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Contemporary English Version
John 8:58
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
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- InternationalDevotionals:
- DailyParallel Translations
Jesus answered, "The fact is, before Abraham was born, I Am ."
Iesus sayd vnto them: Verely verely I saye vnto you: yer Abraham was I am.
Yeshua said to them, "Most assuredly, I tell you, before Avraham came into existence, I AM."
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly I tell you, before there was an Abraham, I am!"Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 43:13; John 17:5,24; Colossians 1:17; Revelation 1:8;">[xr]
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!"
Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was born, I am.
Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM."
Jesus said to them, Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.
"In most solemn truth," answered Jesus, "I tell you that before Abraham came into existence, I am."
Therfor Jhesus seide to hem, Treuli, treuli, Y seie to you, bifor that Abraham schulde be, Y am.
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
"Truly, truly, I tell you," Jesus declared, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
Jesus replied, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am."
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am.
Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am.
Yeshua said to them, "Yes, indeed! Before Avraham came into being, I AM!"
Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Jeshu saith to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I AM.
Jesus said to them: Verily, verily I say to you, That before Abraham existed, I was.
Iesus said vnto them, Uerely, verely I say vnto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am !"
Jesus said to them, "For sure, I tell you, before Abraham was born, I was and am and always will be!"
Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am."
Iesus sayd vnto them, Verely, verely I say vnto you, before Abraham was, I am.
Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was born, I was.
Jesus said unto them - Verily, verily, I say unto you: Before, Abraham, came into existence, I, am.
Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I AM.
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
Iesus sayde vnto them: Ueryly, veryly I saye vnto you, before Abraham was, I am.
"I am telling you the truth," Jesus replied. "Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am'."
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!"
Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came to be, I AM!
Jesus said to them, `Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham's coming -- I am;'
Iesus sayde vnto the: Verely verely I saye vnto you: Or euer Abraham was, I am.
Jesus said to them, verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was I AM.
"Believe me," said Jesus, "I am who I am long before Abraham was anything."
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!"
Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
"Listen to me close," Jesus said. "Before Abraham was born, I AM!"
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Verily: John 8:34, John 8:51
Before: John 1:1, John 1:2, John 17:5, John 17:24, Proverbs 8:22-30, Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2, Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:10-12, Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 1:11, Revelation 1:17, Revelation 1:18, Revelation 2:8
I am: That our Lord by this expression asserted his divinity and eternal existence, as the great I AM, appears evident from the use of the present tense, instead of the past tense, from its being in answer to the Jews, who enquired whether he had seen Abraham, and from its being thus understood by the multitude, who were exasperated at it to such a degree that they took up stones to stone him. The ancient Jews not only believed that the Messiah was superior to and Lord of all the patriarchs, and even of angels, but that his celestial nature existed with God from whom it emanated, before the creation, and that the creation was effected by his ministry. Exodus 3:14, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 44:8, Isaiah 46:9, Isaiah 48:12, Revelation 1:8
Reciprocal: Exodus 6:3 - Jehovah Leviticus 24:16 - blasphemeth Psalms 102:27 - thou art Isaiah 42:8 - that is Zechariah 13:7 - the man Matthew 5:18 - verily Matthew 18:20 - there Matthew 22:45 - how Mark 14:64 - General John 1:15 - he was John 1:51 - Verily John 5:18 - God was John 8:18 - one John 8:53 - thou greater John 10:25 - I told John 10:30 - General John 13:19 - that I John 19:7 - because 2 Corinthians 1:19 - was not Philippians 2:6 - thought 1 Timothy 6:16 - only Hebrews 1:12 - but 1 John 1:1 - That which
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you,.... Whether it will be believed or not, it is certainly fact:
