The Lord's Faithless Bride

16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)make known to Jerusalem her abominations, ³ and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an ^(C)Amorite and your mother a ^(D)Hittite. ⁴ And as for your birth, ^(E)on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. ⁵ No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, ^(F)but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, ^(G)on the day that you were born.

⁶ “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing ^(H)in your blood, I said to you ^(I)in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you ^(J)in your blood, ‘Live!’ ^7 (K)I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall ^(L)and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet ^(M)you were naked and bare.

⁸ “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and ^(N)I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you ^(O)and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, ^(P)and you became mine. ⁹ Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and ^(Q)anointed you with oil. ^10 (R)I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.^{[a] 11 (S)}And I adorned you with ornaments and ^(T)put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. ¹² And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. ^(U)You ate fine flour and honey and oil. ^(V)You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. ¹⁴ And ^(W)your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

^15 (X)“But you trusted in your beauty ^(Y)and played the whore^[b] because of your renown ^(Z)and lavished your whorings^[c] on any passerby; your beauty^[d] became his. ¹⁶ You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.^{[e] 17} You also took ^(AA)your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and ^(AB)made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. ¹⁸ And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, ^(AC)and set my oil and my incense before them. ^19 (AD)Also my bread that I gave you—^(AE)I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for ^(AF)a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. ^20 (AG)And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and ^(AH)these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter ²¹ that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? ²² And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember ^(AI)the days of your youth, ^(AJ)when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.

²³ “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God), ²⁴ you built yourself ^(AK)a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. ²⁵ At the head of every street ^(AL)you built your lofty place and made ^(AM)your beauty an abomination, ^(AN)offering yourself^[f] to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. ^26 (AO)You also played the whore ^(AP)with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, ^(AQ)multiplying your whoring, ^(AR)to provoke me to anger. ²⁷ Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you ^(AS)and diminished your allotted portion ^(AT)and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, ^(AU)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. ^28 (AV)You played the whore also ^(AW)with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. ²⁹ You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land ^(AX)of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

³⁰ “How sick is your heart,^[g] declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, ³¹ building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, ^(AY)because you scorned payment. ³² Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! ³³ Men give gifts to all prostitutes, ^(AZ)but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. ³⁴ So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and ^(BA)you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.

³⁵ “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: ³⁶ Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, ^(BB)and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, ³⁷ therefore, behold, ^(BC)I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and ^(BD)all those you hated. ^(BE)I will gather them against you from every side ^(BF)and will uncover your nakedness to them, that ^(BG)they may see all your nakedness. ^38 (BH)And I will judge you ^(BI)as women who commit adultery and ^(BJ)shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your ^(BK)vaulted chamber and break down ^(BL)your lofty places. ^(BM)They shall strip you of your clothes and take ^(BN)your beautiful jewels and leave you ^(BO)naked and bare. ^40 (BP)They shall bring up a crowd against you, ^(BQ)and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ^41 (BR)And they shall ^(BS)burn your houses and ^(BT)execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. ^(BU)I will make you stop playing the whore, and ^(BV)you shall also give payment no more. ^42 (BW)So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. ⁴³ Because you have not remembered ^(BX)the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, ^(BY)I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not ^(BZ)committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

⁴⁴ “Behold, everyone ^(CA)who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of ^(CB)your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. ^(CC)Your mother was a Hittite and ^(CD)your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ And ^(CE)your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and ^(CF)your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. ^47 (CG)Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time ^(CH)you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. ^48 (CI)As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister ^(CJ)Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, ^(CK)excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and ^(CL)did an abomination before me. So ^(CM)I removed them, when I saw it. ^51 (CN)Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and ^(CO)have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. ^52 (CP)Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

^53 (CQ)“I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, ⁵⁴ that you may bear your disgrace ^(CR)and be ashamed of all that you have done, ^(CS)becoming a consolation to them. ⁵⁵ As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, ^(CT)and Samaria and her daughters shall return ^(CU)to their former state, ^(CV)and you and your daughters shall return ^(CW)to your former state. ⁵⁶ Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth ^(CX)in the day of your pride, ⁵⁷ before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become ^(CY)an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria^[h] and all those around her, and for ^(CZ)the daughters of the Philistines, ^(DA)those all around who despise you. ^58 (DB)You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.

