The Wedding at Cana

"On the third day" renders a simple time marker; the Greek phrase carries no article in English ("the third day" counting inclusively from the events just narrated), and the rendering keeps the ordinary idiom rather than a stiffer "and on the day, the third one." The word rendered "wedding" (gamos) can mean the marriage itself or, as here, the multi-day wedding celebration; "wedding feast" or "marriage banquet" would also be defensible, but "wedding" reads more naturally aloud and the feast is made explicit by the next verse. "Cana in Galilee" translates a phrase literally reading "Cana of Galilee," which distinguishes this village from other places of the same name; "in Galilee" is clearer for the ear. The clause "and Jesus' mother was there" keeps the Greek order, which places her presence first and only later mentions Jesus' own arrival (verse 2); the possessive "Jesus' mother" preserves the fact that she is never named in this Gospel.

The time phrase is built with a repeated article (literally "on the day, the third"), a common attributive construction that is fully equivalent to the simpler "on the third day." The verb translated "there was" (egeneto) means "came about, took place," so the sense is "a wedding took place." Note that the mother of Jesus is introduced with an imperfect "was" ("was there"), describing an ongoing situation into which Jesus and his disciples then arrive.

Some manuscripts and editions place the ordinal before the noun ("on the third day") while others use the repeated-article form ("on the day, the third"). The variation is purely stylistic word order and does not affect the meaning; no translation difference results.

A Galilean village wedding was a public, week-long celebration involving the whole community, with the groom's family responsible for hospitality; running short of provisions would bring lasting shame. Wine was essential to such festivities, and guests were formally invited (see verse 2). The location of Cana is debated among two or three sites in lower Galilee north of Nazareth; it is mentioned in the New Testament only by this Gospel, which also notes it as the home village of one of the disciples.

Counted from the sequence of days in the preceding chapter, this "third day" completes a week-like series that many readers have understood as echoing the days of creation, introducing Jesus' ministry as the beginning of a new creation. The phrase also anticipates the language of resurrection "on the third day," and interpreters have long heard here a foreshadowing of the glory revealed at the empty tomb. The presence of Jesus' mother, unnamed throughout this Gospel and appearing again only at the cross, frames Jesus' public work from its first sign to its completion.

The wedding at Cana has long been read in the season following Epiphany, where it stands alongside the visit of the magi and the baptism of Jesus as one of the great manifestations of Christ's glory. The passage is also widely used in marriage services as a sign of Christ's blessing on the union of husband and wife.

The Greek verb is a simple aorist passive, ἐκλήθη, literally "was invited" or even "was called." English narrative logic asks for a pluperfect here — "had been invited" — because the invitation obviously preceded the wedding day described in verse 1; a flat past tense ("was also invited") can sound as if the invitation arrived mid-feast. The connective δὲ καί ("and also," "moreover") joins Jesus and his followers to his mother, already mentioned; the rendering carries this with the single word "also." The clause order has been reshaped so the sentence opens on "Jesus," which reads more smoothly aloud than the Greek order ("There had also been invited Jesus..."). γάμος, translated "the wedding," denotes not the ceremony narrowly but the whole marriage celebration, so "wedding feast" or "wedding banquet" are equally defensible.

καλέω covers both "call" and "invite"; the participle and passive forms of this verb are the standard idiom for issuing or receiving an invitation to a meal or banquet. The plural γάμοι and the singular γάμος are used almost interchangeably for a wedding celebration. Note that the disciples appear here without introduction — the narrative assumes the small group gathered in the preceding chapter, and αὐτοῦ ("his") ties them to Jesus as a recognized following already.

Village weddings in Galilee were community events that could stretch over several days, sometimes a full week, with the groom's family responsible for hospitality throughout. Guests often arrived in groups, and an unexpected party of extra men could strain the provisions — a detail that quietly prepares for the shortage in the next verse. Failing to provide adequately for guests brought real public shame on a household, so the crisis that follows is social, not merely practical.

