John 7:17 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

¹⁷ If anyone [really] desires to do what God wants, he will know whether my teaching comes from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority [only].

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

¹⁷ If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹⁷ If any man desires to do His will (God's pleasure), he will know (have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself) whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My own accord and on My own authority.

American Standard Version (1901)

¹⁷ If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself.

Common English Bible

¹⁷ Whoever wants to do God’s will can tell whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own.

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹⁷ If anyone has chosen to do his will, then he will realize, about the doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether I am speaking from myself.

John 7:17 Cross References

Matthew 6:22

Your eye is [like] a lamp to your body [i.e., your life]. If your eye sees things correctly, [then] your whole body [i.e., your entire life] will be illuminated [i.e., be directed into proper conduct].

Luke 8:15

And those people [represented by seed falling] in the fertile soil are those who possess a good and honest heart when they hear the word [of God]. They hold on to it and patiently [continue until they] produce a crop.

John 3:21

But the person who does what is [according to the] truth [i.e., good things] comes to the light so that his deeds may be shown to have been produced by God.

John 8:43

Why do you people not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot [bear to] listen to my message.

John 8:44

You belong to your father the devil, and you are [always] wanting to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the [very] beginning [Note: This is probably a reference to Satan’s influence on Adam, Eve and Cain in the Garden of Eden] and does not stand for the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he only speaks what is part of his nature, because he is a liar and the father of [all] liars.

John 8:47

The person who belongs to God listens to the message from God. The reason you will not listen to it is because you do not belong to God.”

Acts 17:11

Now these people [in Berea] had more character than those in Thessalonica because they [not only] received the message with an open mind but [also] examined the [Old Testament] Scriptures every day to see if what they had heard was really true.