John 8:41

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.

⁴⁰ But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.

You are doing the works of your father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.

⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You are doing the works of your father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.”
KJV: Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
WEB: You do the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God.”
ASV: Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, [even] God.
DARBY: Ye do the works of your father. They said [therefore] to him, We are not born of fornication; we have one father, God.
BLB: You⁺ are doing the works of your⁺ father.” Therefore they said to Him, “We have not been born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—God.”

ÅB: Dere gjør deres fars gjerninger. De sa til ham: Vi er ikke avlet i hor, vi har én far, Gud.
OTB: Dere følger deres egen fars veier.” “Vi er ikke uekte barn,” protesterte de. “Den eneste Far vi har er Gud selv.”
B1930: I gjør eders fars gjerninger. De sa til ham: Vi er ikke avlet i hor, vi har én far, Gud.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
Read in context
Isaiah 63:16
Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
Read in context
John 8:38
I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
Read in context
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
Read in context
Malachi 2:11
Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.
Read in context
Jeremiah 3:19
Then I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me.
Read in context
Jeremiah 31:20
Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.
Read in context
Isaiah 57:3–7
“But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
Read in context