That Jesus and his disciples accept an invitation to a village celebration has long been read as a divine endorsement of ordinary human joy and of marriage itself; early commentators appealed to this verse against those who despised marriage and feasting. Placing the first sign at a banquet also evokes the prophetic picture of the age to come as a wedding feast with abundant wine, so the setting is not incidental scenery but part of the sign's meaning.

The wording of this verse is remarkably stable across the manuscript tradition; the only variation among witnesses concerns minor matters of word order and the presence of the connective particles, none of which affects the sense.

This passage is a traditional reading at marriage services and, in many calendars, belongs to the season following Epiphany, where the Cana miracle stands alongside the baptism of Jesus and the visit of the magi as a manifestation of his glory.

The Greek opens with a genitive absolute, «the wine having run short», which the translation renders as a simple temporal clause, «When the wine ran out», for smoother oral flow. Mary's words are literally «They have no wine» — the Greek has no word for «more». The addition of «no more» makes explicit what the preceding clause already establishes (the supply has failed) and keeps the sentence from sounding abrupt when read aloud. The possessive «Jesus' mother» follows the Greek, which identifies her by relationship rather than by name. Note also that Greek fronts the object («Wine they do not have»), giving the noun emphasis; English word order cannot easily reproduce this, so the emphasis is carried instead by the flat, understated finality of the sentence.

The verb ὑστερέω (hystereō) means to fall short, be lacking, or come too late — it is used elsewhere of falling short of God's glory or of being in need. Applied to the wine it suggests not merely depletion but failure, a shortfall in what should have been supplied. The participle stands in the genitive absolute, a construction that sets the scene without grammatically attaching to the main clause. Mary's statement is an indicative, not an imperative or a question: she reports a fact and leaves the response entirely to Jesus, a restrained form of request common in polite Semitic and Greek speech.

Jewish wedding celebrations in the first century could last as long as a week, with the groom's family responsible for hospitality throughout. Wine was indispensable to the festivities, and running out was a grave social embarrassment that could shame the family for years; some sources suggest the slighted guests could even bring legal claim against a host who failed in his duty. That Jesus' mother notices the shortage and feels responsible to act may indicate she was more than an ordinary guest — perhaps a relative of the family or someone helping to oversee the serving.

Wine in abundance is a recurring prophetic image of the age of salvation: mountains dripping with new wine, a feast of rich food and well-aged wine for all peoples. The failure of the wedding wine therefore carries symbolic weight in this Gospel — the old provision is exhausted, and what Jesus supplies will be both better and overflowing. Mary's simple statement of need has long been read as a model of intercession, though interpreters differ sharply over how much doctrinal weight it can bear: some see in it a pattern of confident appeal to Christ, while others stress that Jesus' reply in the next verse deliberately distances his mission from family claims.

A few early witnesses, including the original hand of one major fourth-century codex and several Old Latin and Syriac manuscripts, expand the opening: «And they had no wine, because the wine of the wedding feast had been used up. Then Jesus' mother says to him...» This longer form is generally judged a secondary clarification, smoothing the compressed genitive absolute of the shorter and better-attested text followed here.

The wedding at Cana is traditionally read in the season after Epiphany, where it stands alongside the visit of the magi and the baptism of Jesus as one of three manifestations of Christ's glory. The passage is also among the most frequently chosen readings at Christian marriage services, where Jesus' presence at the feast is taken as a blessing upon marriage itself.

The Greek reads literally "What to me and to you, woman?" — a Semitic idiom (compare the Hebrew phrase behind expressions in Judges 11:12 and 1 Kings 17:18) that signals a distance or difference of concern between two parties. Rendered here as "what does this have to do with you and me?" for natural oral flow. The tone can range from sharp rebuke ("what do you want with me?") to a gentler distinguishing of roles; the rendering chosen keeps the ambiguity rather than resolving it. The address "woman" is placed first in English so the sentence lands cleanly when read aloud, though it stands second in the Greek. "My hour has not yet come" translates a simple present verb (hēkei, "is here, has arrived") — literally "my hour is not yet here."

