John 8:33

Myles Coverdale Bible

Then answered they him: We are Abrahams sede, we were neuer bonde to eny man, how sayest thou then: Ye shal be fre?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’

King James Version (1611)
They answered him, We be Abraham seed, and were neuer in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Yee shall be made free?

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

English Standard Version
They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free'?"

New American Standard Bible
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?"

New Century Version
They answered, "We are Abraham's children, and we have never been anyone's slaves. So why do you say we will be free?"

Amplified Bible
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone. What do You mean by saying, 'You will be set free'?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?"

Legacy Standard Bible
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's seed and have never yet been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free'?"

Berean Standard Bible
"We are Abraham's descendants," they answered. "We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?"

Contemporary English Version
They answered, "We are Abraham's children! We have never been anyone's slaves. How can you say we will be set free?"

Complete Jewish Bible
They answered, "We are the seed of Avraham and have never been slaves to anyone; so what do you mean by saying, ‘You will be set free'?"

Darby Translation
They answered him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never been under bondage to any one; how sayest thou, Ye shall become free?

Easy-to-Read Version
They answered, "We are Abraham's descendants. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
They answered him, Wee be Abrahams seede, and were neuer bonde to any man: why sayest thou then, Ye shalbe made free?

George Lamsa Translation
They said to him, We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been enslaved to any man; how do you say, You will be free sons?

Good News Translation
"We are the descendants of Abraham," they answered, "and we have never been anybody's slaves. What do you mean, then, by saying, ‘You will be free'?"

Lexham English Bible
They replied to him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have not been enslaved to anyone at any time. How do you say, ‘You will become free'?"

Literal Translation
They answered Him, We are Abraham's seed, and we have been in slavery to no one, never! How do You say, You will become free?

American Standard Version
They answered unto him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

Bible in Basic English
They said to him in answer, We are Abraham's seed and have never been any man's servant: why do you say, You will become free?

Hebrew Names Version
They answered him, "We are Avraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, 'You will be made free?'"

International Standard Version
They replied to him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves to anybody. So how can you say, 'You will be set free'?"Leviticus 25:42; Matthew 3:9; John 8:39;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
They say to him, We are the seed of Abraham, and never service to man have we performed; how sayest thou that we shall be sons of freedom ?

Murdock Translation
They say to him: We are the seed of Abraham, and never were in servitude to any man; and how sayest thou, Ye will be freemen?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They aunswered hym: We be Abrahams seede, and were neuer bonde to any man: howe sayest thou then, ye shalbe made free?

English Revised Version
They answered unto him, We be Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

World English Bible
They answered him, "We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, 'You will be made free?'"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
They answered him, We are Abraham's offspring, and were never inslaved to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free.

Weymouth's New Testament
"We are descendants of Abraham," they answered, "and have never at any time been in slavery to any one. What do those words of yours mean, `You shall become free'?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the Jewis answeriden to hym, We ben the seed of Abraham, and we serueden neuere to man; hou seist thou, That ye schulen be fre?

Update Bible Version
They answered to him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet served as any man's slaves: how do you say, You shall be made free?

Webster's Bible Translation
They answered him, We are Abraham's offspring, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

New English Translation
"We are descendants of Abraham," they replied, "and have never been anyone's slaves! How can you say, ‘You will become free'?"

New King James Version
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, "You will be made free'?"

New Living Translation
"But we are descendants of Abraham," they said. "We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free'?"

New Life Bible
They said to Jesus, "We are children of Abraham. We have never been servants to anyone. What do you mean when You say, ‘You will be free'?"

New Revised Standard
They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free'?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
They made answer unto him - Seed of Abraham, are we, and, unto no one, have been brought into bondage, at any time: How sayest, thou, Free, shall ye be made?

Douay-Rheims Bible
They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham: and we have never been slaves to any man. How sayest thou: You shall be free?

Revised Standard Version
They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, 'You will be made free'?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
They answered him: We be Abrahams seede and were never bonde to eny man: why sayest thou then ye shalbe made fre.

Young's Literal Translation
They answered him, `Seed of Abraham we are; and to no one have we been servants at any time; how dost thou say -- Ye shall become free?'

Mace New Testament (1729)
they answered him, we are Abraham's offspring, and were never slaves to any man: why then do you say, "ye shall be made free?"

THE MESSAGE
Surprised, they said, "But we're descendants of Abraham. We've never been slaves to anyone. How can you say, ‘The truth will free you'?"

Simplified Cowboy Version
"But we have never been a slave to anyone," they answered. "We are all descendants of Abraham. If we are not slaves, then how can we be 'set free'?"

