John 8:31-59
New King James Version
The Truth Shall Make You Free
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you (A)abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the (B)truth, and (C)the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, (D)“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, (E)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And (F)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 (G)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 (H)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 (I)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have [a]seen with your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, (J)“Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, (K)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 (L)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth (M)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; (N)we have one Father—God.”
42 Jesus said to them, (O)“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for (P)I proceeded forth and came from God; (Q)nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 (R)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 (S)You are of your father the devil, and the (T)desires of your father you want to (U)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and (V)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 (W)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 (X)have a demon?”
49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and (Y)you dishonor Me. 50 And (Z)I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Most assuredly, I say to you, (AA)if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (AB)have a demon! (AC)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. (AD)Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, (AE)“If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. (AF)It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is [b]your God. 55 Yet (AG)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 (AH)keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham (AI)rejoiced to see My day, (AJ)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, (AK)before Abraham was, (AL)I AM.”
59 Then (AM)they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, (AN)going[c] through the midst of them, and so passed by.
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John 8:31-59
Lexham English Bible
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They replied to him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have not been enslaved to anyone at any time. How do you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus replied to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the household forever;[a] the son remains forever.[b] 36 So if the son sets you free, you will be truly free. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are seeking to kill me, because my word makes no progress among you. 38 I speak the things that I have seen with the Father; so also you do the things that you have heard from the Father.”
The Priority of Jesus Over Abraham
39 They answered and said to him, “Abraham is our father!” Jesus said to them, “If you are children of Abraham, do the deeds of Abraham! 40 But now you are seeking to kill me, a man who spoke to you the truth which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of your father!”
They said[c] to him, “We were not born from sexual immorality! We have one father, God!” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I have come forth from God and have come. For I have not come from myself, but that one sent me. 43 Why[d] do you not understand my way of speaking? Because you are not able to listen to my message. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father! That one was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand firm in the truth, because truth is not in him. Whenever he speaks the lie, he speaks from his own nature,[e] because he is a liar and the father of lies.[f] 45 But because I am telling the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who among you convicts me concerning sin? If I am telling the truth, why[g] do you not believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to the words of God. Because of this you do not listen—because you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered and said to him, “Do we not correctly say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus replied, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me! 50 But I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges! 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never experience death forever.”[h]
52 The Jews[i] said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham and the prophets died, and you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death forever.’[j] 53 You are not greater than our father Abraham who died, are you?[k] And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself to be?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you! But I know him and I keep his word. 56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it[l] and was glad.”
57 So the Jews said to him, “You are[m] not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!” 59 Then they picked up stones in order to throw them[n] at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple courts.[o]
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- John 8:35 Literally “for the age”
- John 8:35 Literally “for the age”
- John 8:41 Some manuscripts have “Then they said”
- John 8:43 Literally “because of what”
- John 8:44 *The word “nature” is not in the Greek text but is implied
- John 8:44 Literally “of it”
- John 8:46 Literally “because of what”
- John 8:51 Literally “for the age”
- John 8:52 Some manuscripts have “Then the Jews”
- John 8:52 Literally “for the age”
- John 8:53 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “are you”
- John 8:56 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 8:57 Literally “you have”
- John 8:59 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 8:59 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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