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John 8:31–38

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They replied to him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have not been enslaved to anyone at any time. How do you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus replied to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the household forever;o the son remains forever.p 36 So if the son sets you free, you will be truly free. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are seeking to kill me, because my word makes no progress among you. 38 I speak the things that I have seen with the Father; so also you do the things that you have heard from the Father.”

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John 8:31–38 — The New International Version (NIV)

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

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants 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. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.

John 8:31–38 — English Standard Version (ESV)

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

John 8:31–38 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

John 8:31–38 — New Living Translation (NLT)

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

34 Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

John 8:31–38 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, You will be made free?”

34 Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”

John 8:31–38 — New Century Version (NCV)

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to obey my teaching, you are truly my followers. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

33 They answered, “We are Abraham’s children, and we have never been anyone’s slaves. So why do you say we will be free?”

34 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, everyone who lives in sin is a slave to sin. 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, you will be truly free. 37 I know you are Abraham’s children, but you want to kill me because you don’t accept my teaching. 38 I am telling you what my Father has shown me, but you do what your father has told you.”

John 8:31–38 — American Standard Version (ASV)

31 Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; 32 and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered unto him, We are Abraham’s seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. 35 And the bondservant abideth not in the house for ever: the son abideth for ever. 36 If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed: yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath not free course in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen with my Father: and ye also do the things which ye heard from your father.

John 8:31–38 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

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.

John 8:31–38 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

31 So Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you live by what I say, you are truly my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

33 They replied to Jesus, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and we’ve never been anyone’s slaves. So how can you say that we will be set free?” 

34 Jesus answered them, “I can guarantee this truth: Whoever lives a sinful life is a slave to sin. 35 A slave doesn’t live in the home forever, but a son does. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be absolutely free. 37 I know that you’re Abraham’s descendants. However, you want to kill me because you don’t like what I’m saying. 38 What I’m saying is what I have seen in my Father’s presence. But you do what you’ve heard from your father.” 

John 8:31–38 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered Him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say, You will become free?”

34 Jesus responded, I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. 36 Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill Me because My word is not welcome among you. 38 I speak what I have seen in the presence of the Father; therefore, you do what you have heard from your father.”

John 8:31–38 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. 38 I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”

John 8:31–38 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

31 Jesus spoke to the Jews who had believed him. “If you obey my teaching,” he said, “you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s children. We have never been slaves of anyone. So how can you say that we will be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave has no lasting place in the family. But a son belongs to the family forever. 36 So if the Son of Man sets you free, you will really be free.

37 “I know you are Abraham’s children. But you are ready to kill me. You have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. You do what you have heard from your father.”

John 8:31–38 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

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

37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

38 I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”


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