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John 8
New International Version
John 8
New International Version
8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.(A)
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.(B) 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.(C) Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap,(D) in order to have a basis for accusing him.(E)
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone(F) at her.”(G) 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,”(H) Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”(I)
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am(J) the light of the world.(K) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(L)
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”(M)
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.(N) But you have no idea where I come from(O) or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards;(P) I pass judgment on no one.(Q) 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.(R) 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(S) 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”(T)
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,”(U) Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”(V) 20 He spoke these words while teaching(W) in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put.(X) Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.(Y)
Dispute Over Who Jesus Is
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die(Z) in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”(AA)
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.(AB) 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he,(AC) you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy,(AD) and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”(AE)
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man,(AF) then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.(AG) 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone,(AH) for I always do what pleases him.”(AI) 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.(AJ)
Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching,(AK) you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(AL)
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants(AM) and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.(AN) 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.(AO) 36 So if the Son sets you free,(AP) you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me,(AQ) because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence,(AR) and you are doing what you have heard from your father.[b]”(AS)
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,”(AT) said Jesus, “then you would[c] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me,(AU) a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.(AV) Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”(AW)
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”(AX)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,(AY) for I have come here from God.(AZ) I have not come on my own;(BA) God sent me.(BB) 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil,(BC) and you want to carry out your father’s desires.(BD) He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.(BE) 45 Yet because I tell the truth,(BF) you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.(BG) The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Jesus’ Claims About Himself
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan(BH) and demon-possessed?”(BI)
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself;(BJ) but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”(BK)
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!(BL) Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham?(BM) He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself,(BN) my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.(BO) 55 Though you do not know him,(BP) I know him.(BQ) If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.(BR) 56 Your father Abraham(BS) rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it(BT) and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born,(BU) I am!”(BV) 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him,(BW) but Jesus hid himself,(BX) slipping away from the temple grounds.
John 8
The Message
John 8
The Message
To Throw the Stone
8 1-2 Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them.
3-6 The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
6-8 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.
9-10 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”
11 “No one, Master.”
“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”]
Note: John 7:53–8:11 [the portion in brackets] is not found in the earliest handwritten copies.
You’re Missing God in All This
12 Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”
13 The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.”
14-18 Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I’ve come from and where I go next. You don’t know where I’m from or where I’m headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. That fulfills the conditions set down in God’s Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me.”
19 They said, “Where is this so-called Father of yours?”
Jesus said, “You’re looking right at me and you don’t see me. How do you expect to see the Father? If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father.”
20 He gave this speech in the Treasury while teaching in the Temple. No one arrested him because his time wasn’t yet up.
21 Then he went over the same ground again. “I’m leaving and you are going to look for me, but you’re missing God in this and are headed for a dead end. There is no way you can come with me.”
22 The Jews said, “So, is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by ‘You can’t come with me’?”
23-24 Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You’re at a dead end. If you won’t believe I am who I say I am, you’re at the dead end of sins. You’re missing God in your lives.”
25-26 They said to him, “Just who are you anyway?”
Jesus said, “What I’ve said from the start. I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don’t accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning—not me but the One who sent me.”
27-29 They still didn’t get it, didn’t realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. “When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am—that I’m not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn’t abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him.”
30 When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe.
If the Son Sets You Free
31-32 Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.”
33 Surprised, they said, “But we’re descendants of Abraham. We’ve never been slaves to anyone. How can you say, ‘The truth will free you’?”
34-38 Jesus said, “I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. A slave can’t come and go at will. The Son, though, has an established position, the run of the house. So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through. I know you are Abraham’s descendants. But I also know that you are trying to kill me because my message hasn’t yet penetrated your thick skulls. I’m talking about things I have seen while keeping company with the Father, and you just go on doing what you have heard from your father.”
39-41 They were indignant. “Our father is Abraham!”
Jesus said, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would have been doing the things Abraham did. And yet here you are trying to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth he got straight from God! Abraham never did that sort of thing. You persist in repeating the works of your father.”
They said, “We’re not bastards. We have a legitimate father: the one and only God.”
42-47 “If God were your father,” said Jesus, “you would love me, for I came from God and arrived here. I didn’t come on my own. He sent me. Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”
I Am Who I Am
48 The Jews then said, “That settles it. We were right all along when we called you a Samaritan and said you were crazy—demon-possessed!”
49-51 Jesus said, “I’m not crazy. I simply honor my Father, while you dishonor me. I am not trying to get anything for myself. God intends something gloriously grand here and is making the decisions that will bring it about. I say this with absolute confidence. If you practice what I’m telling you, you’ll never have to look death in the face.”
52-53 At this point the Jews said, “Now we know you’re crazy. Abraham died. The prophets died. And you show up saying, ‘If you practice what I’m telling you, you’ll never have to face death, not even a taste.’ Are you greater than Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you think you are!”
