1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 bEarly in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and che sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now din the Law, Moses commanded us eto stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said fto test him, gthat they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, h“Let him who is without sin among you ibe the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, j“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ksin no more.”]]
I Am the Light of the World
12 lAgain Jesus spoke to them, saying, m“I am the light of the world. Whoever nfollows me will not owalk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, p“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, qmy testimony is true, for I know rwhere I came from and swhere I am going, but tyou do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 uYou judge according to the flesh; vI judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, wmy judgment is true, for xit is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father1 who sent me. 17 yIn your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and zthe Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, a“You know neither me nor my Father. bIf you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in cthe treasury, as he taught in the temple; but dno one arrested him, because ehis hour had not yet come.
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 slave2 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.’3 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?”4 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.
1 eThe wisest of women fbuilds her house,
but folly with her own hands gtears it down.
2 Whoever hwalks in uprightness fears the Lord,
but he who is idevious in his ways despises him.
3 By the mouth of a fool comes ja rod for his back,1
kbut the lips of the wise will preserve them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
5 lA faithful witness does not lie,
but ma false witness breathes out lies.
6 nA scoffer seeks wisdom oin vain,
but pknowledge is easy for a man of understanding.
7 Leave the presence of a fool,
for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,
but the folly of fools is deceiving.
9 qFools mock at the guilt offering,
but the upright enjoy acceptance.2
10 The heart knows its own rbitterness,
and no stranger shares its joy.
11 sThe house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.
12 tThere is a way that seems right to a man,
but uits end is the way to death.3
13 Even in laughter the heart may ache,
and vthe end of joy may be wgrief.
14 The backslider in heart will be xfilled with the fruit of his ways,
and ya good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.
15 zThe simple believes everything,
but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
16 aOne who is wise is cautious4 and bturns away from evil,
but a fool is reckless and careless.
17 A man of cquick temper acts foolishly,
and a man of evil devices is hated.
18 The simple inherit folly,
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 dThe evil bow down before the good,
the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 eThe poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
fbut the rich has many friends.
21 Whoever gdespises his neighbor is a sinner,
but hblessed is he who is generous to the poor.
22 Do they not go astray who idevise evil?
Those who devise good meet5 jsteadfast love and faithfulness.
23 In all toil there is profit,
but mere talk ktends only to poverty.
24 The crown of the wise is their wealth,
but the folly of fools brings folly.
25 A truthful witness saves lives,
but one who lbreathes out lies is deceitful.
26 In the fear of the Lord one has mstrong confidence,
and nhis children will have oa refuge.
27 The fear of the Lord is pa fountain of life,
that one may qturn away from the snares of death.
28 In ra multitude of people is the glory of a king,
but without people a prince is ruined.
29 Whoever is sslow to anger has great understanding,
but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
30 A tranquil6 heart gives tlife to the flesh,
but uenvy7 makes vthe bones rot.
31 Whoever oppresses a poor man winsults his xMaker,
ybut he who is generous to the needy honors him.
32 zThe wicked is overthrown through his evildoing,
but athe righteous finds refuge in his death.
33 Wisdom brests in the heart of a man of understanding,
but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.8
34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach to any people.
35 A servant who deals wisely has cthe king’s favor,
but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.
