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And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him.

Now the tabernacles, the feast of the Jews, was near.

His brethren therefore said to him, Remove hence and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see thy works which thou doest;

for no one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be [known] in public. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world:

for neither did his brethren believe on him.

Jesus therefore says to them, My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready.

The world cannot hate you, but me it hates, because I bear witness concerning it that its works are evil.

Ye, go ye up to this feast. I go not up to this feast, for *my* time is not yet fulfilled.

Having said these things to them he abode in Galilee.

10 But when his brethren had gone up, then he himself also went up to the feast, not openly, but as in secret.

11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?

12 And there was much murmuring concerning him among the crowds. Some said, He is [a] good [man]; others said, No; but he deceives the crowd.

13 However, no one spoke openly concerning him on account of [their] fear of the Jews.

14 But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

15 The Jews therefore wondered, saying, How knows this [man] letters, having never learned?

16 Jesus therefore answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but [that] of him that has sent me.

17 If any one desire to practise his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is of God, or [that] I speak from myself.

18 He that speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he that seeks the glory of him that has sent him, he is true, and unrighteousness is not in him.

19 Has not Moses given you the law, and no one of you practises the law? Why do ye seek to kill me?

20 The crowd answered [and said], Thou hast a demon: who seeks to kill thee?

21 Jesus answered and said to them, I have done one work, and ye all wonder.

22 Therefore Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and ye circumcise a man on sabbath.

23 If a man receives circumcision on sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be violated, are ye angry with me because I have made a man entirely sound on sabbath?

24 Judge not according to sight, but judge righteous judgment.

25 Some therefore of those of Jerusalem said, Is not this he whom they seek to kill?

26 and behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Have the rulers then indeed recognised that this is the Christ?

27 But [as to] this [man] we know whence he is. Now [as to] the Christ, when he comes, no one knows whence he is.

28 Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, Ye both know me and ye know whence I am; and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye do not know.

29 I know him, because I am from him, and *he* has sent me.

30 They sought therefore to take him; and no one laid his hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.

31 But many of the crowd believed on him, and said, Will the Christ, when he comes, do more signs than those which this [man] has done?

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers that they might take him.

33 Jesus therefore said, Yet a little while I am with you, and I go to him that has sent me.

34 Ye shall seek me and shall not find [me], and where I am ye cannot come.

35 The Jews therefore said to one another, Where is he about to go that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to the dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

36 What word is this which he said, Ye shall seek me and shall not find [me]; and where I am ye cannot come?

37 In the last, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink.

38 He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39 But this he said concerning the Spirit, which they that believed on him were about to receive; for [the] Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40 [Some] out of the crowd therefore, having heard this word, said, This is truly the prophet.

41 Others said, This is the Christ. Others said, Does then the Christ come out of Galilee?

42 Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes of the seed of David, and from the village of Bethlehem, where David was?

43 There was a division therefore in the crowd on account of him.

44 But some of them desired to take him, but no one laid hands upon him.

45 The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, Why have ye not brought him?

46 The officers answered, Never man spoke thus, as this man [speaks].

47 The Pharisees therefore answered them, Are ye also deceived?

48 Has any one of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees?

49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, are accursed.

50 Nicodemus says to them (being one of themselves),

51 Does our law judge a man before it have first heard from himself, and know what he does?

52 They answered and said to him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, that no prophet arises out of Galilee.

53 And every one went to his home.

But Jesus went to the mount of Olives.

And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him; and he sat down and taught them.

And the scribes and the Pharisees bring [to him] a woman taken in adultery, and having set her in the midst,

they say to him, Teacher, this woman has been taken in the very act, committing adultery.

Now in the law Moses has commanded us to stone such; thou therefore, what sayest thou?

But this they said proving him, that they might have [something] to accuse him [of]. But Jesus, having stooped down, wrote with his finger on the ground.

But when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said to them, Let him that is without sin among you first cast the stone at her.

