John 8:38

John 8:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
• New International Version (NIV)I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."
• New King James Version (NKJV)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”

Context of John 8:38

36So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free. 37I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you plan to kill Me, because My word has no place [to grow] in you [and it makes no change in your heart]. I tell the things that I have seen at My Father’s side [in His very presence]; so you also do the things that you heard from your father.” 39They answered, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are [truly] Abraham’s children, then do the works of Abraham and follow his example. 40But as it is, you want to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. This is not the way Abraham acted.

John 8:38 word by word

ἃ ἐγὼ ἑώρακα παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ λαλῶ· καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν ἃ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ποιεῖτε.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• speakλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980
• thatὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• withπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• Fatherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• yeσύsu · youG4771
• doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• thatοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767

Cross-references for John 8:38

• John 8:26I have many things to say and judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I say to the world [only] the things that I have heard from Him.”
• John 3:32What He has [actually] seen and heard, of that He testifies; and yet no one accepts His testimony [as true].
• John 5:19So Jesus answered them by saying, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way.
• John 12:49For I have never spoken on My own initiative or authority, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment regarding what to say and what to speak.
• John 14:10Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power].
• John 17:8For the words which You gave Me I have given them; and they received and accepted them and truly understood [with confident assurance] that I came from You [from Your presence], and they believed [without any doubt] that You sent Me.
• John 8:41You are doing the works of your [own] father.” They said to Him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one [spiritual] Father: God.”
• Matthew 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the [divine] wrath and judgment to come?
• 1 John 3:8The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Commentaries on John 8:38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 38I speak that which I have seen - I speak nothing but that unchangeable, eternal truth which I have received from the bosom of God. Ye do that which ye have seen - Instead of ̔, ye have seen, I think we should read , ye have heard, on the authority of BCKL, fifteen others; Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, later Syriac in the margin, Gothic, one copy of the Itala; Origen, Cyril, and Chrysostom. This reading, says Bishop Pearce, (who has adopted it), seems…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38I speak … - John 3:11-13. My Father - God. Your father - The devil. See John 8:44. To see here means to learn of. They had learned of or been taught by the devil, and imitated him.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 37-40Verses 37-40 Our Lord opposed the proud and vain confidence of these Jews, showing that their descent from Abraham could not profit those of a contrary spirit to him. Where the word of God has no place, no good is to be expected; room is left there for all wickedness. A sick person who turns from his physician, and will take neither remedies nor food, is past hope of recovery. The truth both heals and nourishes the hearts of those who receive it. The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37-41The leaders' plan to kill Jesus revealed their true identity (5:18). They were part of a different spiritual family, and their spiritual father was not Jesus's Father. They were relying on the fact that their ancestral father was Abraham, but Jesus challenged their spiritual heritage. The most important part of his challenge comes in 8:44.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 37-4137-41. ye seek to kill me--He had said this to their face before: He now repeats it, and they do not deny it; yet are they held back, as by some marvellous spell--it was the awe which His combined dignity, courage, and benignity struck into them. because my word hath no place in you--When did ever human prophet so speak of His words? They tell us of "the word of the Lord" coming to them. But here is One who holds up "His word" as that which ought to find…Read the comment

Topics related to John 8:38

• Abraham
• God
• Jesus Continued
• Satan
• Self-Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Act
• Conscience
• Continue
• Flesh
• Hear
• Lift
• Treasury
• Heredity
• Jesus Christ
• Literature, Sub-Apostolic

Commentaries on John 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings