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
Revised Standard Version
True Disciples
31 Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
Jesus and Abraham
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did. 41 You do what your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it and he will be the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, ‘If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. 55 But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57 The Jews then said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”[a] 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.
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- John 8:57 Other ancient authorities read has Abraham seen you?
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.