John 7-8

New American Standard Bible

Jesus Teaches at the Feast

7 After these things Jesus ^(A)was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because ^(B)the Jews ^(C)were seeking to kill Him. ² Now the feast of the Jews, ^(D)the Feast of Booths, was near. ³ So His ^(E)brothers said to Him, “Move on from here and go into Judea, so that Your ^(F)disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret ^[a]when he himself is striving to be known publicly. If You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even His ^(G)brothers believed in Him. ⁶ So Jesus *said to them, “^(H)My time is not yet here, but your time is always ready. ^7 (I)The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it, that ^(J)its deeds are evil. ⁸ Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, because ^(K)My time has not yet fully arrived.” ⁹ Now having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ But when His ^(L)brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as though in secret. ^11 (M)So the Jews ^(N)were looking for Him at the feast and saying, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was a great deal of talk about Him in secret among the crowds: ^(O)some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He is misleading the people.” ¹³ However, no one was speaking openly about Him, for ^(P)fear of ^[b]the Jews.

¹⁴ But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple area, and began to ^(Q)teach. ^15 (R)The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man ^(S)become learned, not having been educated?” ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them and said, “^(T)My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me. ^17 (U)If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself. ¹⁸ The one who speaks from himself ^(V)seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

¹⁹ “^(W)Did Moses not give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why are you ^(X)seeking to kill Me?” ²⁰ The crowd answered, “^(Y)You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill You?” ²¹ Jesus answered them, “I did ^(Z)one ^[c]deed, and you all are astonished. ²² For this reason ^(AA)Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from ^(AB)the fathers), and even on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. ^23 (AC)If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well on a Sabbath? ²⁴ Do not ^(AD)judge by the outward appearance, but judge ^[d]with righteous judgment.”

²⁵ So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this man not the one whom they are seeking to kill? ²⁶ And yet look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. ^(AE)The rulers do not really know that this is the ^[e]Christ, do they? ²⁷ However, ^(AF)we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” ²⁸ Then Jesus cried out in the temple, ^(AG)teaching and saying, “^(AH)You both know Me and you know where I am from; and ^(AI)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ^29 (AJ)I do know Him, because ^(AK)I am from Him, and ^(AL)He sent Me.” ³⁰ So they ^(AM)were seeking to arrest Him; and yet no one laid a hand on Him, because His ^(AN)hour had not yet come. ³¹ But ^(AO)many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “^(AP)When the ^[f]Christ comes, He will not perform more ^[g](AQ)signs than those which this man has done, will He?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent ^(AR)officers to ^(AS)arrest Him. ³³ Therefore Jesus said, “^(AT)For a little while longer I am going to be with you, and then ^(AU)I am going to Him who sent Me. ^34 (AV)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” ^35 (AW)The Jews then said to one another, “^(AX)Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He does not intend to go to ^(AY)the Dispersion among ^(AZ)the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, does He? ³⁶ What is this statement that He said, ‘^(BA)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷ Now on ^(BB)the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “^(BC)If anyone is thirsty, ^[h]let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ The one who believes in Me, ^(BD)as the Scripture said, ‘^[i]From his innermost being will flow rivers of ^(BE)living water.’” ³⁹ But this He said ^(BF)in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for ^(BG)the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet ^(BH)glorified.

People’s Division over Jesus

⁴⁰ Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is ^(BI)the Prophet.” ⁴¹ Others were saying, “This is the ^[j]Christ.” But others were saying, “^(BJ)Surely the ^[k]Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? ⁴² Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from ^(BK)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” ⁴³ So ^(BL)a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. ⁴⁴ And ^(BM)some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

⁴⁵ The ^(BN)officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” ⁴⁶ The ^(BO)officers answered, “^(BP)Never has a man spoken in this way!” ⁴⁷ The Pharisees then replied to them, “^(BQ)You have not been led astray too, have you? ^48 (BR)Not one of ^(BS)the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!” ^50 (BT)Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, ⁵¹ “^(BU)Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” ⁵² They answered and said to him, “^(BV)You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” ⁵³ [[^[l]And everyone went to his home.

