John 8
New Life Version
Jesus Speaks to the Teachers of the Law and the Proud Religious Law-Keepers
8 (*Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning He went back to the house of God and all the people came to Him. He sat down and taught them.
3 The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers came to Him. They brought a woman who had been caught doing a sex sin. They made her stand in front of them all. 4 Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of doing a sex sin. 5 Moses told us in the Law to throw stones and kill a woman like this. What do You say about it?”
6 They were trying to set a trap to find something against Him. Jesus got down and began to write in the dust with His finger. 7 They kept on asking Him. Then He stood up and said, “Anyone of you who is without sin can throw the first stone at her.” 8 Again He got down and wrote in the dust. 9 When they heard what He said, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones until they were all gone. Then Jesus was left alone with the woman.
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are those who spoke against you? Has no man said you are guilty?” 11 She said, “No one, Sir.” Jesus said to her, “Neither do I say you are guilty. Go on your way and do not sin again.”)
Jesus Teaches about the Light of the World
12 Jesus spoke to all the people, saying, “I am the Light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will not walk in darkness. He will have the Light of Life.”
13 The proud religious law-keepers said to Him, “You are talking about Yourself. What You say about Yourself is not true.”
14 Jesus said, “Even if I speak of Myself, what I am saying is true. I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You say as a man would say if people are guilty or not guilty. I am not saying anyone is guilty. 16 But even if I did, it would be true. I am not alone. The Father Who sent Me is with Me. 17 It is written in your Law that when two men agree about something, it proves it is true. (A) 18 I speak for Myself and the Father Who sent Me speaks for Me.”
19 The proud religious law-keepers asked Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus said, “You do not know Me or My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
20 Jesus spoke these words near the money box while He taught in the house of God. No one put his hands on Jesus because His time had not yet come.
Jesus Tells of His Going Away
21 Jesus spoke to the Jews again, saying, “I am going away. You will look for Me but you will die in your sins. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 The Jews said, “Will He kill Himself because He said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
23 He answered them, “You are from below. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins. If you do not believe that I am the Christ, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus answered, “The answer is the same as I told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you. I must say if you are guilty. But He Who sent Me is true. I tell the world the things I have heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father. 28 Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will know that I am the Christ. I do nothing of Myself. I say these things as My Father has taught Me. 29 He that sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone. I always do what He wants Me to do.” 30 As Jesus said these things, many people put their trust in Him. 31 He said to the Jews who believed, “If you keep and obey My Word, then you are My followers for sure. 32 You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
Jesus Teaches What It Means to Be Free
33 They said to Jesus, “We are children of Abraham. We have never been servants to anyone. What do you mean when You say, ‘You will be free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “For sure, I tell you, everyone who sins is the servant of sin because sin has a hold on him. 35 And the servant does not belong in the house. The son belongs in the house. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free for sure.
37 “I know that you are the children of Abraham. But you want to kill Me because My Word is not in your hearts. 38 I speak of what I saw when I was with My Father. You do what you have seen your father do.”
39 They said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said, “If you were children of Abraham, you would do what he did. 40 I am a Man Who has told you the truth as I heard it from God. Now you are trying to kill Me. Abraham never did anything like that. 41 You are doing the works of your father.” They said to Him, “We were born of parents who were faithful in marriage. We have one Father. He is God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love Me. I came from God. I did not come on My own, but God sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you do not want to hear My teaching. 44 The devil is your father. You are from him. You want to do the sinful things your father, the devil, wants you to do. He has been a killer from the beginning. The devil has nothing to do with the truth. There is no truth in him. It is expected of the devil to lie, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 I tell you the truth and that is why you do not put your trust in Me. 46 Which one of you can say I am guilty of sin? If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 Whoever is born of God listens to God’s Word. You do not hear His Word because you are not born of God.”
The Jews Say Jesus Has a Demon
48 The Jews said to Jesus, “Are we not right when we say You are from the country of Samaria, and You have a demon?” 49 Jesus said, “No, I do not have a demon. I honor My Father. You do not honor Me. 50 I am not looking for honor for Myself. There is One Who is looking for it. He says what is right from wrong. 51 For sure, I tell you, if anyone keeps My Word, that one will never die.”
52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know You have a demon. Abraham died. The early preachers died. You say, ‘If anyone keeps My Word, that one will never die.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died and the early preachers died. Who do You think You are?” 54 Jesus said, “If I honor Myself, My honor would be worth nothing. My Father honors Me. You say He is your God. 55 You have never known Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know the Father and obey His Word. 56 Your father Abraham was glad that he was to see My coming. He saw it and was happy.”
57 The Jews said to Jesus, “You are not even fifty years old. How could you have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, before Abraham was born, I was and am and always will be!”