The Lord's Everlasting Covenant

⁵⁹ “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you ^(DC)who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, ⁶⁰ yet ^(DD)I will remember my covenant with you ^(DE)in the days of your youth, ^(DF)and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. ^61 (DG)Then you will remember your ways ^(DH)and be ashamed when you take ^(DI)your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you ^(DJ)as daughters, but not on account of^[i] the covenant with you. ⁶² I will establish my covenant with you, ^(DK)and you shall know that I am the Lord, ⁶³ that you may remember and be confounded, and ^(DL)never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”

Ascribe to the Lord Glory

A Psalm of David.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

6 After this ^(A)Jesus went away to the other side of ^(B)the Sea of Galilee, which is ^(C)the Sea of Tiberias. ² And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. ³ Jesus went up on ^(D)the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴ Now ^(E)the Passover, the ^(F)feast of the Jews, was at hand. ^5 (G)Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to ^(H)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” ⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ^7 (I)Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, ^(J)Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five ^(K)barley loaves and two fish, but ^(L)what are they for so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” ^(M)Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and ^(N)when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ^(O)“This is indeed ^(P)the Prophet ^(Q)who is to come into the world!”

^15 (R)Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus ^(S)withdrew again to ^(T)the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on Water

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[b] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ^20 (U)But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

I Am the Bread of Life

²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only ^(V)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord ^(W)had given thanks. ^24 (X)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and ^(Y)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ^(Z)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AA)you are seeking me, not because you saw ^(AB)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ^27 (AC)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for ^(AD)the food that endures to eternal life, which ^(AE)the Son of Man will give to you. For on ^(AF)him God the Father has ^(AG)set his seal.” ²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing ^(AH)the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, ^(AI)that you believe in him whom ^(AJ)he has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to him, ^(AK)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ^31 (AL)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ^(AM)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^(AN)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ They said to him, ^(AO)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, ^(AP)“I am the bread of life; ^(AQ)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ^37 (AR)All that ^(AS)the Father gives me will come to me, and ^(AT)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For ^(AU)I have come down from heaven, not to do ^(AV)my own will but ^(AW)the will of him ^(AX)who sent me. ³⁹ And ^(AY)this is the will of him who sent me, ^(AZ)that I should lose nothing of ^(BA)all that he has given me, but ^(BB)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who ^(BC)looks on the Son and ^(BD)believes in him ^(BE)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ^(BF)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, ^(BG)“Is not this Jesus, ^(BH)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(BI)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(BJ)draws him. And ^(BK)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ^(BL)‘And they will all be ^(BM)taught by God.’ ^(BN)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ^46 (BO)not that anyone has seen the Father except ^(BP)he who is from God; he ^(BQ)has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(BR)whoever believes has eternal life. ^48 (BS)I am the bread of life. ^49 (BT)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and ^(BU)they died. ^50 (BV)This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it ^(BW)and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(BX)that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ^(BY)for the life of the world is ^(BZ)my flesh.”