And again stooping down he wrote on the ground.

But they, having heard [that], went out one by one beginning from the elder ones until the last; and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing there.

10 And Jesus, lifting himself up and seeing no one but the woman, said to her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Has no one condemned thee?

11 And she said, No one, sir. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

12 Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

13 The Pharisees therefore said to him, Thou bearest witness concerning thyself; thy witness is not true.

14 Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I bear witness concerning myself, my witness is true, because I know whence I came and whither I go: but ye know not whence I come and whither I go.

15 Ye judge according to the flesh, I judge no one.

16 And if also I judge, my judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who has sent me.

17 And in your law too it is written that the testimony of two men is true:

18 I am [one] who bear witness concerning myself, and the Father who has sent me bears witness concerning me.

19 They said to him therefore, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye know neither me nor my Father. If ye had known me, ye would have known also my Father.

20 These words spoke he in the treasury, teaching in the temple; and no one took him, for his hour was not yet come.

21 He said therefore again to them, I go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin; where I go ye cannot come.

22 The Jews therefore said, Will he kill himself, that he says, Where I go ye cannot come?

23 And he said to them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above. Ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

24 I said therefore to you, that ye shall die in your sins; for unless ye shall believe that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.

25 They said therefore to him, Who art thou? [And] Jesus said to them, Altogether that which I also say to you.

26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but he that has sent me is true, and I, what I have heard from him, these things I say to the world.

27 They knew not that he spoke to them of the Father.

28 Jesus therefore said to them, When ye shall have lifted up the Son of man, then ye shall know that I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of myself, but as the Father has taught me I speak these things.

29 And he that has sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I do always the things that are pleasing to him.

30 As he spoke these things many believed on him.

31 Jesus therefore said to the Jews who believed him, If ye abide in my word, ye are truly my disciples;

32 and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

33 They answered him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never been under bondage to any one; how sayest thou, Ye shall become free?

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Every one that practises sin is the bondman of sin.

35 Now the bondman abides not in the house for ever: the son abides for ever.

36 If therefore the Son shall set you free, ye shall be really free.

37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word has no entrance in you.

38 I speak what I have seen with my Father, and ye then do what ye have seen with your father.

39 They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus says to them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham;

40 but now ye seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard from God: this did not Abraham.

41 Ye do the works of your father. They said [therefore] to him, We are not born of fornication; we have one father, God.

42 Jesus said to them, If God were your father ye would have loved me, for I came forth from God and am come [from him]; for neither am I come of myself, but *he* has sent me.

43 Why do ye not know my speech? Because ye cannot hear my word.

44 Ye are of the devil, as [your] father, and ye desire to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks falsehood, he speaks of what is his own; for he is a liar and its father:

45 and because I speak the truth, ye do not believe me.

46 Which of you convinces me of sin? If I speak truth, why do ye not believe me?

47 He that is of God hears the words of God: therefore ye hear [them] not, because ye are not of God.

48 The Jews answered and said to him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a demon?

49 Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honour my Father, and ye dishonour me.

50 But I do not seek my own glory: there is he that seeks and judges.

51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If any one shall keep my word, he shall never see death.

52 The Jews therefore said to him, Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham has died, and the prophets, and thou sayest, If any one keep my word, he shall never taste death.

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who has died? and the prophets have died: whom makest thou thyself?

54 Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father who glorifies me, [of] whom ye say, He is our God.

55 And ye know him not; but I know him; and if I said, I know him not, I should be like you, a liar. But I know him, and I keep his word.

56 Your father Abraham exulted in that he should see my day, and he saw and rejoiced.

57 The Jews therefore said to him, Thou hast not yet fifty years, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

59 They took up therefore stones that they might cast [them] at him; but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, [going through the midst of them, and thus passed on.]

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want[a] to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders(A) there were looking for a way to kill him.(B) But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles(C) was near, Jesus’ brothers(D) said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.(E)

Therefore Jesus told them, “My time(F) is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me(G) because I testify that its works are evil.(H) You go to the festival. I am not[b] going up to this festival, because my time(I) has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

10 However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11 Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus(J) and asking, “Where is he?”

