John 8:37
New International Version
I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.

New Living Translation
Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.

English Standard Version
I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

Berean Standard Bible
I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you.

Berean Literal Bible
I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill Me because My word receives no place in you.

King James Bible
I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

New King James Version
“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

New American Standard Bible
I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

NASB 1995
“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

NASB 1977
“I know that you are Abraham’s offspring; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

Legacy Standard Bible
I know that you are Abraham’s seed; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

Amplified Bible
I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you plan to kill Me, because My word has no place [to grow] in you [and it makes no change in your heart].

Christian Standard Bible
I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill Me because My word is not welcome among you.

American Standard Version
I know that ye are Abraham's seed: yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath not free course in you.

Contemporary English Version
I know that you are from Abraham's family. Yet you want to kill me, because my message isn't really in your hearts.

English Revised Version
I know that ye are Abraham's seed; yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath not free course in you.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I know that you're Abraham's descendants. However, you want to kill me because you don't like what I'm saying.

Good News Translation
I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me, because you will not accept my teaching.

International Standard Version
"I know that you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me because you've not received what I've told you.

Majority Standard Bible
I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you.

NET Bible
I know that you are Abraham's descendants. But you want to kill me, because my teaching makes no progress among you.

New Heart English Bible
I know that you are Abraham's descendants, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.

Webster's Bible Translation
I know that ye are Abraham's offspring; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Weymouth New Testament
You are descendants of Abraham, I know; but you want to kill me, because my teaching gains no ground within you.

World English Bible
I know that you are Abraham’s offspring, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I have known that you are seed of Abraham, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you;

Berean Literal Bible
I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill Me because My word receives no place in you.

Young's Literal Translation
'I have known that ye are seed of Abraham, but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you;

Smith's Literal Translation
I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, for my word has no place in you.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I know that you are the children of Abraham: but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I know that you are sons of Abraham. But you are seeking to kill me, because my word has not taken hold in you.

New American Bible
I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you.

New Revised Standard Version
I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I know you are the seed of Abraham; but still you want to kill me, because you have no room in you for my word.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“I know you are the seed of Abraham, but you seek to kill me because you cannot comprehend my word.”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
I know that you are the posterity of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you.

Godbey New Testament
I know ye are the seed of Abraham; but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you.

Haweis New Testament
I know that ye are Abraham?s seed; yet ye seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you.

Mace New Testament
I know you are Abraham's offspring; but ye seek to kill me, because my doctrine doth not penetrate into you.

Weymouth New Testament
You are descendants of Abraham, I know; but you want to kill me, because my teaching gains no ground within you.

Worrell New Testament
I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

Worsley New Testament
I know that ye are the seed of Abraham, but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Children of the Devil
36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you. 38I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”…

Cross References
Romans 9:7-8
Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” / So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.

Galatians 4:22-31
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. / His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise. / These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar. ...

Genesis 21:10-12
and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!” / Now this matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son Ishmael. / But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.

Genesis 17:19-21
But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. / As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. / But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”

Genesis 22:17-18
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. / And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Romans 2:28-29
A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. / No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.

Romans 4:13-16
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. / For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, / because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. ...

Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.

Genesis 12:1-3
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. / I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. / I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 15:4-6
Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” / And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.” / Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Matthew 3:9
And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

Luke 3:8
Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

Acts 13:26
Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.

Romans 11:1
I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Romans 11:28
Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.


Treasury of Scripture

I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you.

know.

John 8:33
They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

Acts 13:26
Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

Romans 9:7
Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

but.

John 8:6,40,59
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not

John 5:16-18
And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day…

John 7:1,19,25
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him…

because.

John 8:43,45-47
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word…

John 5:44
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

John 12:39-43
Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, …

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John 8
1. Jesus delivers the woman taken in adultery.
12. He declares himself the light of the world, and justifies his doctrine;
31. promises freedom to those who believe;
33. answers the Jews who boasted of Abraham;
48. answers their reviling, by showing his authority and dignity;
59. and slips away from those who would stone him.














I know that you are Abraham’s descendants
This phrase acknowledges the physical lineage of the Jewish people to Abraham, a patriarch revered in Jewish history. The Greek word for "descendants" is "σπέρμα" (sperma), meaning seed or offspring. This term emphasizes the biological connection to Abraham, which was a source of pride and identity for the Jewish people. Historically, being a descendant of Abraham was significant because it connected them to the covenant promises God made to Abraham, including the promise of land, numerous descendants, and blessings to all nations through his lineage (Genesis 12:1-3). However, Jesus is setting the stage to contrast physical descent with spiritual kinship, which He will elaborate on in the following verses.

yet you are trying to kill Me
Here, Jesus confronts the intentions of His audience, revealing their hostility towards Him. The Greek word "ζητεῖτε" (zēteite) translates to "you are seeking" or "trying," indicating a deliberate and ongoing effort. This phrase highlights the irony and tragedy of the situation: those who are physically descended from Abraham, a man of faith and obedience to God, are plotting to kill the very one who fulfills God's promises. This reflects a spiritual blindness and a departure from the faith and righteousness that characterized Abraham's relationship with God.

because My word has no place within you
This phrase is a profound indictment of the spiritual state of Jesus' audience. The Greek word "λόγος" (logos) is used for "word," which in this context refers to Jesus' teachings and the divine truth He embodies. The phrase "has no place" translates from "οὐ χωρεῖ" (ou chōrei), meaning it does not advance or make progress within them. This suggests a resistance or rejection of Jesus' message. Theologically, this highlights the necessity of a receptive heart to truly understand and accept the teachings of Christ. It underscores the theme that true kinship with Abraham is not merely a matter of physical descent but of spiritual alignment with God's word and will. This sets the stage for Jesus' later teachings on the importance of abiding in His word to truly be His disciples (John 8:31-32).

