John 8

¹ Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. {\cf2\super [127]}

² Early in the morning Jesus went back to the temple {\cf2\super [128]} area. All the people came to Jesus. Jesus sat and taught the people.

³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees {\cf2\super [129]} brought a woman there. The woman had been caught doing the sin of adultery. {\cf2\super [130]} These Jews forced the woman to stand before the people.

⁴ They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught having sex with a man that is not her husband.

⁵ The law of Moses commands that we kill with rocks every woman that does this. What do you say we should do?”

⁶ The Jews were using this question to trick Jesus. They wanted to catch Jesus saying something wrong. Then they could have a charge against him. But Jesus kneeled down and started writing on the ground with his finger.

⁷ The Jewish leaders continued to ask Jesus their question. So Jesus stood up and said, “Is there any person here that has never sinned? That person without sin can throw the first rock at this woman.”

⁸ Then Jesus knelt down again and wrote on the ground.

⁹ The people that heard Jesus began to leave one by one. The older men left first, and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman. She was standing before him.

¹⁰ Jesus looked up again and asked her, “Woman, all of those people are gone. None of them judged you guilty?”

¹¹ The woman answered, “None of them judged me, sir.”

¹² Later, Jesus talked to the people again. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. The person that follows me will never live in darkness. That person will have the light that gives life.”

¹³ But the Pharisees {\cf2\super [131]} said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say that these things are true. So we cannot accept these things you say.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself. But people can believe these things I say. Why? Because I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going.

¹⁵ You judge me the way people judge other people. I don’t judge any person.

¹⁶ But if I judge, my judging is true. Why? Because when I judge I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.

¹⁷ Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, then you must accept what they say.

¹⁸ I am one of the witnesses that speaks about myself. And the Father who sent me is my other witness.”

¹⁹ The people asked, “Where is your father?”

²⁰ Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the temple {\cf2\super [132]} area. He was near the place where all the people came to give money. But no person arrested him. The right time for Jesus had not yet come.

²¹ Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die with your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”

²² So the Jewish leaders asked themselves, “Will Jesus kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

²³ But Jesus said to those Jews, “You people are from here below. But I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world.

²⁴ I told you that you would die with your sins. Yes, you will die with your sins, if you don’t believe that I AM. {\cf2\super [133]} ”

²⁵ The Jews asked, “Then who are you?”

²⁶ I have many things I could say to judge you. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One that sent me. And he speaks the truth.”

²⁷ These Jews did not understand who Jesus was talking about. Jesus was telling them about the Father (God).

²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “You will lift up (kill) the Son of Man. {\cf2\super [134]} Then you will know that I AM. {\cf2\super [135]} You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority (power). You will know that I say only the things that the Father has taught me.

²⁹ The One (God) who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him. So he has not left me alone.”

³⁰ While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews that believed in him, “If you continue to obey my teaching, then you are truly my followers.

³² Then you will know the truth. And the truth will make you free.”

³³ The Jews answered, “We are Abraham’s {\cf2\super [136]} people. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Every person that sins is a slave. Sin is his master.

³⁵ A slave does not stay with a family forever. But a son belongs to the family forever.

³⁶ So if the Son makes you free, then you will be truly free.

³⁷ I know you are Abraham’s {\cf2\super [137]} people. But you want to kill me. Why? Because you don’t want to accept my teaching.

³⁸ I am telling you what my Father has shown me. But you do the things that your father has told you.”

³⁹ The Jews said, “Our father {\cf2\super [138]} is Abraham. {\cf2\super [139]} ”

⁴⁰ I am a man who has told you the truth I heard from God. But you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that.

⁴¹ So you are doing the things your own father did.”

⁴² Jesus said to those Jews, “If God were really your Father, then you would love me. I came from God, and now I am here. I did not come by my own authority. God sent me.

⁴³ You don’t understand these things I say. Why? Because you cannot accept my teaching.