Gynai is the vocative of gynē, "woman." In Greek usage it was a respectful, even affectionate form of address, not harsh — Jesus uses it to the Samaritan woman (4:21), to Mary Magdalene at the tomb (20:15), and to his mother from the cross (19:26). What is unusual is that a son addresses his mother this way rather than calling her "mother." The phrase ti emoi kai soi is a calque of Hebrew mah-lî wālāk, literally "what to me and to you," a construction Greek would not have produced on its own. Hōra ("hour") in this Gospel rarely means a unit of sixty minutes; it is a term of appointed time.

"My hour" becomes a thread running through this Gospel: the hour that has not yet come (7:30; 8:20) and finally the hour that has come — the hour of glorification through the cross (12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1). By setting this word at the first sign, the narrative ties the wine of Cana to the cup Jesus will drink. Interpreters differ on whether Jesus is refusing his mother's implied request, deferring it, or simply reframing it: he does act, but on his own initiative and timing rather than by family obligation. Many read the verse as marking the shift from Jesus' place in a household to his place under the Father's schedule alone. Readers in traditions with a strong Marian devotion often emphasize that Mary's confidence is vindicated in the next verse, while others stress the gentle distancing here.

Wine was essential to a Jewish wedding feast, which could run for a full week; running out would shame the bridegroom's family before the whole village and was remembered long afterward. Hospitality obligations of this kind were serious social debts. A relative or close family friend such as Mary could reasonably be involved in managing the provisions, which explains why she notices the shortage and speaks to the servants in the next verse.

Some manuscripts omit the opening "and" (kai) before "Jesus said to her," and the word order of the reply varies slightly in a few witnesses. Neither variation affects the sense, and the connective is left untranslated here since English narrative reads more smoothly without it.

The Cana account is a traditional reading in the season following Epiphany, where the changing of water into wine stands alongside the baptism of Jesus and the visit of the magi as a manifestation of his glory. It is also a frequent choice for the celebration of marriage.

The Greek verb is present tense ("says"), a Greek storytelling device that keeps narration vivid; English narrative rhythm favors the past tense, so it is rendered "said." Word for word the command runs, "Whatever he may say to you, do," with the object placed first for emphasis; English reads more naturally as "Do whatever he tells you." The verb translated "tells" is the ordinary verb for speaking, and "whatever" preserves the open-ended, unconditional sweep of the Greek indefinite construction — no limits are set on what he might ask. Those addressed could also be called "attendants" or "table waiters"; "servants" is the plainest, most readable choice for oral delivery.

The indefinite relative clause with the particle ἄν and the subjunctive means literally "whatever he might say," leaving the content of the future instruction entirely undefined. The imperative ποιήσατε is aorist — a crisp call to concrete action rather than an ongoing habit. The word for the servants, διάκονοι, originally described one who waits at table; it is not the term for household slaves, and this same word later became the church title "deacon."

Manuscripts divide over whether to write the opening words as two words ("whatever") or as one word (which would read "that"), and some copies substitute the fuller particle ἐάν for ἄν. The sense of the sentence is unaffected in either case; the reading "whatever he tells you" is well supported.

Village weddings could last up to a week, with the bridegroom's family responsible for hospitality; to run out of wine was a lasting social disgrace. The servants would have been drawn from the household and hired help, charged with drawing water, mixing wine, and serving the guests — which is why the mother of Jesus speaks directly to them rather than to the host.

These are the last recorded words of Jesus' mother in the Gospels, and they point away from herself toward her son. Though he has just said his hour has not yet come, she neither withdraws nor presses further, but places the servants at his disposal — read by many as a model of trust that leaves the outcome to him. The wording closely echoes Pharaoh's instruction concerning Joseph in Genesis, "Go to Joseph; do what he tells you," and readers have long heard in it a broader summons to obedient discipleship.