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8:1  Jesus went to the Mount of Olives [C east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley].
8:2  But ·early in the morning [at dawn] he went back to the Temple [courts; 2:14], and all the people came to him, and he sat and taught them.
8:3  The ·teachers of the law [scribes; C experts in the law of Moses] and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They forced her to stand ·before [or in the midst of] the people.
8:4  They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught ·having sexual relations with a man who is not her husband [in the very act of committing adultery].
8:5  The law of Moses commands that we stone to death every woman who does this [compare Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22–24]. What do you say we should do?”
8:6  They were asking this to ·trick [trap; test] Jesus so that they could have some ·charge [accusation] against him. But Jesus ·bent over [stooped down] and started writing on the ground with his finger [C we do not know what he is writing though there has been much speculation].
8:7  When they continued to ask Jesus their question, he ·raised up [straightened] and said, “Anyone here who ·has never sinned [is guiltless; T is without sin] can throw the first stone at her [Deut. 13:9; 17:7; comp. Lev. 24:14].”
8:8  Then Jesus ·bent over [stooped down] again and wrote on the ground.
8:9  Those who heard Jesus began to leave one by one, first the ·older men [elders] and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman standing before him.
8:10  Jesus ·raised up [straightened] again and asked her, “Woman [C a respectful term of address in Greek; see 2:4], where are they? Has no one ·judged you guilty [condemned you]?”
8:11  She answered, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “I also don’t ·judge you guilty [condemn you]. ·You may go now, but don’t sin anymore [T Go, and sin no more].”|
8:12  Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world [C the Feast of Shelters included a lamp lighting ritual that Jesus may be alluding to; 7:37–39]. The person who follows me will never ·live [L walk] in darkness but will have the light ·that gives life [L of life].”
8:13  The Pharisees [see 1:24] said to Jesus, “When you ·talk [testify; witness] about yourself, ·you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say [L your testimony/witness is not true/valid; 5:31].”
8:14  Jesus answered, “Yes, I am ·saying these things [witnessing; testifying] about myself, but they are true [valid]. I know where I came from [C from the Father or “from above”] and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going.
8:15  You judge ·by human standards [T according to the flesh; C rather than guided by the Spirit]. I am not judging anyone.
8:16  But ·when [if] I do judge, ·I judge truthfully [L my judgment is true], because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.
8:17  Your own law says that ·when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say [L the testimony of two witnesses is true/valid; Deut. 17:6; 19:15].
8:18  I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”
8:19  [L Therefore] They asked him, “Where is your father?” Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.”
8:20  Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple [courts], near ·where the money is kept [the treasury; offering box]. But no one ·arrested [seized] him, because ·the right time for him [L his hour; see 2:4] had not yet come.
8:21  Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you [C when he dies, is raised, and ascends to the Father], and you will ·look for [seek; search for] me, but you will die in your ·sins [L sin; C of unbelief]. You cannot come where I am going.”
8:22  So the Jews asked, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
8:23  Jesus said, “You people are from here below [C from the earth], but I am from above [C from heaven or from God]. You belong to this world, but I ·don’t belong to this world [L am not of this world].
8:24  So I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, you will die in your sins if you don’t believe that ·I am he [L I am; C this may be an allusion to God’s (Yahweh’s) self identification either from Ex. 3:14 (the great “I AM”) or Is. 40—55, where God repeatedly says, “I am he”)].”
8:25  [L Therefore] They asked, “Then who are you?” Jesus answered them, “·I am what I have told you from the beginning [or Why do I speak to you at all?].
8:26  I have many things to say and ·decide about you [or condemn/judge you for]. But I tell ·people [the world] only the things I have heard from the One who sent me, and he speaks the truth.”
8:27  The people did not understand that he was talking to them about the Father.
8:28  So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up [C on the cross] the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14], you will know that ·I am he [L I am; C see 8:24]. You will know that these things I do are not ·by my own authority [on my own] but that I say only what the Father has taught me.
