¹⁶ Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any native-born Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be put to death.

³³ They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures^[a] that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’^{[b] 35} And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ ³⁶ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.

³¹ “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.

⁷ Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name^[a] you bear?

¹³ even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.

¹¹ Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus.^[a] I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.

⁵⁸ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!^[a]” ⁵⁹ At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

²⁸ “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, ²⁹ but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.”

⁶⁶ What is your verdict?”

“Guilty!” they shouted. “He deserves to die!”