⁴⁴ Your father is the devil. You belong to him. You want to do what he wants. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He was always against the truth. There is no truth in him. He is like the lies he tells. Yes, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies.

⁴⁵ I speak the truth. That is why you don’t believe me.

⁴⁶ Can any of you prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, then why don’t you believe me?

⁴⁷ The person that belongs to God accepts what God says. But you don’t accept what God says, because you don’t belong to God.”

⁴⁸ The Jews answered, “We say you are a Samaritan. {\cf2\super [140]} We say a demon {\cf2\super [141]} is making you crazy! Are we not right when we say these things?”

⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I have no demon {\cf2\super [142]} in me. I give honor to my Father. But you give no honor to me.

⁵⁰ I am not trying to get honor for myself. There is One who wants this honor for me. He is the judge.

⁵¹ I tell you the truth. If a person continues to obey my teaching, then that person will never die.”

⁵² The Jews said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon {\cf2\super [143]} in you! Even Abraham {\cf2\super [144]} and the prophets {\cf2\super [145]} died. But you say, ‘The person that obeys my teaching will never die.’

⁵³ All the Jewish leaders left and went home.

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I give honor to myself, then that honor is worth nothing. The One that gives me honor is my Father. And you say that he is your God.

⁵⁵ But you don’t really know him. I know him. If I said I did not know him, then I would be a liar like you are liars. But I do know him. And I obey what he says.

⁵⁶ Your father {\cf2\super [146]} Abraham {\cf2\super [147]} was very happy that he would see the day when I came. He saw that day and was happy.”

⁵⁷ The Jews said to Jesus, “What? You have never seen Abraham {\cf2\super [148]} ! You are not even 50 years old!”

⁵⁸ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Before Abraham {\cf2\super [149]} was born, I AM. {\cf2\super [150]} ”

⁵⁹ When Jesus said this, the people picked up rocks to throw at him. But Jesus hid, and then he left the temple {\cf2\super [151]} area.

John 8

¹ Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. {\cf2\super [127]}

² Early in the morning Jesus went back to the temple {\cf2\super [128]} area. All the people came to Jesus. Jesus sat and taught the people.

³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees {\cf2\super [129]} brought a woman there. The woman had been caught doing the sin of adultery. {\cf2\super [130]} These Jews forced the woman to stand before the people.

⁴ They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught having sex with a man that is not her husband.

⁵ The law of Moses commands that we kill with rocks every woman that does this. What do you say we should do?”

⁶ The Jews were using this question to trick Jesus. They wanted to catch Jesus saying something wrong. Then they could have a charge against him. But Jesus kneeled down and started writing on the ground with his finger.

⁷ The Jewish leaders continued to ask Jesus their question. So Jesus stood up and said, “Is there any person here that has never sinned? That person without sin can throw the first rock at this woman.”

⁸ Then Jesus knelt down again and wrote on the ground.

⁹ The people that heard Jesus began to leave one by one. The older men left first, and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman. She was standing before him.

¹⁰ Jesus looked up again and asked her, “Woman, all of those people are gone. None of them judged you guilty?”

¹¹ The woman answered, “None of them judged me, sir.”

¹² Later, Jesus talked to the people again. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. The person that follows me will never live in darkness. That person will have the light that gives life.”

¹³ But the Pharisees {\cf2\super [131]} said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say that these things are true. So we cannot accept these things you say.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself. But people can believe these things I say. Why? Because I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going.

¹⁵ You judge me the way people judge other people. I don’t judge any person.

¹⁶ But if I judge, my judging is true. Why? Because when I judge I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.

¹⁷ Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, then you must accept what they say.

¹⁸ I am one of the witnesses that speaks about myself. And the Father who sent me is my other witness.”

¹⁹ The people asked, “Where is your father?”

²⁰ Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the temple {\cf2\super [132]} area. He was near the place where all the people came to give money. But no person arrested him. The right time for Jesus had not yet come.

