ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

John 8.23-29

Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"21. He said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin: whither I go, ye cannot come. 22. The Jews therefore said, Will he kill himself, that he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come?"

"23. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. 25. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? Jesus said unto them, Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning. 26. I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you: howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these speak I unto the world. 27. They perceived not that he spake to them of the Father. 28. Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things. 29. And he that sent me is with me; he hath not left me alone; for I do always the things that are pleasing to him."

"30. As he spake these things, many believed on him. 31. Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples;" (John 8:21-31, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"21. Jesus said therefore again to them, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.” 22. The Jews therefore said, “Will he kill himself, that he says, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come’?”"

"23. He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. 24. I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” 25. They said therefore to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26. I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.” 27. They didn’t understand that he spoke to them about the Father. 28. Jesus therefore said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things. 29. He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”"

"30. As he spoke these things, many believed in him. 31. Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples." (John 8:21-31, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"21. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. 22. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come."

"23. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. 25. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. 26. I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. 27. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. 28. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. 29. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."

"30. As he spake these words, many believed on him. 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;" (John 8:21-31, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"21. therefore said Jesus again to them, 'I go away, and ye will seek me, and in your sin ye shall die; whither I go away, ye are not able to come.' 22. The Jews, therefore, said, 'Will he kill himself, because he saith, Whither I go away, ye are not able to come?'"

"23. and he said to them, 'Ye are from beneath, I am from above; ye are of this world, I am not of this world; 24. I said, therefore, to you, that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye may not believe that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.' 25. They said, therefore, to him, 'Thou, who art thou?' and Jesus said to them, 'Even what I did speak of to you at the beginning; 26. many things I have to speak concerning you and to judge, but He who sent me is true, and I, what things I heard from Him, these I say to the world.' 27. They knew not that of the Father he spake to them; 28. Jesus, therefore, said to them, 'When ye may lift up the Son of Man then ye will know that I am [he]; and of myself I do nothing, but according as my Father did teach me, these things I speak; 29. and He who sent me is with me; the Father did not leave me alone, because I, the things pleasing to Him, do always.'"

"30. As he is speaking these things, many believed in him; 31. Jesus, therefore, said unto the Jews who believed in him, 'If ye may remain in my word, truly my disciples ye are, and ye shall know the truth," (John 8:21-31, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: John the Apostle (traditionally) / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
  • Audience: later Christian audience (high-Christological emphasis; against early gnosticism)
  • Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Ephesus (composition)
  • Time period: events c. 26-33 AD (3-Passover chronology); composed c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.