John 8:33

John 8:33 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
• New International Version (NIV)They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?"
• New Living Translation (NLT)“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

Context of John 8:33

31Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

John 8:33 word by word

ἀπεκρίθησαν πρὸς αὐτόν· σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ ἐσμεν καὶ οὐδενὶ δεδουλεύκαμεν πώποτε· πῶς σὺ λέγεις ὅτι ἐλεύθεροι γενήσεσθε;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• We beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• Abraham’sἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
• seedσπέρμαsperma · seed: offspringG4690
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• wereδουλεύωdouleuō · be a slaveG1398
• neverπώποτεpōpote · everG4455
• to any manοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
• sayestλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• thouσύsu · youG4771
• ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• Ye shall be madeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658

Cross-references for John 8:33

• John 8:39They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.
• Leviticus 25:42For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
• Matthew 3:9and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
• Luke 16:24“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
• John 19:25Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
• Genesis 15:13Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
• Exodus 1:13So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
• Judges 2:18And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them.
• Judges 3:8Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.
• Judges 4:3And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.
• Ezra 9:9For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
• Nehemiah 5:4There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards.
• Nehemiah 9:27Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.

Commentaries on John 8:33

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 33They answered - That is, the other Jews who had not believed - the carping, cavilling Pharisees already mentioned; for the words cannot be spoken of the simple people who had already believed. See John 8:30. Were never in bondage to any man - This assertion was not only false, but it was ridiculous in the extreme; seeing their whole history, sacred and profane, is full of recitals of their servitude in Egypt, in Chaldea, under the Persians, under the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 33They answered him - Not those who believed on him, but some who stood by and heard him. We be Abraham‘s seed - We are the children or descendants of Abraham. Abraham was not a slave, and they pretended that they were his real descendants, inheriting his freedom as well as his spirit. They meant that they were the direct descendants of Abraham by Isaac, his heir. Ishmael, also Abraham‘s son, was the son of a bondwoman Galatians 4:21-23, but they were…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-36Verses 30-36 Such power attended our Lord's words, that many were convinced, and professed to believe in him. He encouraged them to attend his teaching, rely on his promises, and obey his commands, notwithstanding all temptations to evil. Thus doing, they would be his disciples truly; and by the teaching of his word and Spirit, they would learn where their hope and strength lay. Christ spoke of spiritual liberty; but carnal hearts feel no other grievances…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 33Jesus challenged a common belief about Israel as God’s chosen people. Many thought that being descendants of Abraham gave them special privilege and protection. Instead of seeing this heritage as a responsibility to obey God, some treated it as a guarantee of safety. However, the prophets had warned that privilege brings accountability (compare Amos 3:1–15). The people did not understand what Jesus meant by set free. He was not talking about freedom from…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 31-3331-33. Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, &c.--The impression produced by the last words of our Lord may have become visible by some decisive movement, and here He takes advantage of it to press on them "continuance" in the faith, since then only were they His real disciples (compare Joh 15:3-8), and then should they experimentally "know the truth," and "by the truth be made…Read the comment

Topics related to John 8:33

• Abraham
• Blindness
• Liberty
• Self-Delusion
• Self-Righteousness
• Servant

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