54-56 Jesus said, “If I were striving to get all the attention, it wouldn’t amount to anything. But my Father, the same One you say is your Father, put me here at this time and place of splendor. You haven’t recognized him in this. But I have. If I, in false modesty, said I didn’t know what was going on, I would be as much of a liar as you are. But I do know, and I am doing what he says. Abraham—your ‘father’—with elated faith looked down the corridors of history and saw my day coming. He saw it and cheered.”
57 The Jews said, “You’re not even fifty years old—and Abraham saw you?”
58 “Believe me,” said Jesus, “I am who I am long before Abraham was anything.”
59 That did it—pushed them over the edge. They picked up rocks to throw at him. But Jesus slipped away, getting out of the Temple.
John 8
New Living Translation
John 8
New Living Translation
A Woman Caught in Adultery
8 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
Jesus, the Light of the World
12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
13 The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. 15 You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. 16 And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father[a] who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact.[b] 18 I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”
19 “Where is your father?” they asked.
Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” 20 Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time[c] had not yet come.
The Unbelieving People Warned
21 Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”
22 The people[d] asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be,[e] you will die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they demanded.
Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be.[f] 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” 27 But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.
28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he.[g] I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” 30 Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.
Jesus and Abraham
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”
39 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared.
“No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.[h] 40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father.”
They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”
42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”
48 The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”
49 “No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. 50 And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. 51 I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”
52 The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’[i] 55 but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”
57 The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?[j]”
58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am![k]” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.
Footnotes
- 8:16 Some manuscripts read The One.
- 8:17 See Deut 19:15.
- 8:20 Greek his hour.
- 8:22 Greek Jewish people; also in 8:31, 48, 52, 57.
- 8:24 Greek unless you believe that I am. See Exod 3:14.
- 8:25 Or Why do I speak to you at all?
- 8:28 Greek When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 8:39 Some manuscripts read if you are really the children of Abraham, follow his example.
- 8:54 Some manuscripts read You say he is your God.
- 8:57 Some manuscripts read How can you say Abraham has seen you?
- 8:58 Or before Abraham was even born, I have always been alive; Greek reads before Abraham was, I am. See Exod 3:14.
John 8
Expanded Bible
John 8
Expanded Bible
The Woman Caught in Adultery
8 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives [C east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley]. 2 But ·early in the morning [at dawn] he went back to the Temple [courts; 2:14], and all the people came to him, and he sat and taught them. 3 The ·teachers of the law [scribes; C experts in the law of Moses] and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They forced her to stand ·before [or in the midst of] the people. 4 They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught ·having sexual relations with a man who is not her husband [in the very act of committing adultery]. 5 The law of Moses commands that we stone to death every woman who does this [compare Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22–24]. What do you say we should do?” 6 They were asking this to ·trick [trap; test] Jesus so that they could have some ·charge [accusation] against him.
But Jesus ·bent over [stooped down] and started writing on the ground with his finger [C we do not know what he is writing though there has been much speculation]. 7 When they continued to ask Jesus their question, he ·raised up [straightened] and said, “Anyone here who ·has never sinned [is guiltless; T is without sin] can throw the first stone at her [Deut. 13:9; 17:7; comp. Lev. 24:14].” 8 Then Jesus ·bent over [stooped down] again and wrote on the ground.
9 Those who heard Jesus began to leave one by one, first the ·older men [elders] and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus ·raised up [straightened] again and asked her, “Woman [C a respectful term of address in Greek; see 2:4], where are they? Has no one ·judged you guilty [condemned you]?”
11 She answered, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “I also don’t ·judge you guilty [condemn you]. ·You may go now, but don’t sin anymore [T Go, and sin no more].”|
Jesus Is the Light of the World
12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world [C the Feast of Shelters included a lamp lighting ritual that Jesus may be alluding to; 7:37–39]. The person who follows me will never ·live [L walk] in darkness but will have the light ·that gives life [L of life].”
13 The Pharisees [see 1:24] said to Jesus, “When you ·talk [testify; witness] about yourself, ·you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say [L your testimony/witness is not true/valid; 5:31].”
14 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am ·saying these things [witnessing; testifying] about myself, but they are true [valid]. I know where I came from [C from the Father or “from above”] and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge ·by human standards [T according to the flesh; C rather than guided by the Spirit]. I am not judging anyone. 16 But ·when [if] I do judge, ·I judge truthfully [L my judgment is true], because 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 [L the testimony of two witnesses is true/valid; Deut. 17:6; 19:15]. 18 I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”
19 [L Therefore] They asked him, “Where is your father?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.” 20 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple [courts], near ·where the money is kept [the treasury; offering box]. But no one ·arrested [seized] him, because ·the right time for him [L his hour; see 2:4] had not yet come.
The People Misunderstand Jesus
21 Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you [C when he dies, is raised, and ascends to the Father], and you will ·look for [seek; search for] me, but you will die in your ·sins [L sin; C of unbelief]. You cannot come where I am going.”
