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John 8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 8

A Woman Caught in Adultery.[a] [53 Then each went to his own house, 1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.[b](A) 2 But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. 4 They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.[c] So what do you say?”(B) 6 They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.[d] 7 [e]But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them,(C) “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. 10 Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”(D) 11 She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more.”](E)

The Light of the World.[f] 12 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(F) 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified,[g] because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.(G) 15 You judge by appearances,[h] but I do not judge anyone.(H) 16 And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me.(I) 17 Even in your law[i] it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified.(J) 18 I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me.”(K) 19 So they said to him, “Where is your father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”(L) 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.(M)

Jesus, the Father’s Ambassador.[j] 21 He said to them again, “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin.[k] Where I am going you cannot come.”(N) 22 [l]So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.(O) 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM,[m] you will die in your sins.”(P) 25 [n]So they said to him, “Who are you?”(Q) Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.”(R) 27 They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. 28 So Jesus said [to them], “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.(S) 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

Jesus and Abraham.[o] 31 Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him,[p] “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(T) 33 They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.[q] How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”(U) 34 Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.(V) 35 A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son[r] always remains.(W) 36 So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. 38 [s]I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence; then do what you have heard from the Father.”

39 [t]They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them,(X) “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. 40 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. 41 You are doing the works of your father!” [So] they said to him, “We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God.”(Y) 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.(Z) 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.(AA) 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me?(AB) 47 Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God.”(AC)

48 The Jews answered and said to him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan[u] and are possessed?” 49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed; I honor my Father, but you dishonor me. 50 I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the one who judges.(AD) 51 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”(AE) 52 [So] the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham,[v] who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?”(AF) 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word.(AG) 56 Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it[w] and was glad.(AH) 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”[x] 58 [y]Jesus said to them,(AI) “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.(AJ)

