John 7-9
Christian Standard Bible
The Unbelief of Jesus’s Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee,(A) since he did not want to travel in Judea(B) because the Jews(C) were trying to kill him.(D) 2 The Jewish Festival of Shelters[a](E) was near. 3 So his brothers(F) said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works(G) that you are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)
6 Jesus told them, “My time(H) has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. 7 The world cannot hate(I) you, but it does hate me because I testify about it—that its works are evil. 8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival,[b] because my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.
Jesus at the Festival of Shelters
10 After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good(J) man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving(K) the people.” 13 Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
14 When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple(L) and began to teach. 15 Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned,(M) since he hasn’t been trained?”
16 Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.(N) 17 If anyone wants to do his will,(O) he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. 18 The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory;(P) but he who seeks the glory(Q) of the one who sent him is true,(R) and there is no unrighteousness in him.(S) 19 Didn’t Moses(T) give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.(U) Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 “I performed one work,(V) and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. 22 “This is why Moses has given you circumcision(W) —not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers(X) —and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.(Y) 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath(Z) so that the law of Moses(AA) won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging(AB) according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”
The Identity of the Messiah
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem(AC) were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities(AD) know he is the Messiah?(AE) 27 But we know where this man is from.(AF) When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”
28 As he was teaching in the temple,(AG) Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me(AH) is true. You don’t know him;(AI) 29 I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”(AJ)
30 Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done,(AK) will he?” 32 The Pharisees(AL) heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests(AM) and the Pharisees sent servants[c] to arrest him.
33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.(AN) Then I’m going to the one who sent me.(AO) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(AP)
35 Then the Jews(AQ) said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed[d](AR) among the Greeks(AS) and teach the Greeks, does he? 36 What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’(AT)?”
The Promise of the Spirit
37 On the last and most important day of the festival,(AU) Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me[e](AV) and drink.(AW) 38 The one who believes in me,(AX) as the Scripture(AY) has said, will have streams of living water(AZ) flow(BA) from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit.(BB) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,(BC) for the Spirit[f] had not yet been given[g] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
The People Are Divided over Jesus
40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”(BD) 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture(BE) say that the Messiah comes from David’s(BF) offspring[h] and from the town of Bethlehem,(BG) where David lived?” 43 So the crowd was divided(BH) because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize him,(BI) but no one laid hands on him.
Debate over Jesus’s Claims
45 Then the servants(BJ) came to the chief priests(BK) and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”
46 The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!” [i](BL)
47 Then the Pharisees responded to them, “Are you fooled(BM) too? 48 Have any of the rulers(BN) or Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”
50 Nicodemus(BO)—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?” (BP)
52 “You aren’t from Galilee(BQ) too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”(BR)
[The earliest mss do not include 7:53–8:11.]
[53 Then each one went to his house.[j] 8 1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.(BS)
An Adulteress Forgiven
2 At dawn he went to the temple(BT) again, and all the people were coming to him.(BU) He sat down(BV) and began to teach them.
3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees(BW) brought a woman caught in adultery,(BX) making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.(BY) 5 In the law Moses(BZ) commanded us to stone such women.(CA) So what do you say?” 6 They asked this to trap him,(CB) 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(CC) among you(CD) should be the first to throw a stone at her.”(CE) 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,”[k] she answered.
“Neither do I condemn you,”(CF) said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]
The Light of the World
12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am(CG) the light(CH) of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”(CI)
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.(CJ) 15 You judge(CK) by human standards.[l](CL) I judge no one.(CM) 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.(CN) 17 Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(CO) 18 I am the one who testifies(CP) 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,”(CQ) Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”(CR) 20 He spoke these words by the treasury,(CS) 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; (CT) you will look for me, and you will die in your sin.(CU) Where I’m going, you cannot come.”(CV)
22 So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come’(CW)?”
23 “You are from below,” he told them, “I am from above.(CX) You are of this world; (CY) I am not of this world.(CZ) 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(DA) is true, and what I have heard from him—these things I tell the world.”(DB)
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,(DC) then you will know that I am(DD) he, and that I do nothing on my own.(DE) 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,(DF) 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,[m](DG) you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth,(DH) and the truth will set you free.”