22 So the Jews asked, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 Jesus said, “You people are from here below [C from the earth], but I am from above [C from heaven or from God]. You belong to this world, but I ·don’t belong to this world [L am not of this world]. 24 So I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, you will die in your sins if you don’t believe that ·I am he [L I am; C this may be an allusion to God’s (Yahweh’s) self identification either from Ex. 3:14 (the great “I AM”) or Is. 40—55, where God repeatedly says, “I am he”)].”
25 [L Therefore] They asked, “Then who are you?”
Jesus answered them, “·I am what I have told you from the beginning [or Why do I speak to you at all?]. 26 I have many things to say and ·decide about you [or condemn/judge you for]. But I tell ·people [the world] only the things I have heard from the One who sent me, and he speaks the truth.”
27 The people did not understand that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up [C on the cross] the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14], you will know that ·I am he [L I am; C see 8:24]. You will know that these things I do are not ·by my own authority [on my own] but that I say only what the Father has taught me. 29 The One who sent me is with me. I always do what is pleasing to him, so he has not left me alone.” 30 While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.
Freedom from Sin
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you ·continue to obey my teaching [L remain/abide in my word], you are truly my ·followers [disciples]. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will ·make [set] you free.”
33 They answered, “We are Abraham’s ·children [descendants; L seed; Gen. 12:1–3], and we have never been anyone’s slaves. So why do you say we will be free?”
34 Jesus answered them, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], everyone who ·lives in sin [commits/practices sin] is a slave to sin. 35 A slave does not ·stay with a family [live in the household] forever, but a son ·belongs to the family [lives in the household] forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be ·truly free [T free indeed]. 37 I know you are Abraham’s ·children [descendants; L seed], but you ·want [are trying; seek] to kill me because ·you don’t accept my teaching [L my word has no place in you; C thus showing they were Abraham’s children only physically, not spiritually; Jer. 9:25–26; Rom. 9:7; Gal. 4:21–31]. 38 I am telling you ·what my Father has shown me [L what I have seen in the Father’s presence], but you do what ·your father [or the Father] has told you.”
39 They answered, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were really Abraham’s children, you would do[a] the things Abraham did. 40 I am a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God, but you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that. 41 So you are doing the things your own father did.”
But [or Therefore] they said to him, “We are not ·like children who never knew who their father was [illegitimate children; L born from/of fornication]. 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, because I came from God and now I am here. [L For] I did not come ·by my own authority [on my own]; God sent me. 43 You don’t understand [L Why don’t you understand…?] what I say, because you cannot ·accept my teaching [L hear my word/message]. 44 You ·belong to [are from] your father the devil, and you want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning [Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12] and ·was against the truth [does not uphold the truth], because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, ·he shows what he is really like [he reveals his own nature; or he speaks his own language; L he speaks from his own], because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you don’t believe me. 46 ·Can any of you [L Who among you can…?] ·prove that I am guilty [convict me] of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The person who belongs to God ·accepts what God says [L hears/obeys the words of God]. But you don’t ·accept what God says [hear; obey], because you don’t belong to God.”
Jesus Is Greater than Abraham
48 ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] answered, “We say you are a Samaritan [C a people disliked by the Jews; 4:4, 9] and ·have a demon in you [are demon-possessed]. Are we not right?”
49 Jesus answered, “I ·have no demon in me [am not demon-possessed]. I give honor to my Father, but you dishonor me. 50 I am not trying to get ·honor [glory] for myself. There is One who wants this ·honor [glory] for me, and he is the judge. 51 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever ·obeys my teaching will never die [L keeps my word will never see death].”
52 [L Therefore] ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] said to Jesus, “Now we know that you ·have a demon in you [are demon-possessed]! Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, ‘Whoever ·obeys my teaching will never die [L keeps my word will never taste death].’ 53 Do you think you are greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died, too. ·Who do you think you are [or Who are you claiming/pretending to be]?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I give ·honor [glory] to myself, that ·honor [glory] is worth nothing. The One who gives me ·honor [glory] is my Father, and you say he is your God. 55 You don’t really know him, but 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 [L keep his word]. 56 Your father Abraham ·was very happy [rejoiced] that he would see my day [C the day of the Messiah’s arrival]. He saw that day and was glad.”
57 [L Therefore] ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] said to him, “You have never seen Abraham! You are not even fifty years old [C Abraham had been dead for almost 2,000 years].”
58 Jesus answered, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], before Abraham was even born, ·I am!” [C A claim to deity; see comments at 8:24; 10:28.] 59 When Jesus said this, the people picked up stones to throw at him [C believing he had committed blasphemy worthy of death]. But Jesus hid himself, and then he left the Temple.
Footnotes
- John 8:39 If … do Some Greek copies read “If you are really Abraham’s children, you will do.”
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The Message (MSG)
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