John 8:41
What does John 8:41 mean?
A plain-English look at John 8:41 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What John 8:41 means
Jesus declares, “Ye do the works of your father,” pressing the point that their deeds betray their lineage. They retort defensively, denying illegitimacy and claiming, “we have one Father, even God.” Their move shifts from Abrahamic pride to divine claim, perhaps insinuating against Jesus’ own birth. Yet mere assertion does not make it so. Claiming God as Father entails recognizable family traits—love for His Son and receptivity to His word. Their appeal to God heightens the stakes; if Jesus refutes this, He will expose the deepest root of their opposition.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949You are doing the works of your father. They said to him, We are true sons of Abraham; we have one Father, who is God.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862ye do the works of your father.' They said, therefore, to him, `We of whoredom have not been born; one Father we have--God;'
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Ye do the works of your father. They said [therefore] to him, We are not born of fornication; we have one father,God.
Context
This verse builds on the accusation that their actions do not match Abraham’s. Their defensive reply takes the debate to its highest level: God’s fatherhood. The next verse will test this claim directly—love for Jesus as the One sent from God is the necessary evidence. The movement prepares for Jesus’ explanation of their inability to hear His word and the shocking identification of their true father as the devil. The dialogue is now at its climax, where spiritual lineage is defined by response to the Son.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 16:20
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
- Ezekiel 23:45
And righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
- Jeremiah 3:19
But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
- Isaiah 63:16
For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.
- John 8:38
I speak the things which I have seen with my Father: and ye also do the things which ye heard from your father.
- Malachi 1:6
A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith Jehovah of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
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