Contextual Overview

³¹ Yf ye contynue in my worde, then are ye my very disciples, ³² and ye shall knowe the trueth, and the trueth shal make you fre. ³³ Then answered they him: We are Abrahams sede, we were neuer bonde to eny man, how sayest thou then: Ye shal be fre? ³⁴ Iesus answered them, and sayde: Verely verely I saye vnto you: Who so euer doth synne, ³⁵ is the seruaunt of synne: As for the seruaunt, he abydeth not in the house for euer, ³⁶ but the sonne abydeth euer. Yf the sonne therfore make you fre, then are ye fre in dede. ³⁷ I knowe that ye are Abrahams sede, but ye seke to kyll me. For my worde taketh not amonge you.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

We be: John 8:39, Leviticus 25:42, Matthew 3:9, Luke 16:24-26

and were: John 19:25, Genesis 15:13, Exodus 1:13, Exodus 1:14, Judges 2:18, Judges 3:8, Judges 4:3, Ezra 9:9, Nehemiah 5:4-8, Nehemiah 9:27, Nehemiah 9:28, Nehemiah 9:36, Nehemiah 9:37

Reciprocal: Isaiah 41:8 - the seed Ezekiel 33:24 - but we Luke 3:8 - We John 1:13 - not John 8:37 - know Romans 2:17 - thou art Romans 4:1 - Abraham Romans 4:11 - father 2 Corinthians 11:22 - the seed

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They answered him,.... Not the believing Jews, whom he peculiarly addressed, but the unbelieving Jews, who were present, and heard these things:

we be Abraham's seed; this the Jews always valued themselves upon, and reckoned themselves, on this account, upon a level with the nobles and the princes of the earth.

"Says R. Akiba c, even the poor of Israel are to be considered as if they were בני חורין, "noblemen", that are fallen from their substance, because they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;''

and were never in bondage to any man; which is a very great falsehood, for it was declared to Abraham himself, that his seed should serve in a land not theirs, and be afflicted four hundred years, as they were; and as the preface to the law which the Jews gloried in shows, which says, that the Lord their God brought them out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; and they were frequently overcome by their neighbours, the Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines, and reduced to servitude under them, until delivered by one judge, or another: and not to take notice of their seventy years' captivity in Babylon, they were at this very time under the Roman yoke, and paid tribute to Caesar; and yet such was the pride of their hearts, they would not be thought to be in bondage; and therefore, with an haughty air, add,

how sayest thou, ye shall be made free? when they thought themselves, and would fain have been thought by others, to have been free already, and so to stand in no need of being made free.

c Misn. Bava Kama, c. 8. sect. 6. & T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 86. 1. & 91. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They answered him - Not those who believed on him, but some who stood by and heard him.

We be Abraham’s seed - We are the children or descendants of Abraham. Abraham was not a slave, and they pretended that they were his real descendants, inheriting his freedom as well as his spirit. They meant that they were the direct descendants of Abraham by Isaac, his heir. Ishmael, also Abraham’s son, was the son of a bondwoman Galatians 4:21-23, but they were descended in a direct line from the acknowledged heir of Abraham.

Were never in bondage to any, man - This is a most remarkable declaration, and one evidently false. Their fathers had been slaves in Egypt; their nation had been enslaved in Babylon; it had repeatedly been subject to the Assyrians; it was enslaved by Herod the Great; and was, at the very time they spoke, groaning under the grievous and insupportable bondage of the Romans. But we see here:

1. That Jesus was right when he said John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil; he is a liar, and the father of it.”
2. People will say anything, however false or ridiculous, to avoid and oppose the truth.
3. People groaning under the most oppressive bondage are often unwilling to acknowledge it in any manner, and are indignant at being charged with it. This is the case with all sinners.
4. Sin, and the bondage to sin, produces passion, irritation, and a troubled soul; and a person under the influence of passion regards little what he says, and is often a liar.
5. There is need of the gospel. That only can make people free, calm, collected, meek, and lovers of truth; and since every person is by nature the servant of sin, he should without delay seek an interest in that gospel which can alone make him free.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 33. They answered — That is, the other Jews who had not believed-the carping, cavilling Pharisees already mentioned; for the words cannot be spoken of the simple people who had already believed. See John 8:30.

Were never in bondage to any man — This assertion was not only false, but it was ridiculous in the extreme; seeing their whole history, sacred and profane, is full of recitals of their servitude in Egypt, in Chaldea, under the Persians, under the Macedonians, and under the Romans. But those who are not under the influence of the truth of God will speak and act according to the influence of the spirit of falsehood and error. If the words are to be restrained to themselves alone, they may be understood thus: We are Abraham's seed: and we were never in bondage. Both these propositions had a faint shadow of truth.