8:29  The One who sent me is with me. I always do what is pleasing to him, so he has not left me alone.”
8:30  While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.
8:31  So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you ·continue to obey my teaching [L remain/abide in my word], you are truly my ·followers [disciples].
8:32  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will ·make [set] you free.”
8:33  They answered, “We are Abraham’s ·children [descendants; L seed; Gen. 12:1–3], and we have never been anyone’s slaves. So why do you say we will be free?”
8:34  Jesus answered them, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], everyone who ·lives in sin [commits/practices sin] is a slave to sin.
8:35  A slave does not ·stay with a family [live in the household] forever, but a son ·belongs to the family [lives in the household] forever.
8:36  So if the Son makes you free, you will be ·truly free [T free indeed].
8:37  I know you are Abraham’s ·children [descendants; L seed], but you ·want [are trying; seek] to kill me because ·you don’t accept my teaching [L my word has no place in you; C thus showing they were Abraham’s children only physically, not spiritually; Jer. 9:25–26; Rom. 9:7; Gal. 4:21–31].
8:38  I am telling you ·what my Father has shown me [L what I have seen in the Father’s presence], but you do what ·your father [or the Father] has told you.”
8:39  They answered, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were really Abraham’s children, you would do the things Abraham did.
8:40  I am a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God, but you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that.
8:41  So you are doing the things your own father did.” But [or Therefore] they said to him, “We are not ·like children who never knew who their father was [illegitimate children; L born from/of fornication]. God is our Father; he is the only Father we have.”
8:42  Jesus said to them, “If God were really your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. [L For] I did not come ·by my own authority [on my own]; God sent me.
8:43  You don’t understand [L Why don’t you understand…?] what I say, because you cannot ·accept my teaching [L hear my word/message].
8:44  You ·belong to [are from] your father the devil, and you want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning [Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12] and ·was against the truth [does not uphold the truth], because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, ·he shows what he is really like [he reveals his own nature; or he speaks his own language; L he speaks from his own], because he is a liar and the father of lies.
8:45  But because I speak the truth, you don’t believe me.
8:46  ·Can any of you [L Who among you can…?] ·prove that I am guilty [convict me] of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?
8:47  The person who belongs to God ·accepts what God says [L hears/obeys the words of God]. But you don’t ·accept what God says [hear; obey], because you don’t belong to God.”
8:48  ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] answered, “We say you are a Samaritan [C a people disliked by the Jews; 4:4, 9] and ·have a demon in you [are demon-possessed]. Are we not right?”
8:49  Jesus answered, “I ·have no demon in me [am not demon-possessed]. I give honor to my Father, but you dishonor me.
8:50  I am not trying to get ·honor [glory] for myself. There is One who wants this ·honor [glory] for me, and he is the judge.
8:51  ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever ·obeys my teaching will never die [L keeps my word will never see death].”
8:52  [L Therefore] ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] said to Jesus, “Now we know that you ·have a demon in you [are demon-possessed]! Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, ‘Whoever ·obeys my teaching will never die [L keeps my word will never taste death].’
8:53  Do you think you are greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died, too. ·Who do you think you are [or Who are you claiming/pretending to be]?”
8:54  Jesus answered, “If I give ·honor [glory] to myself, that ·honor [glory] is worth nothing. The One who gives me ·honor [glory] is my Father, and you say he is your God.
8:55  You don’t really know him, but I know him. If I said I did not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I ·obey what he says [L keep his word].
8:56  Your father Abraham ·was very happy [rejoiced] that he would see my day [C the day of the Messiah’s arrival]. He saw that day and was glad.”
8:57  [L Therefore] ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] said to him, “You have never seen Abraham! You are not even fifty years old [C Abraham had been dead for almost 2,000 years].”
8:58  Jesus answered, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], before Abraham was even born, ·I am!” [C A claim to deity; see comments at 8:24; 10:28.]
8:59  When Jesus said this, the people picked up stones to throw at him [C believing he had committed blasphemy worthy of death]. But Jesus hid himself, and then he left the Temple.