12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”(K) 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.(L)

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.(M) 15 The Jews(N) there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning(O) without having been taught?”(P)

16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.(Q) 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out(R) whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory,(S) but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law?(T) Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”(U)

20 “You are demon-possessed,”(V) the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle,(W) and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision(X) (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs),(Y) you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”(Z)

Division Over Who Jesus Is

25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?(AA) 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities(AB) really concluded that he is the Messiah?(AC) 27 But we know where this man is from;(AD) when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts,(AE) cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.(AF) I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.(AG) You do not know him, 29 but I know him(AH) because I am from him and he sent me.”(AI)

30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,(AJ) because his hour had not yet come.(AK) 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him.(AL) They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs(AM) than this man?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time,(AN) and then I am going to the one who sent me.(AO) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(AP)

35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered(AQ) among the Greeks,(AR) and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”(AS)

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival,(AT) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.(AU) 38 Whoever believes(AV) in me, as Scripture has said,(AW) rivers of living water(AX) will flow from within them.”[c](AY) 39 By this he meant the Spirit,(AZ) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.(BA) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.(BB)

40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”(BC)

41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?(BD) 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants(BE) and from Bethlehem,(BF) the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided(BG) because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.(BH)

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,”(BI) the guards replied.

47 “You mean he has deceived you also?”(BJ) the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?(BK) 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

50 Nicodemus,(BL) who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”(BM)


[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]

53 Then they all went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.(BN)

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.(BO) The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.(BP) Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap,(BQ) in order to have a basis for accusing him.(BR)

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone(BS) at her.”(BT) Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”(BU) Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”(BV)


Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am(BW) the light of the world.(BX) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(BY)

13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”(BZ)

14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.(CA) But you have no idea where I come from(CB) or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards;(CC) I pass judgment on no one.(CD) 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.(CE) 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(CF) 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”(CG)

19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,”(CH) Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”(CI) 20 He spoke these words while teaching(CJ) in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put.(CK) Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.(CL)

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die(CM) in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”(CN)

22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.(CO) 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he,(CP) you will indeed 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 much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy,(CQ) and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”(CR)

27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[d] the Son of Man,(CS) then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.(CT) 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone,(CU) for I always do what pleases him.”(CV) 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.(CW)

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching,(CX) you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(CY)

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants(CZ) and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.(DA) 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.(DB) 36 So if the Son sets you free,(DC) you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me,(DD) because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence,(DE) and you are doing what you have heard from your father.[e](DF)

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,”(DG) said Jesus, “then you would[f] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me,(DH) a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.(DI) Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”(DJ)

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”(DK)

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,(DL) for I have come here from God.(DM) I have not come on my own;(DN) God sent me.(DO) 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil,(DP) and you want to carry out your father’s desires.(DQ) He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.(DR) 45 Yet because I tell the truth,(DS) you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.(DT) The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Jesus’ Claims About Himself

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan(DU) and demon-possessed?”(DV)

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself;(DW) but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”(DX)

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!(DY) Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham?(DZ) He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself,(EA) my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.(EB) 55 Though you do not know him,(EC) I know him.(ED) If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.(EE) 56 Your father Abraham(EF) rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it(EG) and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born,(EH) I am!”(EI) 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him,(EJ) but Jesus hid himself,(EK) slipping away from the temple grounds.

Footnotes

  1. John 7:1 Some manuscripts not have authority
  2. John 7:8 Some manuscripts not yet
  3. John 7:38 Or me. And let anyone drink 38 who believes in me.” As Scripture has said, “Out of him (or them) will flow rivers of living water.”
  4. John 8:28 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
  5. John 8:38 Or presence. Therefore do what you have heard from the Father.
  6. John 8:39 Some early manuscripts “If you are Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then