John 8

1but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 ^aEarly in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and ^bhe sat down and taught them. 3The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5Now ^cin the Law, Moses commanded us ^dto stone such women. So what do you say?” 6This they said ^eto test him, ^fthat they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ^g“Let him who is without sin among you ^hbe the first to throw a stone at her.” 8And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ⁱ“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ^jsin no more.”]]

I Am the Light of the World

12 ^kAgain Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^l“I am the light of the world. Whoever ^mfollows me will not ⁿwalk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13So the Pharisees said to him, ^o“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, ^pmy testimony is true, for I know ^qwhere I came from and ^rwhere I am going, but ^syou do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 ^tYou judge according to the flesh; ^uI judge no one. 16Yet even if I do judge, ^vmy judgment is true, for ^wit is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father ▼

▼Some manuscripts he

who sent me. 17 ^yIn your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18I am the one who bears witness about myself, and ^zthe Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, ^aa“You know neither me nor my Father. ^abIf you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20These words he spoke in ^acthe treasury, as he taught in the temple; but ^adno one arrested him, because ^aehis hour had not yet come.

21So he said to them again, ^af“I am going away, and ^agyou will seek me, and ^ahyou will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22So the Jews said, ^ai“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23He said to them, ^aj“You are from below; I am from above. ^akYou are of this world; ^alI am not of this world. 24I told you that you ^amwould die in your sins, for ^anunless you believe that ^aoI am he you will die in your sins.” 25So they said to him, ^ap“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26I have much to say about you and much to judge, but ^aqhe who sent me is true, and I declare ^arto the world ^aswhat I have heard from him.” 27They did not understand that ^athe had been speaking to them about the Father. 28So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^aulifted up the Son of Man, ^avthen you will know that ^awI am he, and that ^axI do nothing on my own authority, but ^ayspeak just as the Father taught me. 29And ^azhe who sent me is with me. ^baHe has not left me alone, for ^bbI always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30As he was saying these things, ^bcmany believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^bd“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will ^beknow the truth, and the truth ^bfwill set you free.” 33They answered him, ^bg“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^bheveryone who practices sin is a slave ▼

▼Greek bondservant; also verse 35

to sin. 35 ^bjThe slave does not remain in the house forever; ^bkthe son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet ^blyou seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 ^bmI speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard ^bnfrom your father.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

39They answered him, ^bo“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ^bp“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40but now ^bqyou seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth ^brthat I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, ^bs“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have ^btone Father—even God.” 42Jesus said to them, ^bu“If God were your Father, you would love me, for ^bvI came from God and ^bwI am here. ^bxI came not of my own accord, but ^byhe sent me. 43 ^bzWhy do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ^cabear to hear my word. 44 ^cbYou are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. ^ccHe was a murderer from the beginning, and ^cddoes not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^ceWhen he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 ^cfWhoever is of God hears the words of God. ^cgThe reason why you do not hear them is that ^chyou are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

48The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^cihave a demon?” 49Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^cjI honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50Yet ^ckI do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51Truly, truly, ^clI say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^cmsee death.” 52The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^cnAbraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^coyou say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ^cptaste death.’ 53 ^cqAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54Jesus answered, ^cr“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. ^csIt is my Father who glorifies me, ^ctof whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ ▼

▼Some manuscripts your God

55But ^cvyou have not known him. ^cwI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ^cxa liar ^cylike you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 ^czYour father Abraham ^darejoiced ^dbthat he would see my day. ^dcHe saw it and was glad.” 57So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” ▼

▼Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you?

58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ^deI am.” 59So ^dfthey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.