Isaiah 57:3

57:3 But approach, you sons of omen readers,

you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! ¹ 

Ezekiel 16:44-46

16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north ²  of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south ³  of you, was Sodom ⁴  with her daughters.

Matthew 23:32

23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!

John 8:39

8:39 They answered him, ⁵  “Abraham is our father!” ⁶  Jesus replied, ⁷  “If you are ⁸  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ⁹  the deeds of Abraham.

John 8:44

8:44 You people ¹⁰  are from ¹¹  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ¹²  He ¹³  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ¹⁴  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ¹⁵  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹⁶  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ¹⁷ 

¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “offspring of an adulterer [masculine] and [one who] has committed adultery.” Perhaps the text has suffered from transposition of vav (ו) and tav (ת) and מְנָאֵף וַתִּזְנֶה (mÿna’ef vattizneh) should be emended to מְנָאֶפֶת וְזֹנָה (mÿna’efet vÿzonah, “an adulteress and a prostitute”). Both singular nouns would be understood in a collective sense. Most modern English versions render both forms as nouns.

² tn Heb “left.”

³ tn Heb “right.”

⁴ sn Sodom was the epitome of evil (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Jude 7).

⁵ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

⁶ tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

⁷ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

⁸ 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).

⁹ 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).

¹⁰ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

¹¹ 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).

¹² tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

¹³ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

¹⁴ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

¹⁵ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”