John 8:45–59

8:45 But because I am telling you113 the truth, you do not believe me. 8:46 Who among you can prove me guilty114 of any sin?115 If I am telling you116 the truth, why don’t you believe me? 8:47 The one who belongs to117 God listens and responds118 to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond,119 because you don’t belong to God.”120

8:48 The Judeans121 replied,122 “Aren’t we correct in saying123 that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?”124 8:49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon,125 but I honor my Father—and yet126 you dishonor me. 8:50 I am not trying to get127 praise for myself.128 There is one who demands129 it, and he also judges.130 8:51 I tell you the solemn truth,131 if anyone obeys132 my teaching,133 he will never see death.”134

8:52 Then135 the Judeans136 responded,137 “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon!138 Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet139 you say, ‘If anyone obeys140 my teaching,141 he will never experience142 death.’143 8:53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you?144 And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?” 8:54 Jesus replied,145 “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless.146 The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people147 say, ‘He is our God.’ 8:55 Yet148 you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him,149 I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey150 his teaching.151 8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed152 to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”153

8:57 Then the Judeans154 replied,155 “You are not yet fifty years old!156 Have157 you seen Abraham?” 8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth,158 before Abraham came into existence,159 I am!”160 8:59 Then they picked up161 stones to throw at him,162 but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area.163

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113	tn Or “because I tell you.”
114	tn Or “can convict me.”
115	tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”
116	tn Or “if I tell you.”
117	tn Grk “who is of.”
118	tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).
119	tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).
120	tn Grk “you are not of God.”
121	tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. Ἰουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They had become increasingly hostile as Jesus continued to teach. Now they were ready to say that Jesus was demon-possessed.
122	tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
123	tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”
124	tn Grk “and have a demon.” It is not clear what is meant by the charge της εἶ σὺ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (Samaritēs ei su kai daimonion echeis). The meaning could be “you are a heretic and are possessed by a demon.” Note that the dual charge gets one reply (John 8:49). Perhaps the phrases were interchangeable: Simon Magus (Acts 8:14–24) and in later traditions Dositheus, the two Samaritans who claimed to be sons of God, were regarded as mad, that is, possessed by demons.
125	tn Grk “I do not have a demon.”
126	tn “Yet” is supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.
127	tn Grk “I am not seeking.”
128	tn Grk “my glory.”
129	tn Grk “who seeks.”
130	tn Or “will be the judge.”
131	tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
132	tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”
133	tn Grk “my word.”
134	tn Grk “he will never see death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic. sn Those who keep Jesus’ words will not see death because they have already passed from death to life (cf. 5:24). In Johannine theology eternal life begins in the present rather than in the world to come.
135	tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (𝔓66 א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; 𝔓75 D L Ψ 070 f1, 13 33 𝔐 lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (𝔓75) has the conjunction, the combination of 𝔓66 א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA 27 has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
136	tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. Ἰουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31).
137	tn Grk “said to him.”
138	tn Grk “you have a demon.”
139	tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.
140	tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”
141	tn Grk “my word.”
142	tn Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
143	tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.
144	tn Questions prefaced with μή (mē) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
145	tn Grk “Jesus answered.”
146	tn Grk “is nothing.”
147	tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.
148	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.
149	tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’ ”
150	tn Grk “I keep.”
151	tn Grk “his word.”
152	tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”
153	tn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the patriarch Abraham “saw” his day and rejoiced? The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred during the patriarch’s lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of the Messiah). More realistically, it is likely that Gen 22:13–15 lies behind Jesus’ words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah (“Binding”), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice—an occasion of certain rejoicing.
154	tn Grk “Then the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31, 48, and 52, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. Ἰουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They have now become completely hostile, as John 8:59 clearly shows.
155	tn Grk “said to him.”
156	tn Grk ‘You do not yet have fifty years” (an idiom).
157	tn Grk “And have.”
158	tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
159	tn Grk “before Abraham was.”
160	sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).
161	tn Grk “they took up.”
162	sn Jesus’ Jewish listeners understood his claim to deity, rejected it, and picked up stones to throw at him for what they considered blasphemy.
163	tc Most later witnesses (A Θc f1, 13 𝔐) have at the end of the verse “passing through their midst, he went away in this manner” (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου καὶ παρῆγεν οὕτως, dielthōn dia mesou kai parēgen houtōs), while many others have similar permutations (so א1, 2 C L N Ψ 070 33 579 892 1241 al). The wording is similar to two other texts: Luke 4:30 (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου; in several mss αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο καί [autōn eporeueto kai] is found between this phrase and παρῆγεν, strengthening the parallel with Luke 4:30) and John 9:1 (παρῆγεν; cf. παράγων [paragōn] there). The effect is to signal Jesus’ departure as a miraculous cloaking. As such, the additional statement has all the earmarks of scribal amplification. Further, the best and earliest witnesses (𝔓66, 75 א* B D W Θ* lat sa) lack these words, rendering the shorter text virtually certain. tn Grk “from the temple.”

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