Yohanes 8:24

8:24 Thus I told you ¹  that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, ²  you will die in your sins.”

Yohanes 8:39

8:39 They answered him, ³  “Abraham is our father!” ⁴  Jesus replied, ⁵  “If you are ⁶  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ⁷  the deeds of Abraham.

Yohanes 8:42

8:42 Jesus replied, ⁸  “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. ⁹  I ¹⁰  have not come on my own initiative, ¹¹  but he ¹²  sent me.

Yohanes 8:44

8:44 You people ¹³  are from ¹⁴  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ¹⁵  He ¹⁶  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ¹⁷  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ¹⁸  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹⁹  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ²⁰ 

[8:24]  ¹ tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ² tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).

[8:24]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[8:39]  ³ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ⁴ tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ⁵ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ⁶ tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï) have the imperfect ἦτε (hte, “you were”) here, making this sentence a proper second class condition, the harder reading, ἐστε (este, “you are”), is found in the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

[8:39]  ⁷ tc Some important mss (Ì⁶⁶ B* [700]) have the present imperative ποιεῖτε (poieite) here: “If you are Abraham’s children, then do,” while many others (א² C K L N Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 565 579 892 pm) add the contingent particle ἄν (an) to ἐποιεῖτε (epoieite) making it a more proper second class condition by Attic standards. The simple ἐποιεῖτε without the ἄν is the hardest reading, and is found in some excellent witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* B² D W Γ Θ 070 0250 1424 pm).

[8:39]  tn Or “you would do.”

[8:42]  ⁸ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:42]  ⁹ tn Or “I came from God and have arrived.”

[8:42]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “For I.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[8:42]  ¹¹ tn Grk “from myself.”

[8:42]  ¹² tn Grk “that one” (referring to God).

[8:44]  ¹³ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ¹⁴ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ²⁰ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”