33 “We are descendants[n] of Abraham,”(DI) 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.(DJ) 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever,(DK) but a son does remain forever.(DL) 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know you are descendants of Abraham,(DM) but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you. 38 I speak what I have seen(DN) in the presence of the Father; [o](DO) 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.(DP) 40 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth(DQ) that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You’re doing what your father does.”(DR)
“We weren’t born(DS) of sexual immorality,”(DT) they said. “We have one Father—God.”(DU)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,(DV) because I came from God(DW) 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[p] my word.(DX) 44 You are of your father the devil,(DY) and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer(DZ) from the beginning(EA) and does not stand in the truth,(EB) because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature,[q] 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?(EC) 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(ED) and have a demon?” (EE)
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; (EF) there is one who seeks it and judges. 51 Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word,(EG) 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,(EH) I would be a liar like you. But I do know him,(EI) and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it(EJ) and was glad.”
57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?” [r]
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”(EK)
59 So they picked up stones(EL) to throw at him.(EM) But Jesus was hidden[s](EN) and went out of the temple.[t](EO)
The Sixth Sign: Healing a Man Born Blind
9 As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi,(EP) who sinned, this man(EQ) or his parents,(ER) that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works(ES) might be displayed in him. 4 We[u] must do the works(ET) of him who sent me[v] while it is day.(EU) Night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”(EV)
6 After he said these things he spit on the ground, made some mud(EW) from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the pool of Siloam”(EX) (which means “Sent”). So he left, washed, and came back seeing.(EY)
8 His neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging?” 9 Some said, “He’s the one.” Others were saying, “No, but he looks like him.”
He kept saying, “I’m the one.”
10 So they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam(EZ) and wash.’ So when I went and washed I received my sight.”(FA)
12 “Where is he?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The Healed Man’s Testimony
13 They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees.(FB) 14 The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.(FC) 15 Then the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight.
“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God,(FD) because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man(FE) perform such signs?” And there was a division(FF) among them.
17 Again they asked the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?”
“He’s a prophet,”(FG) he said.
18 The Jews did not believe this about him—that he was blind and received sight—until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.
19 They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 “We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. 21 “But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah,(FH) he would be banned from the synagogue. 23 This is why his parents said, “He’s of age; ask him.”
24 So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory(FI) to God.(FJ) We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 He answered, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 “I already told you,” he said, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”
28 They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s(FK) disciples. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don’t know where he’s from.”(FL)
30 “This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners,(FM) but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will,(FN) he listens to him.(FO) 32 Throughout history[w] no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.(FP) 33 If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”(FQ)
34 “You were born entirely in sin,”(FR) they replied, “and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.(FS)
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”[x](FT)
36 “Who is he, Sir,(FU) that I may believe in him?” he asked.
37 Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world(FV) for judgment,(FW) in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.”(FX)
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”
41 “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin.(FY) But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
Footnotes
- 7:2 Or Tabernacles, or Booths
- 7:8 Other mss add yet
- 7:32 Or temple police, or officers, also in vv. 45,46
- 7:35 Gk diaspora; Jewish people scattered throughout Gentile lands
- 7:37 Other mss omit to me
- 7:39 Other mss read Holy Spirit
- 7:39 Lit the Spirit was not yet
- 7:42 Lit seed
- 7:46 Other mss read like this man
- 7:53–8:11 Other mss include all or some of the passage after Jn 7:36,44,52; 21:25; or Lk 21:38.
- 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
- 9:4 Other mss read I
- 9:4 Other mss read us
- 9:32 Lit From the age
- 9:35 Other mss read the Son of God
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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