John 8:32-44

English Standard Version

³²and you will ^(A)know the truth, and the truth ^(B)will set you free.” ³³They answered him, ^(C)“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

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

You Are of Your Father the Devil

³⁹They answered him, ^(J)“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ^(K)“If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, ⁴⁰but now ^(L)you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth ^(M)that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, ^(N)“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have ^(O)one Father—even God.” ⁴²Jesus said to them, ^(P)“If God were your Father, you would love me, for ^(Q)I came from God and ^(R)I am here. ^(S)I came not of my own accord, but ^(T)he sent me. ⁴³^(U)Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ^(V)bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴^(W)You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. ^(X)He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(Y)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^(Z)When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.