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9 on the ground. But they, having heard this, and being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, having begun at the elder, to the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the wo10 man standing in the midst. Now when Jesus raised himself up, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned 11 thee?" And she said, "No man, Sir." And Jesus said unto her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.]"

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Then Jesus spake again unto them saying, "I am the light of the world: he who followeth me, shall by no means 13 walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The Pharisees therefore said unto him, "Thou bearest witness 14 of thyself; thy witness is not true." Jesus answered and said unto them, "Though I bear witness of myself, yet my witness is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go*; but ye know not whence I come, and whither I go. 15 Ye judge according to the flesh: I judge no one. And yet 16 if I judge, my judgement is true: because I am not alone, 17 but I and the Father who sent me. It is written in your 18 law also, that the witness of two men is true. I bear wit

ness of myself; and the Father who sent me beareth wit19 ness of me." They said therefore unto him, "Where is thy Father?" Jesus answered, "Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye would have known my 20 Father also." He' spake these words in the treasury, as he was teaching in the temple: and yet none laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

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Then [Jesus] said unto them again, "I shall depart, and ye will seek me, and will die in your sin: whither I depart, 22 ye cannot come." Then the Jews said, "Will he kill himself? because he saith, 'Whither I depart, ye cannot come.""

*

1 Jesus spake, R. T. and N.

q. d. I know from whom my authority is derived, and to whom I am accountable. See ch. iii. 13; xiii. 1,3.

23 And he said unto them, "Ye are from beneath; I am from 24 above*: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I

there foresaid unto you, that ye will die in your sins: for, if ye believe not that I am het, ye will die in your sins." 25 Then they said unto him, "Who art thou?" [And] Jesus 26 said unto them, "Even what I told you at first. I have many things to say concerning you, and to condemn: but he who sent me is true; and I speak to the world those 27 things which I have heard from him." They understood 28 not that he spake to them of the Father. Then Jesus said

unto them, "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then ye will know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; 29 but speak these things as my Father hath taught me. And he who sent me is with me: [the Father] hath not left me alone; because I always do those things which please him." As he spake these words, many believed in him. Then 31 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If ye con32 tinue in my word, then ye are truly my disciples: and ye

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shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 Some answered him, "We are Abraham's offspring, and were never slaves to any man: how sayest thou, 'Ye shall 34 become free?" Jesus answered them, "Verily verily I

say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the slave [of 35 sin]. And the slave abideth not in the house for ever1:

1 1i. e. during his life, Exod. xxi. 6; Lev. xxv. 39; John xiv. 16. Sn.

So Wakefield, and the public version. Newcome renders the words “Ye are of those beneath, I am of those above;” and in his note comments upon the clause as expressive of a local residence in heaven antecedent to his existence on earth. But as the first clause is to be understood figuratively, so must the latter. See ver. 44. So ch. xvii. 16, our Lord says of his disciples, “they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world:" not in allusion to any local residence, but to their temper and character, as different from that of the world.

+ that I am he,] "The Christ. See Mark xiii. 6; Luke xxi. 8, compared with Matt. xxiv. 5; Acts xiii. 25. But to translate that I am the Christ,' would be to represent our Lord as using to the incredulous Jews explicit, ins stead of covert, language on the subject of his Messiahship." Newcome.

36 but the son abideth for ever1. If the Son therefore shall 37 make you free, ye will be free indeed. I know that ye are

Abraham's offspring: yet ye seek to kill me, because my 38 word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with [my] Father: and ye do that which ye have seen 39 with [your] father." They answered and said unto him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus saith unto them, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abra40 ham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that have spoken to you the truth, which I have heard from God: Abraham 41 did not act thus. Ye do the works of your father." Then

they said to him, "We are not born of fornication: we 42 have one Father, even God." Jesus said unto them, "If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came forth from God +, and come unto you2; for I came not of myself, 43 but He sent me. Why do ye not understand my discourse? 44 because ye cannot hearken to my word. Ye are of your father the devil‡3; and the desires of your father ye are disposed to do. He was a slayer of men from the beginning, and continued not in the truth; because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for 45 he is a liar, and the father of liars*. And because I speak 46 the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convicteth

2

1 i. e. during his life, Exod. xxi. 6; Lev. xxv. 39; John xiv. 16. Sn. 'Or, I came forth, and am coming from God. 3 Gr. of the devil's father. See Griesbach. 4 Gr. of him, or of it. 5 "I speak the truth, but ye do not believe me." Wakefield, upon the authority of ancient versions.