Footnotes

  1. 7:53–8:11 The story of the woman caught in adultery is a later insertion here, missing from all early Greek manuscripts. A Western text-type insertion, attested mainly in Old Latin translations, it is found in different places in different manuscripts: here, or after Jn 7:36 or at the end of this gospel, or after Lk 21:38, or at the end of that gospel. There are many non-Johannine features in the language, and there are also many doubtful readings within the passage. The style and motifs are similar to those of Luke, and it fits better with the general situation at the end of Lk 21, but it was probably inserted here because of the allusion to Jer 17:13 (cf. note on Jn 8:6) and the statement, “I do not judge anyone,” in Jn 8:15. The Catholic Church accepts this passage as canonical scripture.
  2. 8:1 Mount of Olives: not mentioned elsewhere in the gospel tradition outside of passion week.
  3. 8:5 Lv 20:10 and Dt 22:22 mention only death, but Dt 22:23–24 prescribes stoning for a betrothed virgin.
  4. 8:6 Cf. Jer 17:13 (RSV): “Those who turn away from thee shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water”; cf. Jn 7:38.
  5. 8:7 The first stones were to be thrown by the witnesses (Dt 17:7).
  6. 8:12–20 Jesus the light of the world. Jesus replaces the four torches of the illumination of the temple as the light of joy.
  7. 8:14 My testimony can be verified: this seems to contradict Jn 5:31, but the emphasis here is on Jesus’ origin from the Father and his divine destiny. Where I am going: indicates Jesus’ passion and glorification.
  8. 8:15 By appearances: literally, “according to the flesh.” I do not judge anyone: superficial contradiction of Jn 5:22, 27, 30; here the emphasis is that the judgment is not by material standards.
  9. 8:17 Your law: a reflection of later controversy between church and synagogue.
  10. 8:21–30 He whose ambassador I am is with me. Jesus’ origin is from God; he can reveal God.
  11. 8:21 You will die in your sin: i.e., of disbelief; cf. Jn 8:24. Where I am going you cannot come: except through faith in Jesus’ passion-resurrection.
  12. 8:22 The Jews suspect that he is referring to his death. Johannine irony is apparent here; Jesus’ death will not be self-inflicted but destined by God.
  13. 8:24, 28 I AM: an expression that late Jewish tradition understood as Yahweh’s own self-designation (Is 43:10); see note on Jn 4:26. Jesus is here placed on a par with Yahweh.
  14. 8:25 What I told you from the beginning: this verse seems textually corrupt, with several other possible translations: “(I am) what I say to you”; “Why do I speak to you at all?” The earliest attested reading (Bodmer Papyrus P66) has (in a second hand), “I told you at the beginning what I am also telling you (now).” The answer here (cf. Prv 8:22) seems to hinge on a misunderstanding of Jn 8:24 “that I AM” as “what I am.”
  15. 8:31–59 Jesus’ origin (“before Abraham”) and destiny are developed; the truth will free them from sin (Jn 8:34) and death (Jn 8:51).
  16. 8:31 Those Jews who believed in him: a rough editorial suture, since in Jn 8:37 they are described as trying to kill Jesus.
  17. 8:33 Have never been enslaved to anyone: since, historically, the Jews were enslaved almost continuously, this verse is probably Johannine irony, about slavery to sin.
  18. 8:35 A slave…a son: an allusion to Ishmael and Isaac (Gn 16; 21), or to the release of a slave after six years (Ex 21:2; Dt 15:12).
  19. 8:38 The Father: i.e., God. It is also possible, however, to understand the second part of the verse as a sarcastic reference to descent of the Jews from the devil (Jn 8:44), “You do what you have heard from [your] father.”
  20. 8:39 The works of Abraham: Abraham believed; cf. Rom 4:11–17; Jas 2:21–23.
  21. 8:48 Samaritan: therefore interested in magical powers; cf. Acts 7:14–24.
  22. 8:53 Are you greater than our father Abraham?: cf. Jn 4:12.
  23. 8:56 He saw it: this seems a reference to the birth of Isaac (Gn 17:7; 21:6), the beginning of the fulfillment of promises about Abraham’s seed.
  24. 8:57 The evidence of the third-century Bodmer Papyrus P75 and the first hand of Codex Sinaiticus indicates that the text originally read: “How can Abraham have seen you?”
  25. 8:58 Came to be, I AM: the Greek word used for “came to be” is the one used of all creation in the prologue, while the word used for “am” is the one reserved for the Logos.
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John 8
Lexham English Bible

A Woman Caught in Adultery

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Now early in the morning he came again to the temple courts.[a] And all the people were coming,[b] and he sat down and[c] began to teach[d] them.

3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman[e] caught in adultery. And standing her in their midst, 4 they said to him, testing him,[f] “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery! 5 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 (Now they were saying this to test him, so that they would have an occasion[g] to bring charges against him.) But Jesus, bending down, began to write[h] with his[i] finger on the ground, taking no notice.[j] 7 And when they persisted in asking him, straightening up he said[k] to them, “The one of you without sin, let him throw the first stone at her!” 8 And bending down again, he wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they[l] heard it,[m] being convicted by their conscience,[n] they began to depart,[o] one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus[p] was left alone—and the woman who was in their midst. 10 So Jesus, straightening up and seeing no one except the woman,[q] said to her, “Where are those accusers of yours?[r] Does no one condemn you?” 11 And she said, “No one, Lord.” So Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and[s] sin no more.”]][t]

Jesus, the Light of the World

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You testify concerning yourself! Your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify concerning myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I have come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to externals; I do not judge anyone. 16 But even if I judge, my judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 And even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true.[u] 18 I am the one who testifies concerning myself, and the Father who sent me testifies concerning me.”

19 So they were saying to him, “Where is your father?” Jesus replied, “You know neither me nor my Father! If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words by the treasury while[v] teaching in the temple courts,[w] and no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Death

21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come!” 22 Then the Jews began to say,[x] “Perhaps he will kill himself, because he is saying, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 23 And he said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are from this world; I am not from this world. 24 Thus I said to 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 So they began to say to him,[y] “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What[z] I have been saying to 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 the things which I heard from him, these things I say to the world.” 27 (They did not know that he was speaking to them about the Father.)