The Adulterous Woman

8 But Jesus went to ^(BW)the Mount of Olives. ² And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and ^(BX)He sat down and began teaching them. ³ Now the scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, ⁴ they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. ⁵ Now in the Law, ^(BY)Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” ⁶ Now they were saying this to ^(BZ)test Him, ^(CA)so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. ⁷ When they persisted in asking Him, ^(CB)He straightened up and said to them, “^(CC)He who is without sin among you, let him be the ^(CD)first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. ¹⁰ And ^(CE)straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, ^[m]Lord.” And Jesus said, “^(CF)I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not ^(CG)sin any longer.”]]

Jesus Is the Light of the World

¹² Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “^(CH)I am the Light of the world; ^(CI)the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to Him, “^(CJ)You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not ^[n]true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “^(CK)Even if I am testifying about Myself, My testimony is ^[o]true, because I know ^(CL)where I came from and where I am going; but ^(CM)you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ^15 (CN)You judge ^[p]according to the flesh; ^(CO)I am not judging anyone. ¹⁶ But even ^(CP)if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷ Even in ^(CQ)your Law it has been written that the testimony of ^(CR)two people is ^[q]true. ¹⁸ I am He who testifies about Myself, and ^(CS)the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” ¹⁹ So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; ^(CT)if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” ²⁰ These words He spoke ^[r]in ^(CU)the treasury, as ^(CV)He taught in the temple area; and no one arrested Him, because ^(CW)His hour had not yet come.

²¹ Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and ^(CX)you will look for Me, and ^(CY)will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So ^(CZ)the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘^(DA)Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ And He was saying to them, “^(DB)You are from below, I am from above; ^(DC)you are of this world, ^(DD)I am not of this world. ²⁴ Therefore I said to you that you ^(DE)will die in your sins; for unless you believe that ^[s](DF)I am, ^(DG)you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ Then they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “^[t]What have I even been saying to you from the beginning? ²⁶ I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but ^(DH)He who sent Me is true; and ^(DI)the things which I heard from Him, these I say to the world.” ²⁷ They did not realize that He was speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you ^(DJ)lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that ^[u](DK)I am, and ^(DL)I do nothing ^[v]on My own, but I say these things as the Father instructed Me. ²⁹ And He who sent Me is with Me; ^(DM)He ^[w]has not left Me alone, for ^(DN)I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” ³⁰ As He said these things, ^(DO)many came to believe in Him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “^(DP)If you continue in My word, then you are truly My ^(DQ)disciples; ³² and ^(DR)you will know the truth, and ^(DS)the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered Him, “^(DT)We are Abraham’s descendants 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, ^(DU)everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ Now ^(DV)the slave does not remain in the house forever; ^(DW)the son does remain forever. ³⁶ So if the Son ^(DX)sets you free, you really will be free. ³⁷ I know that you are ^(DY)Abraham’s descendants; yet ^(DZ)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word ^[x]has no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of the things which I have seen ^[y]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from ^(EA)your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is ^(EB)our father.” Jesus *said to them, “^(EC)If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But as it is, ^(ED)you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has ^(EE)told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. ⁴¹ You are doing the deeds of ^(EF)your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; ^(EG)we have one Father: God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, ^(EH)you would love Me, ^(EI)for I came forth from God and am here; for I have ^(EJ)not even come ^[z]on My own, but ^[aa](EK)He sent Me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand ^[ab](EL)what I am saying? It is because you cannot ^(EM)listen to My word. ^44 (EN)You are of ^(EO)your father the devil, and ^(EP)you want to do the desires of your father. ^(EQ)He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because ^(ER)there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells ^[ac]a lie, he ^(ES)speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of ^[ad]lies. ⁴⁵ But because ^(ET)I say the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If ^(EU)I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? ^47 (EV)The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

^48 (EW)The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a ^(EX)Samaritan, and You ^(EY)have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not ^(EZ)have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ But ^(FA)I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. ⁵¹ Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone ^(FB)follows My word, he will never ^(FC)see death.” ^52 (FD)The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You ^(FE)have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone ^(FF)follows My word, he will never ^(FG)taste of death.’ ⁵³ You ^(FH)are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “^(FI)If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; ^(FJ)it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; ⁵⁵ and ^(FK)you have not come to know Him, ^(FL)but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be ^(FM)a liar like you; ^(FN)but I do know Him, and I ^(FO)follow His word. ^56 (FP)Your father Abraham was ^(FQ)overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” ^57 (FR)So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham ^[ae]was born, ^[af](FS)I am.” ⁵⁹ Therefore they ^(FT)picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus ^(FU)hid Himself and left the temple grounds.