before Abraham was, I am; which is to be understood, not of his being in the purpose and decree of God, foreordained to sufferings, and to glory; for so all the elect of God may be said to be before Abraham, being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world: or that Christ was man, before Abraham became the father of many nations; that is, before the calling of the Gentiles; for nothing is said in the text about his being the father of many nations; it is a bold and impudent addition to it: and besides, Abraham was made the father of many nations, as Ishmaelites, Israelites, Hagarenes, c. long before the incarnation of Christ yea, he was so from the very promise in Genesis 17:5, which so runs, "a father of many nations have I made thee"; so that this appears a false sense of the text, which is to be understood of the deity, eternity, and immutability of Christ, and refers to the passage in Exodus 3:14. "I am that I am--I am hath sent me unto you", the true Jehovah; and so Christ was before Abraham was in being, the everlasting I am, the eternal God, which is, and was, and is to come: he appeared in an human form to our first parents before Abraham was, and was manifested as the Mediator, Saviour, and living Redeemer, to whom all the patriarchs before Abraham looked, and by whom they were saved: he was concerned in the creation of all things out of nothing, as the efficient cause thereof; he was set up from everlasting as Mediator; and the covenant of grace was made with him, and the blessings and promises of it were put into his hands before the world began; the eternal election of men to everlasting life was made in him before the foundation of the world; and he had a glory with his Father before the world was; yea, from all eternity he was the Son of God, of the same nature with him, and equal to him; and his being of the same nature proves his eternity, as well as deity, that he is from everlasting to everlasting God; and is what he ever was, and will be what he now is: he is immutable, the same today, yesterday, and for ever; in his nature, love, grace, and fulness, he is the invariable and unchangeable I am.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Verily, verily - This is an expression used only in John. It is a strong affirmation denoting particularly the great importance of what was about to be affirmed. See the notes at John 3:5.
Before Abraham was - Before Abraham lived.
I am - The expression I am, though in the present tense, is clearly designed to refer to a past time. Thus, in Psalms 90:2, âFrom everlasting to everlasting thou art God.â Applied to God, it denotes continued existence without respect to time, so far as he is concerned. We divide time into the past, the present, and the future. The expression, applied to God, denotes that he does not measure his existence in this manner, but that the word by which we express the present denotes his continued and unchanging existence. Hence, he assumes it as his name, âI AM,â and âI AM that I AM,â Exodus 3:14. Compare Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 47:8. There is a remarkable similarity between the expression employed by Jesus in this place and that used in Exodus to denote the name of God. The manner in which Jesus used it would strikingly suggest the application of the same language to God. The question here was about his pre-existence. The objection of the Jews was that he was not 50 years old, and could not, therefore, have seen Abraham. Jesus replied to that that he existed before Abraham. As in his human nature he was not yet 50 years old, and could not, as a man, have existed before Abraham, this declaration must be referred to another nature; and the passage proves that, while he was a man, he was also endowed with another nature existing before Abraham, and to which he applied the term (familiar to the Jews as expressive of the existence of God) I AM; and this declaration corresponds to the affirmation of John John 1:1, that he was in the beginning with God, and was God. This affirmation of Jesus is one of the proofs on which John relies to prove that he was the Messiah John 20:31, to establish which was the design of writing this book.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse John 8:58. Before Abraham was, I am. — The following is a literal translation of Calmet's note on this passage:-"I am from all eternity. I have existed before all ages. You consider in me only the person who speaks to you, and who has appeared to you within a particular time. But besides this human nature, which ye think ye know, there is in me a Divine and eternal nature. Both, united, subsist together in my person. Abraham knew how to distinguish them. He adored me as his God; and desired me as his Saviour. He has seen me in my eternity, and he predicted my coming into the world."
On the same verse Bishop Pearce speaks as follows:- "What Jesus here says relates (I think) to his existence antecedent to Abraham's days, and not to his having been the Christ appointed and foretold before that time; for, if Jesus had meant this, the answer I apprehend would not have been a pertinent one. He might have been appointed and foretold for the Christ; but if he had not had an existence before Abraham's days, neither could he have seen Abraham, (as, according to our English translation, the Jews suppose him to have said,) nor could Abraham have seen him, as I suppose the Jews understood him to have said in the preceding verse, to which words of the Jews the words of Jesus here are intended as an answer."