⁵² The Jews then ^(CA)disputed among themselves, saying, ^(CB)“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(CC)the Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^(CD)have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(CE)has eternal life, and ^(CF)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(CG)abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As ^(CH)the living Father ^(CI)sent me, and ^(CJ)I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. ^58 (CK)This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread^[c] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ Jesus^[d] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^(CL)at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

^60 (CM)When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(CN)knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? ⁶² Then what if you were to see ^(CO)the Son of Man ^(CP)ascending to ^(CQ)where he was before? ^63 (CR)It is the Spirit who gives life; ^(CS)the flesh is no help at all. ^(CT)The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But ^(CU)there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus ^(CV)knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and ^(CW)who it was who would betray him.) ⁶⁵ And he said, “This is why I told you ^(CX)that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

^66 (CY)After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(CZ)the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(DA)the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and ^(DB)we have believed, and have come to know, that ^(DC)you are ^(DD)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, ^(DE)“Did I not choose you, ^(DF)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(DG)a devil.” ⁷¹ He spoke of Judas ^(DH)the son of Simon Iscariot, for ^(DI)he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Jesus at the Feast of Booths

7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because ^(DJ)the Jews^[e] were seeking to kill him. ² Now ^(DK)the Jews' Feast of ^(DL)Booths was at hand. ^3 (DM)So his brothers^[f] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. ⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, ^(DN)show yourself to the world.” ^5 (DO)For not even ^(DP)his brothers believed in him. ⁶ Jesus said to them, ^(DQ)“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but ^(DR)it hates me because I testify about it that ^(DS)its works are evil. ⁸ You go up to the feast. I am not^[g] going up to this feast, for ^(DT)my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

¹⁰ But after ^(DU)his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. ^11 (DV)The Jews ^(DW)were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” ¹² And there was much ^(DX)muttering about him among the people. ^(DY)While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, ^(DZ)he is leading the people astray.” ¹³ Yet ^(EA)for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

¹⁴ About the middle of the feast Jesus went up ^(EB)into the temple and began teaching. ¹⁵ The Jews therefore ^(EC)marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,^[h] when he has never studied?” ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them, ^(ED)“My teaching is not mine, but his ^(EE)who sent me. ^17 (EF)If anyone's will is to do God's^[i] will, ^(EG)he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I ^(EH)am speaking on my own authority. ¹⁸ The one who speaks on his own authority ^(EI)seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. ^19 (EJ)Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. ^(EK)Why do you seek to kill me?” ²⁰ The crowd answered, ^(EL)“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” ²¹ Jesus answered them, “I did ^(EM)one work, and you all marvel at it. ^22 (EN)Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ^(EO)from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³ If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, ^(EP)are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? ^24 (EQ)Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Can This Be the Christ?

²⁵ Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom ^(ER)they seek to kill? ²⁶ And here he is, ^(ES)speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that ^(ET)the authorities really know that this is the Christ? ²⁷ But ^(EU)we know ^(EV)where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, ^(EW)no one will know where he comes from.” ²⁸ So Jesus proclaimed, ^(EX)as he taught in the temple, ^(EY)“You know me, and you know where I come from. But ^(EZ)I have not come of my own accord. ^(FA)He who sent me is true, ^(FB)and him you do not know. ^29 (FC)I know him, for I come ^(FD)from him, and ^(FE)he sent me.” ^30 (FF)So they were seeking to arrest him, but ^(FG)no one laid a hand on him, ^(FH)because his hour had not yet come. ³¹ Yet ^(FI)many of the people believed in him. They said, ^(FJ)“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd ^(FK)muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent ^(FL)officers to arrest him. ³³ Jesus then said, ^(FM)“I will be with you a little longer, and then ^(FN)I am going to him who sent me. ^34 (FO)You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” ³⁵ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? ^(FP)Does he intend to go to ^(FQ)the Dispersion among ^(FR)the Greeks and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What does he mean by saying, ^(FS)‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Rivers of Living Water

^37 (FT)On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ^(FU)“If anyone thirsts, let him ^(FV)come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, ^(FW)as^[j] the Scripture has said, ^(FX)‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of ^(FY)living water.’” ³⁹ Now ^(FZ)this he said about the Spirit, ^(GA)whom those who believed in him were to receive, ^(GB)for as yet the Spirit had not been ^(GC)given, ^(GD)because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

