John 8:41

8:41 You people ¹  are doing the deeds of your father.”

Then ²  they said to Jesus, ³  “We were not born as a result of immorality! ⁴  We have only one Father, God himself.”

John 8:44

8:44 You people ⁵  are from ⁶  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ⁷  He ⁸  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁹  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ¹⁰  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹¹  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ¹² 

Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹³  and Sadducees ¹⁴  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matthew 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness ¹⁵  of Judea proclaiming,

Matthew 3:8-10

3:8 Therefore produce fruit ¹⁶  that proves your ¹⁷  repentance, 3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 3:10 Even now the ax is laid at ¹⁸  the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

[8:41]  ¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:41]  ² tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א B L W 070 it sy^s,p co) lack the conjunction here, while the earliest witnesses along with many others read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì^66,75 C D Θ Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the combined testimony of two early papyri for the conjunction is impressive, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 52). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:41]  ³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ⁴ sn We were not born as a result of immorality! is ironic, because Jesus’ opponents implied that it was not themselves but Jesus who had been born as a result of immoral behavior. This shows they did not know Jesus’ true origin and were not aware of the supernatural events surrounding his birth. The author does not even bother to refute the opponents’ suggestion but lets it stand, assuming his readers will know the true story.

[8:44]  ⁵ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ⁶ 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).

[8:44]  ⁷ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

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

[8:44]  ⁹ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ¹² tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[3:7]  ¹³ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ¹⁴ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “desert.”

[3:8]  ¹⁶ sn Fruit worthy of repentance refers to the deeds that indicate a change of attitude (heart) on the part of John’s hearers.

[3:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “fruit worthy of.”

[3:10]  ¹⁸ sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.