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John 4:46

ESV So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.
NIV Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.
NASB Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
CSB He went again to Cana of Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum.
NLT As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick.
KJV So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
NKJV So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.

What does John 4:46 mean?

Jesus left Jerusalem to avoid a conflict with the Pharisees. The time was not yet right for a confrontation, so He planned to return to Galilee. Instead of avoiding Samaria, as most Jews would, Jesus followed the will of God and passed through the town on Sychar (John 4:1–4). As a result, He was able to preach the gospel to a Samaritan woman (John 4:7–26), who brought many others to meet Christ (John 4:39). The disciples were given a living lesson in evangelism, and Jesus wound up staying there for a few days (John 4:35–38, 40).

Jesus' first miracle, and the first of seven recorded in the gospel of John, was turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:11). Capernaum is a town on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, about twenty-five miles east of Cana. For news to get to Capernaum, and someone to travel back, Jesus had to have been in Cana for the better part of a day, if not longer.

The Bible does not explain exactly who this man is. The Greek refers to him using only the word basilikos, which implies the idea of a nobleman, court officer, or other politically connected person. He might have been Jewish, or a Gentile, but the text does not specify. All we know is that his son is sick; coming to Jesus is more than likely not the first thing he's tried to do for his child.
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