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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
New King James Version

Jesus the Light of the World

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Now [a]early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and (A)taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, [b]this woman was caught in (B)adultery, in the very act. 5 (C)Now [c]Moses, in the law, commanded us [d]that such should be stoned. But what do You [e]say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they (D)might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, [f]as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He [g]raised Himself up and said to them, (E)“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, (F)being[h] convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up [i]and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers [j]of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, (G)“Neither do I condemn you; go [k]and (H)sin no more.”

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, (I)“I am the light of the world. He who (J)follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus Defends His Self-Witness

13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, (K)“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not [l]true.”

14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but (L)you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 (M)You judge according to the flesh; (N)I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for (O)I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 (P)It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and (Q)the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”

Jesus answered, (R)“You know neither Me nor My Father. (S)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

20 These words Jesus spoke in (T)the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and (U)no one laid hands on Him, for (V)His hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Departure

21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and (W)you will seek Me, and (X)will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”

22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”

23 And He said to them, (Y)“You are from beneath; I am from above. (Z)You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 (AA)Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; (AB)for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”

And Jesus said to them, “Just what I (AC)have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but (AD)He who sent Me is true; and (AE)I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”

27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you (AF)lift[m] up the Son of Man, (AG)then you will know that I am He, and (AH)that I do nothing of Myself; but (AI)as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And (AJ)He who sent Me is with Me. (AK)The Father has not left Me alone, (AL)for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, (AM)many believed in Him.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you (AN)abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the (AO)truth, and (AP)the truth shall make you free.”

33 They answered Him, (AQ)“We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (AR)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And (AS)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 (AT)Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but (AU)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 (AV)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have [n]seen with your father.”

39 They answered and said to Him, (AW)“Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, (AX)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 (AY)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth (AZ)which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; (BA)we have one Father—God.”

42 Jesus said to them, (BB)“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for (BC)I proceeded forth and came from God; (BD)nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 (BE)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 (BF)You are of your father the devil, and the (BG)desires of your father you want to (BH)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and (BI)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 (BJ)He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I AM

48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and (BK)have a demon?”

49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and (BL)you dishonor Me. 50 And (BM)I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Most assuredly, I say to you, (BN)if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (BO)have a demon! (BP)Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. (BQ)Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

54 Jesus answered, (BR)“If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. (BS)It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is [o]your God. 55 Yet (BT)you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and (BU)keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham (BV)rejoiced to see My day, (BW)and he saw it and was glad.”

57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (BX)before Abraham was, (BY)I AM.”

59 Then (BZ)they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, (CA)going[p] through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Footnotes

  1. John 8:2 M very early
  2. John 8:4 M we found this woman
  3. John 8:5 M in our law Moses commanded
  4. John 8:5 NU, M to stone such
  5. John 8:5 M adds about her
  6. John 8:6 NU, M omit as though He did not hear
  7. John 8:7 M He looked up
  8. John 8:9 NU, M omit being convicted by their conscience
  9. John 8:10 NU omits and saw no one but the woman; M He saw her and said,
  10. John 8:10 NU, M omit of yours
  11. John 8:11 NU, M add from now on
  12. John 8:13 valid as testimony
  13. John 8:28 Crucify
  14. John 8:38 NU heard from
  15. John 8:54 NU, M our
  16. John 8:59 NU omits the rest of v. 59.
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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