²¹ Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die with your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”

²² So the Jewish leaders asked themselves, “Will Jesus kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

²³ But Jesus said to those Jews, “You people are from here below. But I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world.

²⁴ I told you that you would die with your sins. Yes, you will die with your sins, if you don’t believe that I AM. {\cf2\super [133]} ”

²⁵ The Jews asked, “Then who are you?”

²⁶ I have many things I could say to judge you. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One that sent me. And he speaks the truth.”

²⁷ These Jews did not understand who Jesus was talking about. Jesus was telling them about the Father (God).

²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “You will lift up (kill) the Son of Man. {\cf2\super [134]} Then you will know that I AM. {\cf2\super [135]} You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority (power). You will know that I say only the things that the Father has taught me.

²⁹ The One (God) who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him. So he has not left me alone.”

³⁰ While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews that believed in him, “If you continue to obey my teaching, then you are truly my followers.

³² Then you will know the truth. And the truth will make you free.”

³³ The Jews answered, “We are Abraham’s {\cf2\super [136]} people. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Every person that sins is a slave. Sin is his master.

³⁵ A slave does not stay with a family forever. But a son belongs to the family forever.

³⁶ So if the Son makes you free, then you will be truly free.

³⁷ I know you are Abraham’s {\cf2\super [137]} people. But you want to kill me. Why? Because you don’t want to accept my teaching.

³⁸ I am telling you what my Father has shown me. But you do the things that your father has told you.”

³⁹ The Jews said, “Our father {\cf2\super [138]} is Abraham. {\cf2\super [139]} ”

⁴⁰ I am a man who has told you the truth I heard from God. But you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that.

⁴¹ So you are doing the things your own father did.”

⁴² Jesus said to those Jews, “If God were really your Father, then you would love me. I came from God, and now I am here. I did not come by my own authority. God sent me.

⁴³ You don’t understand these things I say. Why? Because you cannot accept my teaching.

⁴⁴ Your father is the devil. You belong to him. You want to do what he wants. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He was always against the truth. There is no truth in him. He is like the lies he tells. Yes, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies.

⁴⁵ I speak the truth. That is why you don’t believe me.

⁴⁶ Can any of you prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, then why don’t you believe me?

⁴⁷ The person that belongs to God accepts what God says. But you don’t accept what God says, because you don’t belong to God.”

⁴⁸ The Jews answered, “We say you are a Samaritan. {\cf2\super [140]} We say a demon {\cf2\super [141]} is making you crazy! Are we not right when we say these things?”

⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I have no demon {\cf2\super [142]} in me. I give honor to my Father. But you give no honor to me.

⁵⁰ I am not trying to get honor for myself. There is One who wants this honor for me. He is the judge.

⁵¹ I tell you the truth. If a person continues to obey my teaching, then that person will never die.”

⁵² The Jews said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon {\cf2\super [143]} in you! Even Abraham {\cf2\super [144]} and the prophets {\cf2\super [145]} died. But you say, ‘The person that obeys my teaching will never die.’

⁵³ All the Jewish leaders left and went home.

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I give honor to myself, then that honor is worth nothing. The One that gives me honor is my Father. And you say that he is your God.

⁵⁵ But you don’t really know him. I know him. If I said I did not know him, then I would be a liar like you are liars. But I do know him. And I obey what he says.

⁵⁶ Your father {\cf2\super [146]} Abraham {\cf2\super [147]} was very happy that he would see the day when I came. He saw that day and was happy.”

⁵⁷ The Jews said to Jesus, “What? You have never seen Abraham {\cf2\super [148]} ! You are not even 50 years old!”

⁵⁸ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Before Abraham {\cf2\super [149]} was born, I AM. {\cf2\super [150]} ”

⁵⁹ When Jesus said this, the people picked up rocks to throw at him. But Jesus hid, and then he left the temple {\cf2\super [151]} area.