John 8:31-59
New American Standard Bible
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(A)If you continue in My word, then you are truly My (B)disciples; 32 and (C)you will know the truth, and (D)the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered Him, “(E)We are Abraham’s descendants and have never 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 a slave of sin. 35 Now (G)the slave does not remain in the house forever; (H)the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son (I)sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are (J)Abraham’s descendants; yet (K)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word [a]has no place in you. 38 I speak of 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, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, (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 as a result 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 came forth from God and am here; for I have (U)not even come [c]on My own, but [d](V)He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand [e](W)what I am saying? It is because you cannot (X)listen to 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 tells [f]a lie, he (AD)speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of [g]lies. 45 But because (AE)I say 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)The one 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 rightly say that You are a (AI)Samaritan, and You (AJ)have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not (AK)have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But (AL)I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone (AM)follows My word, he will never (AN)see death.” 52 (AO)The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (AP)have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone (AQ)follows My word, he will never (AR)taste of death.’ 53 You (AS)are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? 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 come to know 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 I (AZ)follow His word. 56 (BA)Your father Abraham was (BB)overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” 57 (BC)So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham [h]was born, [i](BD)I am.” 59 Therefore they (BE)picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus (BF)hid Himself and left the temple grounds.
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John 8:31-59
International Standard Version
Freedom and Slavery
31 So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They replied to him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves to anybody. So how can you say, ‘You will be set free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, I tell all of you[a] emphatically, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.[b] 35 The slave does not remain in the household forever, but the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”
The Real Children of Abraham
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me because you’ve not received what I’ve told you. 38 I declare what I’ve seen in my[c] Father’s presence, and you’re doing what you’ve heard from your father.”
39 They replied to him, “Our father is Abraham!”
Jesus told them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did.[d] 40 But now you’re trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham wouldn’t have done that. 41 You are doing your father’s actions.”
They told him, “We’re not illegitimate children. We have one Father, God himself.”
42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would’ve loved me, because I came from God and am here. I haven’t come on my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I’ve said? It’s because you can’t listen to my words. 44 You belong to your father the Devil, and you want to carry out the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and has never stood for truth, since there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But it is because I speak the truth that you don’t believe me. 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The one who belongs to God listens to the words of God. The reason you don’t listen is because you don’t belong to God.”
Jesus is Superior to Abraham
48 The Jewish leaders[e] replied to him, “Surely we’re right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon, aren’t we?”
49 Jesus answered, “I don’t have a demon. On the contrary, I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and he is the Judge. 51 Truly, I tell all of you[f] emphatically, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
52 Then the Jewish leaders[g] told him, “Now we really know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets, but you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham, who died, are you? The prophets also died. Who are you making yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I were trying to glorify myself, my glory would mean nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 You don’t know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Jewish leaders[h] asked him, “You are not even 50 years old, yet you have seen Abraham?”[i]
58 Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you[j] emphatically, before there was an Abraham, I AM!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the Temple.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 8:34 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 8:34 Other mss. lack of sin
- John 8:38 Other mss. read the
- John 8:39 Lit. the works of Abraham
- John 8:48 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 8:51 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 8:52 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. The Jews
- John 8:57 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 8:57 Other mss. read Abraham has seen you?
- John 8:58 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
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