John 8:21-47

New American Standard Bible

²¹ Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and ^(A)you will look for Me, and ^(B)will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So ^(C)the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘^(D)Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ And He was saying to them, “^(E)You are from below, I am from above; ^(F)you are of this world, ^(G)I am not of this world. ²⁴ Therefore I said to you that you ^(H)will die in your sins; for unless you believe that ^[a](I)I am, ^(J)you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ Then they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “^[b]What have I even been saying to you from the beginning? ²⁶ I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but ^(K)He who sent Me is true; and ^(L)the things which I heard from Him, these I say to the world.” ²⁷ They did not realize that He was speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you ^(M)lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that ^[c](N)I am, and ^(O)I do nothing ^[d]on My own, but I say these things as the Father instructed Me. ²⁹ And He who sent Me is with Me; ^(P)He ^[e]has not left Me alone, for ^(Q)I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” ³⁰ As He said these things, ^(R)many came to believe in Him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “^(S)If you continue in My word, then you are truly My ^(T)disciples; ³² and ^(U)you will know the truth, and ^(V)the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered Him, “^(W)We are Abraham’s descendants 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, ^(X)everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ Now ^(Y)the slave does not remain in the house forever; ^(Z)the son does remain forever. ³⁶ So if the Son ^(AA)sets you free, you really will be free. ³⁷ I know that you are ^(AB)Abraham’s descendants; yet ^(AC)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word ^[f]has no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of the things which I have seen ^[g]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from ^(AD)your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is ^(AE)our father.” Jesus *said to them, “^(AF)If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But as it is, ^(AG)you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has ^(AH)told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. ⁴¹ You are doing the deeds of ^(AI)your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; ^(AJ)we have one Father: God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, ^(AK)you would love Me, ^(AL)for I came forth from God and am here; for I have ^(AM)not even come ^[h]on My own, but ^[i](AN)He sent Me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand ^[j](AO)what I am saying? It is because you cannot ^(AP)listen to My word. ^44 (AQ)You are of ^(AR)your father the devil, and ^(AS)you want to do the desires of your father. ^(AT)He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because ^(AU)there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells ^[k]a lie, he ^(AV)speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of ^[l]lies. ⁴⁵ But because ^(AW)I say the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If ^(AX)I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? ^47 (AY)The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”