John 8
8
1but Jesus walked out to the Mount of Olives. 2Then early the next morning he went to the temple. The people came to him, and he sat down#8.2 sat down: See the note at 6.3,4. and started teaching them.
3The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses brought in a woman who had been caught in bed with a man who wasn't her husband. They made her stand in the middle of the crowd. 4Then they said, “Teacher, this woman was caught sleeping with a man who isn't her husband. 5#Lv 20.10; Dt 22.22-24. The Law of Moses teaches that a woman like this should be stoned to death! What do you say?”
6They asked Jesus this question, because they wanted to test him and bring some charge against him. But Jesus simply bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger.
7 #
Su 34. They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and said, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” 8Once again he bent over and began writing on the ground. 9The people left one by one, beginning with the oldest. Finally, Jesus and the woman were there alone.
10Jesus stood up and asked her, “Where is everyone? Isn't there anyone left to accuse you?”
11“No sir,” the woman answered.
Then Jesus told her, “I am not going to accuse you either. You may go now, but don't sin anymore.”#8.11 don't sin anymore: Verses 1-11 are not in some manuscripts. In other manuscripts these verses are placed after 7.36 or after 21.25 or after Luke 21.38, with some differences in the text.
Jesus Is the Light for the World
12 #
Ws 7.26; Mt 5.14; Jn 9.5. Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won't be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.”
13 #
Jn 5.31. The Pharisees objected, “You are the only one speaking for yourself, and what you say isn't true!”
14Jesus replied:
Even if I do speak for myself, what I say is true! I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don't know where I am from or where I am going. 15You judge in the same way that everyone else does, but I don't judge anyone. 16If I did judge, I would judge fairly, because I would not be doing it alone. The Father who sent me is here with me. 17#Dt 19.15. Your Law requires two witnesses to prove that something is true. 18I am one of my witnesses, and the Father who sent me is the other one.
19“Where is your Father?” they asked.
“You don't know me or my Father!” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father.”
20Jesus said this while he was still teaching in the place where the temple treasures were stored. But no one arrested him, because his time had not yet come.#8.20 his time had not yet come: See the note at 2.4.
You Cannot Go Where I Am Going
21Jesus also told them, “I am going away, and you will look for me. But you cannot go where I am going, and you will die with your sins unforgiven.”
22The people asked, “Does he intend to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying we cannot go where he is going?”
23Jesus answered, “You are from below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don't. 24This is why I said you will die with your sins unforgiven. If you don't have faith in me for who I am,#8.24 I am: For the Jewish people the most holy name of God is “Yahweh,” which may be translated “I am.” In the Gospel of John “I am” is sometimes used by Jesus to show that he is that one. you will die, and your sins will not be forgiven.”
25“Who are you?” they asked Jesus.
Jesus answered, “I am exactly who I told you at the beginning. 26There is a lot more I could say to condemn you. But the one who sent me is truthful, and I tell the people of this world only what I have heard from him.”
27No one understood that Jesus was talking to them about the Father.
28Jesus went on to say, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man,#8.28 lifted up the Son of Man: See the note at 7.39. you will know who I am. You will also know that I don't do anything on my own. I say only what my Father taught me. 29The one who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him, and he will never leave me.”
30After Jesus said this, many of the people put their faith in him.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. 32#1 Esd 4.38. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 #
Mt 3.9; Lk 3.8. They answered, “We are Abraham's children! We have never been anyone's slaves. How can you say we will be set free?”
34Jesus replied:
I tell you for certain that anyone who sins is a slave of sin! 35And slaves don't stay in the family forever, though the Son will always remain in the family. 36If the Son gives you freedom, you are free! 37I know that you are from Abraham's family. Yet you want to kill me, because my message isn't really in your hearts. 38I am telling you what my Father has shown me, just as you are doing what your father has taught you.
Your Father Is the Devil
39The people said to Jesus, “Abraham is our father!”
Jesus replied, “If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did. 40Instead, you want to kill me for telling you the truth that God gave me. Abraham never did anything like that. 41But you are doing exactly what your father does.”
“Don't accuse us of having someone else as our father!” they said. “We just have one father, and he is God.”
42Jesus answered:
If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. He sent me. I did not come on my own. 43Why can't you understand what I am talking about? Can't you stand to hear what I am saying? 44#Ws 1.13; 2.24. Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies.
45Everything I have told you is true, and you still refuse to have faith in me. 46Can any of you accuse me of sin? If you cannot, why won't you have faith in me? After all, I am telling you the truth. 47Anyone who belongs to God will listen to his message. But you refuse to listen, because you don't belong to God.
Jesus and Abraham
48The people told Jesus, “We were right to say that you are a Samaritan#8.48 Samaritan: See 4.9 and the note there. and that you have a demon in you!”
49Jesus answered, “I don't have a demon in me. I honor my Father, and you refuse to honor me. 50I don't want honor for myself. But there is one who wants me to be honored, and he is also the one who judges. 51I tell you for certain that if you obey my words, you will never die.”