28 Then Jesus said,[aa] “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will recognize that I am he, and I do nothing from myself, but just as the Father taught me, I say these things. 29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 While[ab] he was saying these things, many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They replied to him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have not been enslaved to anyone at any time. How do you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus replied to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the household forever;[ac] the son remains forever.[ad] 36 So if the son sets you free, you will be truly free. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are seeking to kill me, because my word makes no progress among you. 38 I speak the things that I have seen with the Father; so also you do the things that you have heard from the Father.”

The Priority of Jesus Over Abraham

39 They answered and said to him, “Abraham is our father!” Jesus said to them, “If you are children of Abraham, do the deeds of Abraham! 40 But now you are seeking to kill me, a man who spoke to you the truth which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of your father!”

They said[ae] to him, “We were not born from sexual immorality! We have one father, God!” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I have come forth from God and have come. For I have not come from myself, but that one sent me. 43 Why[af] do you not understand my way of speaking? Because you are not able to listen to my message. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father! That one was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand firm in the truth, because truth is not in him. Whenever he speaks the lie, he speaks from his own nature,[ag] because he is a liar and the father of lies.[ah] 45 But because I am telling the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who among you convicts me concerning sin? If I am telling the truth, why[ai] do you not believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to the words of God. Because of this you do not listen—because you are not of God.”

48 The Jews answered and said to him, “Do we not correctly say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus replied, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me! 50 But I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges! 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never experience death forever.”[aj]

52 The Jews[ak] said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham and the prophets died, and you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death forever.’[al] 53 You are not greater than our father Abraham who died, are you?[am] And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself to be?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you! But I know him and I keep his word. 56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it[an] and was glad.”

57 So the Jews said to him, “You are[ao] not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!” 59 Then they picked up stones in order to throw them[ap] at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple courts.[aq]

Footnotes

  1. John 8:2 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
  2. John 8:2 Some manuscripts have “were coming to him”
  3. John 8:2 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sat down”) has been translated as a finite verb
  4. John 8:2 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to teach”)
  5. John 8:3 Some manuscripts have “brought a woman”
  6. John 8:4 Some manuscripts omit “testing him”
  7. John 8:6 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  8. John 8:6 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to write”)
  9. John 8:6 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  10. John 8:6 Some manuscripts omit “taking no notice”
  11. John 8:7 Some manuscripts have “he straightened up and said”
  12. John 8:9 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  13. John 8:9 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  14. John 8:9 Some manuscripts omit “being convicted by their conscience”
  15. John 8:9 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to depart”)
  16. John 8:9 Some manuscripts have “he”
  17. John 8:10 Some manuscripts omit “and seeing no one except the woman”
  18. John 8:10 Some manuscripts have “said to her, ‘Woman, where are they?”
  19. John 8:11 Some manuscripts have “and from now on”
  20. John 8:11 John 7:53–8:11 is not found in the earliest and best manuscripts and was almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John; one significant group of Greek manuscripts places it after Luke 21:38
  21. John 8:17 An allusion to Deut 17:6
  22. John 8:20 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“teaching”) which is understood as temporal
  23. John 8:20 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
  24. John 8:22 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
  25. John 8:25 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
  26. John 8:25 Literally “that which”
  27. John 8:28 Some manuscripts have “said to them”
  28. John 8:30 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was saying”)
  29. John 8:35 Literally “for the age”
  30. John 8:35 Literally “for the age”
  31. John 8:41 Some manuscripts have “Then they said”
  32. John 8:43 Literally “because of what”
  33. John 8:44 *The word “nature” is not in the Greek text but is implied
  34. John 8:44 Literally “of it”
  35. John 8:46 Literally “because of what”
  36. John 8:51 Literally “for the age”
  37. John 8:52 Some manuscripts have “Then the Jews”
  38. John 8:52 Literally “for the age”
  39. John 8:53 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “are you”
  40. John 8:56 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  41. John 8:57 Literally “you have”
  42. John 8:59 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  43. John 8:59 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
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