John 8:44
What does John 8:44 mean?
A plain-English look at John 8:44 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What John 8:44 means
Jesus names their true father: the devil. Their desires align with his—lusts that oppose God. The devil is a murderer from the beginning, rejecting truth because it is not in him. Lying is his native language; he is the father of lies. By seeking to kill the truth-bearer and rejecting Jesus’ word, they show his family likeness. This is the most severe diagnosis: opposition to Jesus is not neutral but demonic in origin. Truth and life come from God; murder and deceit from the devil. Spiritual lineage is proved by deeds and desires, not claims.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862`Ye are of a father--the devil, and the desires of your father ye will to do; he was a man-slayer from the beginning, and in the truth he hath not stood, because there is no truth in him; when one may speak the falsehood, of his own he speaketh, because he is a liar--also his father.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752You are of your father the devil: and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning: and he stood not in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Ye are of the devil, as [your] father, and ye desire to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks falsehood, he speaks of what is his own; for he is a liar and its father:
Context
This verse is the climax of Jesus’ exposure of their spiritual paternity. It follows the statement of their inability to hear and provides the theological explanation: they mirror the devil’s character. The next verses will highlight the irony that, because Jesus tells the truth, they do not believe Him, and He will challenge them to convict Him of sin. The flow moves from identity (their father) to the consequences in their response to truth and to the test of His sinlessness, underscoring the utter contrast between Jesus and His opponents.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Revelation 9:11
They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath the name Apollyon.
- Revelation 20:7
And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
- Acts 13:10
and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
- 2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ.
- Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
- Revelation 21:8
But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.
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