(37) I know that ye are Abraham's seed.--He uses the word which they had used in John 8:33, acknowledging their merely physical descent from Abraham. He has since used the word "Son," but does not apply it to them. In John 8:39 He refuses to acknowledge that they are Abraham's "children."

But ye seek to kill me.--The difficulty of understanding these words to refer to those who believed on Him (John 8:30-31), have led to the opinion that others of the hierarchy answer in John 8:33. This seems unnatural, and is opposed to the words which immediately follow. As a party, they had been, and still were, seeking to kill Him. These believers, by their question in John 8:33, were showing the spirit which declined discipleship, were identifying themselves with His opponents. . . .

Verse 37. - I know (οϊδα, I know absolutely, I do not come to know it from your retort) that ye are the seed of Abraham. They belonged to the noble race, "whose are the fathers;" they were the σπέρμα of him who received the promises. Christ admitted the pedigree, but he proceeds to show that mere hereditary descent would be of no avail to them apart from moral considerations. These ideas, these revolutionary conceptions, so far as Judaism was concerned, were not the evolution of Christian ideas in the second century. It is most instructive to see how clearly St. Paul had already grasped them, and woven them into a powerful argument when dealing with the Judaizers in Galatia, many years before this Gospel was written (see the entire argument of Galatians 3, which thus rests on the teaching of the Christ himself). But ye seek to kill me. This charge is certainly difficult to suppose applicable to those who "had come to believe in him" (ver. 31). One of three suppositions must be made - either

(1) the believing Jews were surrounded by angry groups of his bitter enemies, to whom he here addressed himself; or

(2) the Lord spoke here to them as representing the large company of Jerusalem opponents, whom he knew at that moment to be planning his death, and as all orators and debaters are in the habit of dealing with opposing arguments by showing the character they assume in others, who make them their boast; or

(3) those who had come to believe him up to a certain point had as rapidly relapsed, at the first touch of spiritual proof, into disbelief and cruel hostility. This seems the more natural interpretation of the fact, which may, at the same time, have become patent from some angry manifestation of his implacable foes. There is much to be found in the background and scenery of this dramatic colloquy, reported with such extreme brevity, which would, if we exactly knew how to paint it, solve its difficulties. Ye seek to slay me, because my word - the word which is mine - makes no progress - or, advance - in you. Ξωρέω has both transitive and intransitive meanings; thus it means "leave," "depart," "turn," or "come to," with εἰς (2 Peter 3:9, "contain;" John 2:6; John 21:25; Mark 2:2); but it has the force frequently in Plato "to make progress or advance," and it has this force here. So Meyer, Westcott, R.T., etc. (Luthardt and Tholuck suggest "find entrance," which would require εἰς rather than ἐν). Not only did they not continue in Christ's word (ver. 31), but the word itself made no way in their minds; it was barred out by prejudices, and thus choked at its very first working. Christ thus represents his word first as the very atmosphere and home in which his true disciples abide, and then as a powerful influence which grows evermore in power and command as it is pondered. It means more and more to those who abide in it; it implicitly contains a whole universe of truth and reality, of impulse and motive, for those who allow to it "free course" - who are of the truth, and hear his voice.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
I know
Οἶδα (Oida)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1492: To know, remember, appreciate.

you are
ἐστε (este)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

Abraham’s
Ἀβραάμ (Abraam)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 11: Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew race. Of Hebrew origin; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch.

descendants,
σπέρμα (sperma)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4690: From speiro; something sown, i.e. Seed; by implication, offspring; specially, a remnant.

but
ἀλλὰ (alla)
Conjunction
Strong's 235: But, except, however. Neuter plural of allos; properly, other things, i.e. contrariwise.

you are trying
ζητεῖτέ (zēteite)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2212: To seek, search for, desire, require, demand. Of uncertain affinity; to seek; specially, to worship, or to plot.

to kill
ἀποκτεῖναι (apokteinai)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 615: To put to death, kill; fig: I abolish. From apo and kteino; to kill outright; figuratively, to destroy.

Me
με (me)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

because
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

My
ἐμὸς (emos)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Masculine 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1699: My, mine. From the oblique cases of ego; my.

word
λόγος (logos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3056: From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.

has no place
χωρεῖ (chōrei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5562: From chora; to be in space, i.e. to pass, enter, or to hold, admit.

within
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

you.
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.


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NT Gospels: John 8:37 I know that you are Abraham's seed (Jhn Jo Jn)
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