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John 8
The Message
John 8
The Message
To Throw the Stone
8 1-2 Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them.
3-6 The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
6-8 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.
9-10 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”
11 “No one, Master.”
“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”]
Note: John 7:53–8:11 [the portion in brackets] is not found in the earliest handwritten copies.
You’re Missing God in All This
12 Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”
13 The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.”
14-18 Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I’ve come from and where I go next. You don’t know where I’m from or where I’m headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. That fulfills the conditions set down in God’s Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me.”
19 They said, “Where is this so-called Father of yours?”
Jesus said, “You’re looking right at me and you don’t see me. How do you expect to see the Father? If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father.”
20 He gave this speech in the Treasury while teaching in the Temple. No one arrested him because his time wasn’t yet up.
21 Then he went over the same ground again. “I’m leaving and you are going to look for me, but you’re missing God in this and are headed for a dead end. There is no way you can come with me.”
22 The Jews said, “So, is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by ‘You can’t come with me’?”
23-24 Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You’re at a dead end. If you won’t believe I am who I say I am, you’re at the dead end of sins. You’re missing God in your lives.”
25-26 They said to him, “Just who are you anyway?”
Jesus said, “What I’ve said from the start. I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don’t accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning—not me but the One who sent me.”
27-29 They still didn’t get it, didn’t realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. “When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am—that I’m not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn’t abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him.”
30 When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe.
If the Son Sets You Free
31-32 Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.”
33 Surprised, they said, “But we’re descendants of Abraham. We’ve never been slaves to anyone. How can you say, ‘The truth will free you’?”
34-38 Jesus said, “I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. A slave can’t come and go at will. The Son, though, has an established position, the run of the house. So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through. I know you are Abraham’s descendants. But I also know that you are trying to kill me because my message hasn’t yet penetrated your thick skulls. I’m talking about things I have seen while keeping company with the Father, and you just go on doing what you have heard from your father.”
39-41 They were indignant. “Our father is Abraham!”
Jesus said, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would have been doing the things Abraham did. And yet here you are trying to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth he got straight from God! Abraham never did that sort of thing. You persist in repeating the works of your father.”
They said, “We’re not bastards. We have a legitimate father: the one and only God.”
42-47 “If God were your father,” said Jesus, “you would love me, for I came from God and arrived here. I didn’t come on my own. He sent me. Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”
I Am Who I Am
48 The Jews then said, “That settles it. We were right all along when we called you a Samaritan and said you were crazy—demon-possessed!”
49-51 Jesus said, “I’m not crazy. I simply honor my Father, while you dishonor me. I am not trying to get anything for myself. God intends something gloriously grand here and is making the decisions that will bring it about. I say this with absolute confidence. If you practice what I’m telling you, you’ll never have to look death in the face.”
52-53 At this point the Jews said, “Now we know you’re crazy. Abraham died. The prophets died. And you show up saying, ‘If you practice what I’m telling you, you’ll never have to face death, not even a taste.’ Are you greater than Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you think you are!”
54-56 Jesus said, “If I were striving to get all the attention, it wouldn’t amount to anything. But my Father, the same One you say is your Father, put me here at this time and place of splendor. You haven’t recognized him in this. But I have. If I, in false modesty, said I didn’t know what was going on, I would be as much of a liar as you are. But I do know, and I am doing what he says. Abraham—your ‘father’—with elated faith looked down the corridors of history and saw my day coming. He saw it and cheered.”
57 The Jews said, “You’re not even fifty years old—and Abraham saw you?”
58 “Believe me,” said Jesus, “I am who I am long before Abraham was anything.”
59 That did it—pushed them over the edge. They picked up rocks to throw at him. But Jesus slipped away, getting out of the Temple.
John 8
Christian Standard Bible
John 8
Christian Standard Bible
8 1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.(A)
An Adulteress Forgiven
2 At dawn he went to the temple(B) again, and all the people were coming to him.(C) He sat down(D) and began to teach them.
3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees(E) brought a woman caught in adultery,(F) making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.(G) 5 In the law Moses(H) commanded us to stone such women.(I) So what do you say?” 6 They asked this to trap him,(J) in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.
Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin(K) among you(L) should be the first to throw a stone at her.”(M) 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, Lord,”[a] she answered.
“Neither do I condemn you,”(N) said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]
The Light of the World
12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am(O) the light(P) of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”(Q)
13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”
14 “Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going.(R) 15 You judge(S) by human standards.[b](T) I judge no one.(U) 16 And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.(V) 17 Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(W) 18 I am the one who testifies(X) about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?”
