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¶ Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.

And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery, and when they had set her in the midst,

they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act.

Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou?

This they said, tempting him, that they might be able to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her.

And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

And those who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone and the woman that had been in the midst.

10 Jesus, lifting himself up and seeing no one but the woman, said unto her, Woman, where are thine accusers? Has no one condemned thee?

11 And she said, No one, Lord. Then Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more.

12 ¶ Then Jesus spoke again unto them, saying, I AM the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.

13 Then the Pharisees said unto him, Thou dost bear witness of thyself; thy witness is not true.

14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear witness of myself, my witness is true, for I know from where I came and where I go; but ye do not know where I came from and where I go.

15 Ye judge after the flesh, but I judge no one.

16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.

18 I AM one that bears witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me.

19 Then they said unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father; if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury as he taught in the temple, and no one laid hands on him, for his hour was not yet come.

21 ¶ Then Jesus said again unto them, I am going away, and ye shall seek me, but ye shall die in your sins; where I go, ye shall not be able to come.

22 Then the Jews said, Will he kill himself? because he says, Where I go, ye shall not be able to come.

23 And he said unto them, Ye are from below, I am from above; ye are of this world, I am not of this world.

24 Therefore I said unto you that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye do not believe that I AM, ye shall die in your sins.

25 And said they unto him, Who art thou? Then Jesus said unto them, He that I said unto you also from the beginning.

26 I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but he that sent me is true; and those things which I have heard of him, I speak in the world.

27 But they did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father.

28 Then Jesus said unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then ye shall know that I AM and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father has taught me, I speak these things.

29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him.

30 As he spoke these words, many believed in him.

31 ¶ Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed him, If ye abide in my word, ye shall be my disciples indeed;

32 and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

33 They answered him, We are Abraham’s seed, and we have never served anyone; how sayest thou, Ye shall be set free?

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin.

35 And the slave does not abide in the house for ever, but the Son abides for ever.

36 If the Son therefore shall set you free, ye shall be free indeed.

37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed, but ye seek to kill me because my word has no place in you.

38 ¶ I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, If ye were Abraham’s sons, ye would do the works of Abraham.

40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God; Abraham did not do this.

41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then they said to him, We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would surely love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither did I come of myself, but he sent me.

43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father ye desire to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye do not believe me.

46 ¶ Which of you reproves me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47 He that is of God hears God’s words; ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God.

48 Then the Jews answered, and said unto him, Do we not say well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a demon?

49 Jesus answered, I do not have a demon; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.

50 And I seek not my own glory; there is one that seeks it and judges.

51 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, If anyone keeps my word, he shall not see death forever.

52 Then the Jews said unto him, Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham died and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keeps my word, he shall not taste death forever?

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham who died? and the prophets died; whom makest thou thyself?

54 Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father that glorifies me, of whom ye say that he is your God;

55 yet ye have not known him, but I know him; and if I should say, I do not know him, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know him and keep his word.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.

57 Then the Jews said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.

59 Then they took up stones to cast at him, but Jesus concealed himself and went out of the temple, and going through the midst of them, went away.

The Adulteress

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning, he came back into the temple courts. And all the people kept coming to him. He sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and had her stand in the center. “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They asked this to test him, so that they might have evidence to accuse him.

Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. But when they kept on asking him for an answer, he stood up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he stooped down again and wrote on the ground.

When they heard this, they went away one by one, beginning with the older men. Jesus was left alone with the woman in the center. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, Lord,” she answered.

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

Jesus Is the Light of the World

12 When Jesus spoke to them again, he said, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You testify about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

14 “Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “my testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh. I am not judging anyone. 16 But even if I were to judge, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me. 17 Even in your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is valid. 18 I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

19 Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the offering box. But no one arrested him, because his time had not arrived yet.

21 So he told them again, “I am going away. You will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

22 So the Jews asked, “He won’t kill himself, will he, because he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

23 “You are from below,” he told them. “I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am the one, you will die in your sins.”

25 “Who are you?” they asked.

Jesus replied, “What I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you. But the one who sent me is true. And what I heard from him, these are the things I am telling the world.” 27 They did not understand that he was talking to them about the Father.

28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one, and that I do nothing on my own. But I speak exactly as the Father taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”

30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples. 32 You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered, “and we have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be set free’?”

34 Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Everyone who keeps committing sin is a slave to sin. 35 But a slave does not remain in the family forever. A son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because there is no place for my word in you. 38 I am telling you what I have seen at the side of the Father. As for you, you do what you have heard[a] at the side of your father.”

39 “Our father is Abraham!” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard at the side of God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You are doing the works of your father.”

“We were not born of sexual immorality!” they said. “We have one Father: God.”

42 Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. Indeed, I have not come on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand my message? It is because you are not able to listen to my word. 44 You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not remain standing in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks from what is his, because he is a liar and the father of lying. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who of you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God listens to what God says. The reason you do not listen is that you do not belong to God.”

48 The Jews responded, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon. On the contrary, I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Amen, Amen, I tell you: If anyone holds on to my word, he will certainly never see death.”

52 So the Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets. Yet you say, ‘If anyone holds on to my word, he will certainly never taste death.’ 53 You are not greater than our father, Abraham, are you? He died. And the prophets died. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, about whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 Yet you do not really know him, but I do know him. If I said, ‘I do not know him,’ I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I hold on to his word. 56 Your father Abraham was glad that he would see my day. He saw it and rejoiced.”

57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t even fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Then they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and left the temple area.[b]

Footnotes

  1. John 8:38 Some witnesses to the text read seen.
  2. John 8:59 Some witnesses to the text add He went through the middle of them and so went on his way. See Luke 4:30.