John 8:31

Context

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans¹ who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching,² you are really³ my disciples

John 8:44

Context
8:44 You people⁴ are from⁵ your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.⁶ He⁷ was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth,⁸ because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies,⁹ he speaks according to his own nature,¹⁰ because he is a liar and the father of lies.¹¹

[8:31] ¹tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).

[8:31] ²tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31] ³tn Or “truly.”

[8:44] ⁴tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44] ⁵tn 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] ⁶tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44] ⁷tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

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

[8:44] ⁹tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44] ¹⁰tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44] ¹¹tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”