“You know neither me nor my Father,”(Y) Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”(Z) 20 He spoke these words by the treasury,(AA) while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
Jesus Predicts His Departure
21 Then he said to them again, “I’m going away; (AB) you will look for me, and you will die in your sin.(AC) Where I’m going, you cannot come.”(AD)
22 So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come’(AE)?”
23 “You are from below,” he told them, “I am from above.(AF) You are of this world; (AG) I am not of this world.(AH) 24 Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they questioned.
“Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. 26 “I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the one who sent me(AI) is true, and what I have heard from him—these things I tell the world.”(AJ)
27 They did not know he was speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man,(AK) then you will know that I am(AL) he, and that I do nothing on my own.(AM) But just as the Father taught me, I say these things. 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone,(AN) because I always do what pleases him.”
Truth and Freedom
30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word,[c](AO) you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth,(AP) and the truth will set you free.”
33 “We are descendants[d] of Abraham,”(AQ) they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.(AR) 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever,(AS) but a son does remain forever.(AT) 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know you are descendants of Abraham,(AU) but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you. 38 I speak what I have seen(AV) in the presence of the Father; [e](AW) so then, you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Our father is Abraham,” they replied.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did.(AX) 40 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth(AY) that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You’re doing what your father does.”(AZ)
“We weren’t born(BA) of sexual immorality,”(BB) they said. “We have one Father—God.”(BC)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,(BD) because I came from God(BE) and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to[f] my word.(BF) 44 You are of your father the devil,(BG) and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer(BH) from the beginning(BI) and does not stand in the truth,(BJ) because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature,[g] because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who among you can convict me of sin?(BK) If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”
Jesus and Abraham
48 The Jews responded to him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you’re a Samaritan(BL) and have a demon?” (BM)
49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus answered. “On the contrary, I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I do not seek my own glory; (BN) there is one who seeks it and judges. 51 Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word,(BO) he will never see death.”
52 Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?”
54 “If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. 55 You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him,(BP) I would be a liar like you. But I do know him,(BQ) and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it(BR) and was glad.”
57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?” [h]
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”(BS)
59 So they picked up stones(BT) to throw at him.(BU) But Jesus was hidden[i](BV) and went out of the temple.[j](BW)
Footnotes
- 8:11 Or Sir; Jn 4:15,49; 5:7; 6:34; 9:36
- 8:15 Lit You judge according to the flesh
- 8:31 Or my teaching, or my message, also in v. 37
- 8:33 Or offspring; lit seed, also in v. 37; Jn 7:42
- 8:38 Other mss read of my Father
- 8:43 Or cannot hear
- 8:44 Lit from his own things
- 8:57 Other mss read and Abraham has seen you?
- 8:59 Or Jesus hid himself
- 8:59 Other mss add and having gone through their midst, he passed by
John 8
New International Version
John 8
New International Version
8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.(A)
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.(B) 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.(C) Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap,(D) in order to have a basis for accusing him.(E)
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone(F) at her.”(G) 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,”(H) Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”(I)
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am(J) the light of the world.(K) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(L)
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”(M)
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.(N) But you have no idea where I come from(O) or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards;(P) I pass judgment on no one.(Q) 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.(R) 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(S) 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”(T)
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,”(U) Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”(V) 20 He spoke these words while teaching(W) in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put.(X) Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.(Y)
Dispute Over Who Jesus Is
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die(Z) in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”(AA)
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.(AB) 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he,(AC) you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy,(AD) and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”(AE)
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man,(AF) then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.(AG) 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone,(AH) for I always do what pleases him.”(AI) 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.(AJ)
Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching,(AK) you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(AL)
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants(AM) and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.(AN) 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.(AO) 36 So if the Son sets you free,(AP) you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me,(AQ) because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence,(AR) and you are doing what you have heard from your father.[b]”(AS)
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,”(AT) said Jesus, “then you would[c] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me,(AU) a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.(AV) Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”(AW)
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”(AX)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,(AY) for I have come here from God.(AZ) I have not come on my own;(BA) God sent me.(BB) 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,(BC) and you want to carry out your father’s desires.(BD) 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.(BE) 45 Yet because I tell the truth,(BF) 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.(BG) The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Jesus’ Claims About Himself
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan(BH) and demon-possessed?”(BI)
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself;(BJ) but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”(BK)
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!(BL) Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham?(BM) He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself,(BN) my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.(BO) 55 Though you do not know him,(BP) I know him.(BQ) If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.(BR) 56 Your father Abraham(BS) rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it(BT) and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born,(BU) I am!”(BV) 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him,(BW) but Jesus hid himself,(BX) slipping away from the temple grounds.