59 Then they picked up stones to throw at Him. Jesus hid Himself *and left the house of God.
John 8
Easy-to-Read Version
8 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he went back to the Temple area. The people all came to him, and he sat and taught them.
3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in bed with a man who was not her husband. They forced her to stand in front of the people. 4 They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The Law of Moses commands us to stone to death any such woman. What do you say we should do?”
6 They were saying this to trick Jesus. They wanted to catch him saying something wrong so that they could have a charge against him. But Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 The Jewish leaders continued to ask him their question. So he stood up and said, “Anyone here who has never sinned should throw the first stone at her.” 8 Then Jesus stooped down again and wrote on the ground.
9 When they heard this, they began to leave one by one. The older men left first, and then the others. Jesus was left alone with the woman standing there in front of him. 10 He looked up again and said to her, “Where did they all go? Did no one judge you guilty?”
11 She answered, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “I don’t judge you either. You can go now, but don’t sin again.”[a]
Jesus Is the Light of the World
12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never live in darkness. They will have the light that gives life.”
13 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say that these things are true. So we cannot accept what you say.”
14 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself. But people can believe what I say, because I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge me the way people judge other people. I don’t judge anyone. 16 But if I judge, my judging is true, because when I judge I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say. 18 I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself. And the Father who sent me is my other witness.”
19 The people asked, “Where is your father?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. But if you knew me, you would know my Father too.” 20 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple area, near the room where the Temple offerings were kept. But no one arrested him, because the right time for him had not yet come.
Some Jews Don’t Understand Jesus
21 Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”
22 So the Jewish leaders asked themselves, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 But Jesus said to them, “You people are from here below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, if you don’t believe that I Am,[b] you will die in your sins.”
25 They asked, “Then who are you?”
Jesus answered, “I am what I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have much more I could say to judge you. But I tell people only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he speaks the truth.”
27 They did not understand who he was talking about. He was telling them about the Father. 28 So he said to them, “You will lift up[c] the Son of Man. Then you will know that I Am. You will know that whatever I do is not by my own authority. You will know that I say only what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him. So he has not left me alone.” 30 While he was saying these things, many people believed in him.
Jesus Talks About Freedom From Sin
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, you are really my followers. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
33 They answered, “We are Abraham’s descendants. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?”
34 Jesus said, “The truth is, everyone who sins is a slave—a slave to sin. 35 A slave does not stay with a family forever. But a son belongs to the family forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you are really free. 37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. But you want to kill me, because you don’t want to accept my teaching. 38 I am telling you what my Father has shown me. But you do what your father has told you.”
39 They said, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said, “If you were really Abraham’s descendants, you would do what Abraham did. 40 I am someone who has told you the truth I heard from God. But you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that. 41 So you are doing what your own father did.”
But they said, “We are not like children who never knew who their father was. God is our Father. He is the only Father we have.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were really your Father, you would love me. I came from God, and now I am here. I did not come by my own authority. God sent me. 43 You don’t understand the things I say, because you cannot accept my teaching. 44 Your father is the devil. You belong to him. You want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He was always against the truth. There is no truth in him. He is like the lies he tells. Yes, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies.
45 “I am telling you the truth, and that’s why you don’t believe me. 46 Can any of you prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God accepts what he says. But you don’t accept what God says, because you don’t belong to God.”
Jesus Talks About Himself and Abraham
48 The Jews there answered, “We say you are a Samaritan. We say a demon is making you crazy! Are we not right when we say this?”
49 Jesus answered, “I have no demon in me. I give honor to my Father, but you give no honor to me. 50 I am not trying to get honor for myself. There is one who wants this honor for me. He is the judge. 51 I promise you, whoever continues to obey my teaching will never die.”
52 The Jews said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon in you! Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, ‘Whoever obeys my teaching will never die.’ 53 Do you think you are greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I give honor to myself, that honor is worth nothing. The one who gives me honor is my Father. And you say that he is your God. 55 But you don’t really know him. I know him. If I said I did not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey what he says. 56 Your father Abraham was very happy that he would see the day when I came. He saw that day and was happy.”
57 The Jews said to Jesus, “What? How can you say you have seen Abraham? You are not even 50 years old!”
58 Jesus answered, “The fact is, before Abraham was born, I Am.” 59 When he said this, they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid, and then he left the Temple area.
Footnotes
- John 8:11 The oldest and best Greek copies do not have verses 7:53–8:11. Other copies have this section in different places.
- John 8:24 I Am This is like the name of God used in the Old Testament. See Isa. 41:4; 43:10; Ex. 3:14. However, it can also mean “I am he,” meaning “I am the Messiah.” Also in verses 28, 58.
- John 8:28 lift up Meaning to be nailed to a cross and “lifted up” on it to die. It may also have a second meaning: to be “lifted up” from death to heaven.
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Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International