John 7:28–8:10

28 As he was teaching in the temple,v Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent mew is true. You don’t know him;x 29 I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”y

30 Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done,z will he?”

32 The Phariseesaa heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priestsab and the Pharisees sent servants* to arrest him.

33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.ac Then I’m going to the one who sent me.ad 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”ae

35 Then the Jewsaf said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersedB,ag among the Greeksah and teach the Greeks, does he? 36 What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’ai?”

THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT

37 On the last and most important day of the festival,aj Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to meC,ak and drink.al 38 The one who believes in me,am as the Scripturean has said, will have streams of living waterao flowap from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit.aq Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,ar for the SpiritD had not yet been givenE because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

THE PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED OVER JESUS

40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”as 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scriptureat say that the Messiah comes from David’sau offspringF and from the town of Bethlehem,av where David lived?” 43 So the crowd was dividedaw because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize him,ax but no one laid hands on him.

DEBATE OVER JESUS’S CLAIMS

45 Then the servantsay came to the chief priestsaz and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”

46 The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”A,ba

47 Then the Pharisees responded to them, “Are you fooledbb too? 48 Have any of the rulersbc or Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”

50 Nicodemusbd—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”a

52 “You aren’t from Galileeb too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”c

[The earliest * do not include 7:53–8:11.]*

[53 Then each one went to his house. 8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.d

AN ADULTERESS FORGIVEN

2 At dawn he went to the templee again, and all the people were coming to him.f He sat downg and began to teach them.

3 Then the scribes and the Phariseesh brought a woman caught in adultery,i making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.j 5 In the law Mosesk commanded us to stone such women.l So what do you say?” 6 They asked this to trap him,m in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.

Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sinn among youo should be the first to throw a stone at her.”p 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”