The word seen in both clauses is used figuratively; q. d. My doctrine is conformable to the instructions which I have received from God: your conduct is such as may be expected from the children of the devil. See Newcome's note. "Which ye have heard from your father," is the reading of some manuscripts of good authority.

+ Came forth from God, explained in the latter clause," he sent me," as his messenger, and the revealer of his will to mankind. See ch. i. 6.

The devil; the principle of moral evil personified. Wicked men are his children, and resemble him. This symbolical person is here represented as uniformly wicked: he is a manslayer, or murderer, as vice leads to misery and ruin. He is the father of liars, as being the supposed source of evil, and tempter to all wickedness. See Essays by the Rev, J. Simpson, p. 143.

47 me of falsehood'? If I speak the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God, hearkeneth to God's words: ye therefore hearken not, because ye are not of God."

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The Jews answered and said unto him, "Say we not 49 well, that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a demon?" Jesus answered, “I have not a demon: but I honour my Father, 50 and ye dishonour me. But I seek not mine own glory: 51 there is one who seeketh it, and judgeth. Verily verily I say unto you, If a man keep my words, he shall never see 52 death." The Jews therefore said unto him, "Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham is dead, and the prophets also: yet thou sayest, If a man keep my words, 53 he shall never taste of death.' Art thou greater than our fa

ther Abraham, that is dead? and the prophets are dead 54 also: whom makest thou thyself?" Jesus answered, "If I

glorify myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father who 55 glorifieth me: of whom ye say, that he is your God3: and

yet ye know him not; but I know him: and if I should say, "I know him not,' I should speak falsely, like you: but I 56 know him, and keep his words. Your father Abraham

earnestly desired that he might see my day: and he saw it, 57 and was glad." The Jews therefore said unto him, “Thou art not yet fifty years old; and hast thou seen Abraham*?" 58 Jesus said unto them, "Verily verily I say unto you, Be59 fore Abraham was born, I am het." Then they took up

1" of sin?" N. See Campbell. But if, R. T. 3 The Jews, therefore, R. T. 4 q. d. an impious liar, and a lunatic. See Pearce in loc, 5 Or, he is our God, Mss. 6 i, e. he foresaw it. See ch. xii. 41.

* Our Lord did not say that he had seen Abraham, but that Abraham had seen, that is, had foreseen his day, or that the Messiah should descend from him See Bishop Pearce. The Jews upon this, as upon some other occasions, seem absurdly to have misunderstood, or wilfully to have misrepresented, his meaning. See ch. x. 33. Our Lord, disdaining to notice or to rectify this misapprehension, proceeds to justify his own expression, by declaring that he was designated to his office before Abraham was born, ver. 58: this designation, therefore, might have been revealed to the patriarch.

+ Or, "I was he." See Grotius, Bishop Pearce, Campbell, and Newcome, who renders the clause, " Before Abraham was born, I am:" explaining it, as

stones to cast at him: but Jesus concealed himself, and went

out of the temple'.

CH. IX. And as he passed by, he saw a man that had been blind 2 from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, "Mas

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ter, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born 3 blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God might be manifested 4 in him. I must work the works of him who sent me, while 5 it is day the night cometh, when no man can work. While 6 I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the 7 clay, and said unto him, “Go, wash thyself in the pool of Siloam" (which is, by interpretation, Sent.) He departed 8 therefore, and washed himself, and came seeing. The neighbours therefore, and those who had seen him before (for he had been a beggar'), said, " Is not this he who sat and 9 begged?" Some said, "This is he." And others said, "He 10 is like him." But he said, "I am he." They said there11 fore unto him, "How were thine eyes opened?" He answered and said, "A man, called Jesus, made clay and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam3, and wash thyself:' and I went and washed myself, and received 12 my sight." Then they said unto him, "Where is he?" He saith, "I know not."

'The received text adds, "going through the midst of them, and so passed by." they who had before seen him that he was blind, R. T. 3 to the pool of Si. loam, R. T.

many others do, as an assertion of the pre-existence of Christ, and even of his divinity, in allusion to Exod. iii. 14, though the texts are quite dissimilar, excepting in the English translation. The expression is uniformly used in the sense of "I am he," or "I am the Christ:" it occurs twice in this discourse, ver. 24, 28. It must, therefore, in all reason be taken in the same sense here, especially as this signification best suits the connexion. See the note on ver. 57. Mr. Wakefield says, "The peculiar use of the present tense in the usage of scriptural expressions, is to imply determination and certainty: as if he had said, My mission was settled and certain before the birth of Abraham." Compare Matt. xvii. 11. See Wakefield's note on the text.

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