52Then the people said, “Now we are sure that you have a demon. Abraham is dead, and so are the prophets. How can you say that no one who obeys your words will ever die? 53Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54Jesus replied, “If I honored myself, it would mean nothing. My Father is the one who honors me. You claim that he is your God, 55even though you don't really know him. If I said I didn't know him, I would be a liar, just like all of you. But I know him, and I do what he says. 56Your father Abraham was really glad to see me.”
57“You are not even 50 years old!” they said. “How could you have seen Abraham?”
58Jesus answered, “I tell you for certain that even before Abraham was, I was, and I am.”#8.58 I am: See the note at 8.24. 59The people picked up stones to kill Jesus, but he hid and left the temple.
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John 8: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
John 8
8
1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2At sunrise he arrived again in the temple courtyard. All the people gathered around him there. He sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman. She had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of the group. 4They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught sleeping with a man who was not her husband. 5In the Law, Moses commanded us to kill such women by throwing stones at them. Now what do you say?” 6They were trying to trap Jesus with that question. They wanted to have a reason to bring charges against him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7They kept asking him questions. So he stood up and said to them, “Has any one of you not sinned? Then you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8He bent down again and wrote on the ground.
9Those who heard what he had said began to go away. They left one at a time, the older ones first. Soon only Jesus was left. The woman was still standing there. 10Jesus stood up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Hasn’t anyone found you guilty?”
11“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then I don’t find you guilty either,” Jesus said. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Challenge to What Jesus Says About Himself
12Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness. They will have that light. They will have life.”
13The Pharisees argued with him. “Here you are,” they said, “appearing as your own witness. But your witness does not count.”
14Jesus answered, “Even if I am a witness about myself, what I say does count. I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15You judge by human standards. I don’t judge anyone. 16But if I do judge, what I decide is true. This is because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17Your own Law says that the witness of two people proves the truth about something. 18I am a witness about myself. The other witness about me is the Father, who sent me.”
19Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20He spoke these words while he was teaching in the temple courtyard. He was near the place where the offerings were put. But no one arrested him. That’s because the time for him to die had not yet come.
Challenge to Who Jesus Claims to Be
21Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away. You will look for me, and you will die in your sin. You can’t come where I am going.”
22This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘You can’t come where I am going’?”
23But Jesus said, “You are from below. I am from heaven. You are from this world. I am not from this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins. This will happen if you don’t believe that I am he. If you don’t believe, you will certainly die in your sins.”
25“Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26“I have a lot to say that will judge you. But the one who sent me can be trusted. And I tell the world what I have heard from him.”
27They did not understand that Jesus was telling them about his Father. 28So Jesus said, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I am he. You will also know that I do nothing on my own. I speak just what the Father has taught me. 29The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” 30Even while Jesus was speaking, many people believed in him.
Challenge to the Claim to Be Children of Abraham
31Jesus spoke to the Jews who had believed him. “If you obey my teaching,” he said, “you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.”
33They answered him, “We are Abraham’s children. We have never been slaves of anyone. So how can you say that we will be set free?”
34Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35A slave has no lasting place in the family. But a son belongs to the family forever. 36So if the Son of Man sets you free, you will really be free. 37I know that you are Abraham’s children. But you are looking for a way to kill me. You have no room for my word. 38I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. You are doing what you have heard from your father.”
39“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
Jesus said, “Are you really Abraham’s children? If you are, you will do what Abraham did. 40But you are looking for a way to kill me. I am a man who has told you the truth I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do the things you want to do. 41You are doing what your own father does.”
“We have the right to claim to be God’s children,” they objected. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me. I have come here from God. I have not come on my own. God sent me. 43Why aren’t my words clear to you? Because you can’t really hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil. You want to obey your father’s wishes. From the beginning, the devil was a murderer. He has never obeyed the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his natural language. He does this because he is a liar. He is the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me! 46Can any of you prove I am guilty of sinning? Am I not telling the truth? Then why don’t you believe me? 47Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you don’t hear is that you don’t belong to God.”
Jesus Makes Claims About Himself
48The Jews answered Jesus, “Aren’t we right when we say you are a Samaritan? Aren’t you controlled by a demon?”
49“I am not controlled by a demon,” said Jesus. “I honor my Father. You do not honor me. 50I am not seeking glory for myself. But there is one who brings glory to me. He is the judge. 51What I’m about to tell you is true. Whoever obeys my word will never die.”
52Then they cried out, “Now we know you are controlled by a demon! Abraham died. So did the prophets. But you say that whoever obeys your word will never die. 53Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died. So did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54Jesus replied, “If I bring glory to myself, my glory means nothing. You claim that my Father is your God. He is the one who brings glory to me. 55You do not know him. But I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him. And I obey his word. 56Your father Abraham was filled with joy at the thought of seeing my day. He saw it and was glad.”
57“You are not even 50 years old,” they said to Jesus. “And you have seen Abraham?”
58“What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus answered. “Before Abraham was born, I am!” 59When he said this, they picked up stones to kill him. But Jesus hid himself. He slipped away from the temple area.
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