21 So he said to them again, ^f“I am going away, and ^gyou will seek me, and ^hyou will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, ⁱ“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, ^j“You are from below; I am from above. ^kYou are of this world; ^lI am not of this world. 24 I told you that you ^mwould die in your sins, for ⁿunless you believe that ^oI am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, ^p“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but ^qhe who sent me is true, and I declare ^rto the world ^swhat I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that ^the had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^ulifted up the Son of Man, ^vthen you will know that ^wI am he, and that ^xI do nothing on my own authority, but ^yspeak just as the Father taught me. 29 And ^zhe who sent me is with me. ^zHe has not left me alone, for ^aI always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, ^bmany believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^c“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will ^dknow the truth, and the truth ^ewill set you free.” 33 They answered him, ^f“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^geveryone who practices sin is a slave¹ to sin. 35 ^hThe slave does not remain in the house forever; ⁱthe son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet ^jyou seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 ^kI speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard ^lfrom your father.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

39 They answered him, ^m“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ⁿ“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now ^oyou seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth ^pthat I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, ^q“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have ^rone Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, ^s“If God were your Father, you would love me, for ^tI came from God and ^uI am here. ^vI came not of my own accord, but ^whe sent me. 43 ^xWhy do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ^ybear to hear my word. 44 ^zYou are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. ^aHe was a murderer from the beginning, and ^bdoes not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^cWhen he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 ^dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. ^eThe reason why you do not hear them is that ^fyou are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^ghave a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^hI honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet ⁱI do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, ^jI say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^ksee death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^lAbraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^myou say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ⁿtaste death.’ 53 ^oAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, ^p“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. ^qIt is my Father who glorifies me, ^rof whom you say, ‘He is our God.’² 55 But ^syou have not known him. ^tI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ^ua liar ^vlike you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 ^wYour father Abraham ^xrejoiced ^ythat he would see my day. ^zHe saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”³ 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ^aI am.” 59 So ^bthey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.