³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,”^(A) said Jesus, “then you would^[a] do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me,^(B) a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.^(C) Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”^(D)

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”^(E)

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,^(F) for I have come here from God.^(G) I have not come on my own;^(H) God sent me.^{(I) 43} Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil,^(J) and you want to carry out your father’s desires.^(K) He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.^{(L) 45} Yet because I tell the truth,^(M) you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.^(N) The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”