John 8:31-59
Legacy Standard Bible
The Son Will Make You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(A)If you abide in My word, then you are truly My (B)disciples; 32 and (C)you will know the truth, and (D)the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “(E)We are Abraham’s seed and have never yet been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (F)everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 (G)And the slave does not remain in the house forever; (H)the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son (I)makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are (J)Abraham’s seed; yet (K)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word [a]has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen [b]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from (L)your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is (M)our father.” Jesus *said to them, “(N)If you are Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But now (O)you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has (P)told you the truth, which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of (Q)your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality; (R)we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, (S)you would love Me, (T)for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have (U)not even come of Myself, but [c](V)He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand [d](W)what I am saying? It is because you cannot (X)hear My word. 44 (Y)You are of (Z)your father the devil, and (AA)you want to do the desires of your father. (AB)He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because (AC)there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks [e]a lie, he (AD)speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of [f]lies. 45 But because (AE)I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If (AF)I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 (AG)He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
48 (AH)The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a (AI)Samaritan and (AJ)have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not (AK)have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But (AL)I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone (AM)keeps My word he will never (AN)see death—ever.” 52 (AO)The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (AP)have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone (AQ)keeps My word, he will never (AR)taste of death—ever.’ 53 Surely You (AS)are not greater than our father Abraham who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “(AT)If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; (AU)it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and (AV)you have not known Him, (AW)but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be (AX)a liar like you, (AY)but I do know Him and (AZ)keep His word. 56 (BA)Your father Abraham (BB)rejoiced [g]to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 (BC)So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, (BD)I am.” 59 Therefore they (BE)picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus [h](BF)hid Himself and went out of the temple.
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John 8:31-59
Common English Bible
Children of Abraham
31 Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They responded, “We are Abraham’s children; we’ve never been anyone’s slaves. How can you say that we will be set free?”
34 Jesus answered, “I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 A slave isn’t a permanent member of the household, but a son is. 36 Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s children, yet you want to kill me because you don’t welcome my teaching. 38 I’m telling you what I’ve seen when I am with the Father, but you are doing what you’ve heard from your father.”
39 They replied, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus responded, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do Abraham’s works. 40 Instead, you want to kill me, though I am the one who has spoken the truth I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this. 41 You are doing your father’s works.”
They said, “Our ancestry isn’t in question! The only Father we have is God!”
42 Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God. Here I am. I haven’t come on my own. God sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I’m saying? It’s because you can’t really hear my words. 44 Your father is the devil. You are his children, and you want to do what your father wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has never stood for the truth, because there’s no truth in him. Whenever that liar speaks, he speaks according to his own nature, because he’s a liar and the father of liars. 45 Because I speak the truth, you don’t believe me. 46 Who among you can show I’m guilty of sin? Since I speak the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 God’s children listen to God’s words. You don’t listen to me because you aren’t God’s children.”
48 The Jewish opposition answered, “We were right to say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon, weren’t we?”
49 “I don’t have a demon,” Jesus replied. “But I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I’m not trying to bring glory to myself. There’s one who is seeking to glorify me, and he’s the judge. 51 I assure you that whoever keeps my word will never die.”
Abraham and Jesus
52 The Jewish opposition said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham and the prophets died, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never die.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died and the prophets died, so who do you make yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is meaningless. My Father, who you say is your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 You don’t know him, but I do. If I said I didn’t know him, I would be like you, a liar. But I do know him, and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see my day. He saw it and was happy.”
57 “You aren’t even 50 years old!” the Jewish opposition replied. “How can you say that you have seen Abraham?”
58 “I assure you,” Jesus replied, “before Abraham was, I Am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple.
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