John 8:43

John 8:43 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
• New International Version (NIV)Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.

Context of John 8:43

41You’re doing what your father does.” “We weren’t born of sexual immorality,” they said. “We have one Father — God.” 42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word. 44You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

John 8:43 word by word

διὰ τί τὴν λαλιὰν τὴν ἐμὴν οὐ γινώσκετε; ὅτι οὐ δύνασθε ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐμόν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whyδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• ·τίςtis · which?G5101
• do yeγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• notοὐou · noG3756
• myὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• myἐμόςemos · mineG1699
• speechλαλιάlalia · speechG2981
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• yeδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• yeἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• wordλόγοςlogos · wordG3056

Cross-references for John 8:43

• John 8:27They did not know he was speaking to them about the Father.
• John 5:43I have come in my Father’s name, and yet you don’t accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.
• John 7:17If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.
• John 12:39This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said:
• Proverbs 28:5The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand everything.
• Isaiah 44:18Such people do not comprehend and cannot understand, for he has shut their eyes so they cannot see, and their minds so they cannot understand.
• Hosea 14:9Let whoever is wise understand these things, and whoever is insightful recognize them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
• Micah 4:12But they do not know the Lord’s intentions or understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
• Romans 3:11There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
• John 6:60Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?”
• Isaiah 6:9And he replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive.
• Jeremiah 6:10Who can I speak to and give such a warning that they will listen? Look, their ear is uncircumcised, so they cannot pay attention. See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them — they find no pleasure in it.
• Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also.
• Romans 8:7The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so.

Commentaries on John 8:43

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 43Why do ye not understand my speech? - , This my mode of speaking - when illustrating spiritual by natural things: refers to the manner of speaking; , to the matter or subject on which he spoke. For , the Codex Bezae had originally : why do ye not acknowledge this Truth of mine? A few other MSS. agree in this reading. Because ye cannot hear my word - That is, ye cannot bear my doctrine: it comes too close to you; it searches your hearts, detects your…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 43Why do ye not … - My meaning is clear, if you were disposed to understand me. Even because ye cannot hear my word - The word “hear” in this place is to be understood in the sense of bear or tolerate, as in John 6:60. His doctrine was offensive to them. They hated it, and hence they perverted his meaning, and were resolved not to understand him. Their pride, vanity, and wickedness opposed it. The reason why sinners do not understand the Bible and its…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 41-47Verses 41-47 Satan prompts men to excesses by which they murder themselves and others, while what he puts into the mind tends to ruin men's souls. He is the great promoter of falsehood of every kind. He is a liar, all his temptations are carried on by his calling evil good, and good evil, and promising freedom in sin. He is the author of all lies; whom liars resemble and obey, with whom all liars shall have their portion for ever. The special lusts of the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-59The debate about whether Jesus is the Messiah continues from 7:52. Jesus remained at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. During the feast, the conflicts Jesus encountered in chapter 7 continued and intensified.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 42-4342-43. If God were your Father, ye would love me--"If ye had anything of His moral image, as children have their father's likeness, ye would love Me, for I am immediately of Him and directly from Him." But "My speech" (meaning His peculiar style of expressing Himself on these subjects) is unintelligible to you because ye cannot take in the truth which it conveys.Read the comment

Topics related to John 8:43

• Blindness
• Self-Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Act
• Conscience
• Continue
• Flesh
• Hear
• Lift
• Treasury
• God
• Heredity
• Jesus Christ

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