⁴⁰ When they heard these words, ^(GE)some of the people said, “This really is ^(GF)the Prophet.” ⁴¹ Others said, “This is ^(GG)the Christ.” But some said, ^(GH)“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? ⁴² Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes ^(GI)from the offspring of David, and comes ^(GJ)from Bethlehem, the village ^(GK)where David was?” ⁴³ So there was ^(GL)a division among the people over him. ^44 (GM)Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

^45 (GN)The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” ⁴⁶ The officers answered, ^(GO)“No one ever spoke like this man!” ⁴⁷ The Pharisees answered them, ^(GP)“Have you also been deceived? ^48 (GQ)Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” ^50 (GR)Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, ^51 (GS)“Does our law judge a man without first ^(GT)giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” ⁵² They replied, ^(GU)“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that ^(GV)no prophet arises from Galilee.”

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]^[k]

The Woman Caught in Adultery

[[⁵³ They went each to his own house, 8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ^2 (GW)Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and ^(GX)he sat down and taught them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴ they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ Now ^(GY)in the Law, Moses commanded us ^(GZ)to stone such women. So what do you say?” ⁶ This they said ^(HA)to test him, ^(HB)that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ^(HC)“Let him who is without sin among you ^(HD)be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰ Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ^(HE)“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ^(HF)sin no more.”]]

I Am the Light of the World

^12 (HG)Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^(HH)“I am the light of the world. Whoever ^(HI)follows me will not ^(HJ)walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, ^(HK)“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, ^(HL)my testimony is true, for I know ^(HM)where I came from and ^(HN)where I am going, but ^(HO)you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ^15 (HP)You judge according to the flesh; ^(HQ)I judge no one. ¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, ^(HR)my judgment is true, for ^(HS)it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father^[l] who sent me. ^17 (HT)In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I am the one who bears witness about myself, and ^(HU)the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” ¹⁹ They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, ^(HV)“You know neither me nor my Father. ^(HW)If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ These words he spoke in ^(HX)the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but ^(HY)no one arrested him, because ^(HZ)his hour had not yet come.

²¹ So he said to them again, ^(IA)“I am going away, and ^(IB)you will seek me, and ^(IC)you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So the Jews said, ^(ID)“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, ^(IE)“You are from below; I am from above. ^(IF)You are of this world; ^(IG)I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you ^(IH)would die in your sins, for ^(II)unless you believe that ^(IJ)I am he you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ So they said to him, ^(IK)“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but ^(IL)he who sent me is true, and I declare ^(IM)to the world ^(IN)what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that ^(IO)he had been speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^(IP)lifted up the Son of Man, ^(IQ)then you will know that ^(IR)I am he, and that ^(IS)I do nothing on my own authority, but ^(IT)speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And ^(IU)he who sent me is with me. ^(IV)He has not left me alone, for ^(IW)I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, ^(IX)many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^(IY)“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will ^(IZ)know the truth, and the truth ^(JA)will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, ^(JB)“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(JC)everyone who practices sin is a slave^[m] to sin. ^35 (JD)The slave does not remain in the house forever; ^(JE)the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet ^(JF)you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ^38 (JG)I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard ^(JH)from your father.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

³⁹ They answered him, ^(JI)“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ^(JJ)“If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, ⁴⁰ but now ^(JK)you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth ^(JL)that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹ You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, ^(JM)“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have ^(JN)one Father—even God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(JO)“If God were your Father, you would love me, for ^(JP)I came from God and ^(JQ)I am here. ^(JR)I came not of my own accord, but ^(JS)he sent me. ^43 (JT)Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ^(JU)bear to hear my word. ^44 (JV)You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. ^(JW)He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(JX)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^(JY)When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ^47 (JZ)Whoever is of God hears the words of God. ^(KA)The reason why you do not hear them is that ^(KB)you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^(KC)have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^(KD)I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet ^(KE)I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, ^(KF)I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(KG)see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^(KH)Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^(KI)you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(KJ)taste death.’