jesum videre.
22. Venit Philippus, et dicit Andreæ; Andreas rursum et Philippus dixerunt Jesu.
23. Jesus autem respondit eis, dicens: Venit hora, ut clarificetur Filius hominis.
24. Amen, amen dico vobis, nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram, mortuum fuerit,
25. ipsum solum manet: si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum affert. Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam; et qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam æternam custodit eam.
26. Si quis mihi ministrat, me sequatur, et ubi sum ego, illic et minister meus erit. Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus.
27. Nunc anima mea turbata est. Et quid dicam? Pater, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed propterea veni in horam hanc:
28. Pater, clarifica nomen tuum. Venit ergo vox de cælo: Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo.
29. Turba ergo, quæ stabat, et audierat, dicebat tonitruum esse factum. Alii dicebant: Angelus ei locutus est.
30. Respondit Jesus, et dixit: Non propter me hæc vox venit, sed propter vos.
31. Nunc judicium est mundi: nunc princeps hujus mundi ejicietur foras.
32. Et ego, si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum.
33. (Hoc autem dicebat, significans qua morte esset moriturus.)
34. Respondit ei turba: Nos audivimus ex lege, quia Christus manet in æternum: et quomodo tu dicis: Oportet exaltari Filium hominis? quis est iste Filius hominis?
35. Dixit ergo eis Jesus: Adhuc modicum, lumen in vobis est. Ambulate dum lucem habetis, ut non vos tenebræ comprehendant; et qui ambulat in tenebris, nescit quo vadat.
36. Dum lucem habetis, credite in lucem, ut filii lucis sitis. Hæc locutus est Jesus, et abiit et abscondit se ab eis.
37. Cum autem tanta signa fecisset coram eis, non credebant in eum;
38. ut sermo Isaiæ prophetæ impleretur, quem dixit: Domine, quis credidit auditui nostro? et brachium Domini cui revelatum est?
39. Propterea non poterant credere, quia iterum dixit Isaias:
40. Excæcavit oculos eorum, et induravit cor eorum ut non videant oculis, et non intelligant corde, et convertantur, et sanem eos.
41. Hæc dixit Isaias, quando vidit gloriam ejus, et locutus est de eo.
42. Verumtamen et ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum: sed propter pharisæos non confitebantur, ut e synagoga non ejicerentur.
43. Dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei.
44. Jesus autem clamavit, et dixit: Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me.
45. Et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me.
46. Ego lux in mundum veni, ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat.
47. Et si quis audierit verba mea, et non custodierit, ego non judico eum; non enim veni ut judicem mundum, sed ut salvificem mundum.
48. Qui spernit me et non accipit verba mea, habet qui judicet eum. Sermo quem locutus sum, ille judicabit eum in novissimo die.
49. Quia ego ex meipso non sum locutus, sed qui misit me, Pater, ipse mihi mandatum dedit quid dicam et quid loquar.
50. Et scio quia mandatum ejus vita æterna est: quæ ergo ego loquor, sicut dixit mihi Pater, sic loquor.

## Catechism of the Catholic Church

Paragraph numbers and the Catechism's own section headings (never quoted); text at vatican.va.
- CCC ¶ 2449: Love For the Poor ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 2731: Humble Vigilance of Heart ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 363: Man ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 607: Jesus Died Crucified ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- cf. CCC ¶ 434: Jesus ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 550: The Mysteries of Christ's Life ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 2853: "And Lead Us not into Temptation" ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 160: The Characteristics of Faith ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 542: The Mysteries of Christ's Life ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 662: "He Ascended Into Heaven and Is Seated At the Right Hand of the Father" ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 1428: The Conversion of the Baptized ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 2795: "Who Art in Heaven" ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- cf. CCC ¶ 786: The Church - People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 582: Jesus and Israel ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 712: God's Spirit and Word in the Time of the Promises ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 595: Jesus Died Crucified ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 2466: Living in the Truth ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- CCC ¶ 679: To Judge the Living and the Dead ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))
- cf. CCC ¶ 1039: The Last Judgment ([vatican.va index](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM))

## The saints

- “I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.” — St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, 4, c. 107 (On this theme: verse 24)

## Bishop Challoner's notes

Bp. Richard Challoner, notes on the Douay-Rheims (1750); they comment on its older wording.
- Verse 8: Viz., in a visible manner, as when conversant here on earth; and as we have the poor, whom we may daily assist and relieve.
- Verse 39: Because they would not, saith St. Augustine, Tract. 33, in Joan. See the annotation, St. Mark 4. 12.

## Read at Mass (US)

- Sun, Mar 14, 2027: Fifth Sunday of Lent — Verse before the Gospel, John 12:26; Gospel, John 12:20-33
- Mon, Mar 22, 2027: Monday of Holy Week — Gospel, John 12:1-11
- Wed, Apr 21, 2027: Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter — Gospel, John 12:44-50
- Sun, Jun 6, 2027 (computed): Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time — Alleluia, John 12:31b-32

6 more dates through December 31, 2028, in the [liturgical calendar](https://blessbible.app/calendar/).

Citations as published in the USCCB liturgical calendar (principal Mass, first option). Dates after May 31, 2027 are computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish.

Source: Catholic Public Domain Version (Ronald L. Conte Jr., 2009), public domain; Latin: Clementine Vulgate (1592).