John 8
International Standard Version
John 8
International Standard Version
The Woman Caught in Adultery
8 Jesus, however, went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At daybreak he appeared again in the Temple, and all the people came to him. So he sat down and began to teach them. 3 But the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery.[a] After setting her before them,[b] 4 they told him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women to death. What do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have a charge against him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
7 When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, “Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground.[c] 9 When they heard this, they went away one by one,[d] beginning with the oldest,[e] and he was left alone with the woman standing there.[f] 10 Then Jesus stood up and asked her, “Dear lady,[g] where are your accusers?[h] Hasn’t anyone condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,”[i] she replied.
Then Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you, either. Go home, and from now on don’t sin anymore.”[j]
Jesus the Light of the World
12 Later on, Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees told him, “You’re testifying about yourself. Your testimony isn’t valid.”[k]
14 Jesus answered them, “Even though I’m testifying about myself, my testimony is valid[l] because I know where I’ve come from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. 15 You’re judging by human standards,[m] but I’m not judging anyone. 16 Yet even if I should judge, my judgment would be valid,[n] because it is not I alone who judges, but I and the one who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two people is valid.[o] 18 I’m testifying about myself, and the Father who sent me is testifying about me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is this Father of yours?”
Jesus replied, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you had known me, you would’ve known my Father, too.” 20 He spoke these words in the treasury, while he was teaching in the Temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
The One from Above
21 Later on, he told them again, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me, but you will die in your sin.[p] You cannot come where I’m going.”
22 So the Jewish leaders[q] were asking, “He isn’t going to kill himself, is he? Is that why he said,[r] ‘You cannot come where I’m going’?”
23 He told them, “You are from below, I’m from above. You are of this world, but I’m not of this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”
25 Then they asked him, “Who are you?”
Jesus told them, “What have I been telling you all along?[s] 26 I have much to say about you and to condemn you for.[t] But the one who sent me is truthful,[u] and what I’ve heard from him I declare to the world.”
27 They didn’t realize that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own authority. Instead, I speak only what the Father has taught me. 29 Moreover, the one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Freedom and Slavery
31 So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They replied to him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves to anybody. So how can you say, ‘You will be set free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, I tell all of you[v] emphatically, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.[w] 35 The slave does not remain in the household forever, but the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”
The Real Children of Abraham
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me because you’ve not received what I’ve told you. 38 I declare what I’ve seen in my[x] Father’s presence, and you’re doing what you’ve heard from your father.”
39 They replied to him, “Our father is Abraham!”
Jesus told them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did.[y] 40 But now you’re trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham wouldn’t have done that. 41 You are doing your father’s actions.”
They told him, “We’re not illegitimate children. We have one Father, God himself.”
42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would’ve loved me, because I came from God and am here. I haven’t come on my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I’ve said? It’s because you can’t listen to my words. 44 You belong to your father the Devil, and you want to carry out the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and has never stood for truth, since there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But it is because I speak the truth that you don’t believe me. 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The one who belongs to God listens to the words of God. The reason you don’t listen is because you don’t belong to God.”
Jesus is Superior to Abraham
48 The Jewish leaders[z] replied to him, “Surely we’re right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon, aren’t we?”
49 Jesus answered, “I don’t have a demon. On the contrary, I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and he is the Judge. 51 Truly, I tell all of you[aa] emphatically, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
52 Then the Jewish leaders[ab] told him, “Now we really know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets, but you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham, who died, are you? The prophets also died. Who are you making yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I were trying to glorify myself, my glory would mean nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 You don’t know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Jewish leaders[ac] asked him, “You are not even 50 years old, yet you have seen Abraham?”[ad]
58 Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you[ae] emphatically, before there was an Abraham, I AM!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the Temple.
Footnotes
- John 8:3 Other mss. read in sin
- John 8:3 Lit. in the middle
- John 8:8 Other mss read ground the sins of each one of them
- John 8:9 Other mss. read one by one, being convicted by their conscience
- John 8:9 Other mss. read from the oldest to the youngest
- John 8:9 Lit. in the middle
- John 8:10 Or Woman
- John 8:10 Other mss. read where are they?
- John 8:11 Or Lord
- John 8:11 Some mss. lack 7:53-8:11; one ms. locates the text after Luke 21:38; some mss. locate it after John 7:36, some after John 7:52, and some after John 21:25.
- John 8:13 Or true
- John 8:14 Or true
- John 8:15 Lit. according to the flesh
- John 8:16 Or true
- John 8:17 Or true
- John 8:21 I.e. their sinful nature
- John 8:22 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 8:22 Lit. Because he said
- John 8:25 Or from the beginning
- John 8:26 The Gk. lacks you for
- John 8:26 Or true
- John 8:34 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 8:34 Other mss. lack of sin
- John 8:38 Other mss. read the
- John 8:39 Lit. the works of Abraham
- John 8:48 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 8:51 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 8:52 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. The Jews
- John 8:57 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 8:57 Other mss. read Abraham has seen you?
- John 8:58 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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