John 8:39-40

8:39 They answered him, ¹  “Abraham is our father!” ²  Jesus replied, ³  “If you are ⁴  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ⁵  the deeds of Abraham. 8:40 But now you are trying ⁶  to kill me, a man who has told you ⁷  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ⁸ 

[8:39]  ¹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ² tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ³ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ⁴ 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).

[8:39]  ⁵ 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).

[8:40]  ⁶ tn Grk “seeking.”

[8:40]  ⁷ tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

[8:40]  ⁸ tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.