John 8 · Verse 38

John 8:38

I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
John 8:38, King James Version

John 8:38 in other translations

BSBI speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
WEBI say the things which I have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen with your father.”
ASVI speak the things which I have seen with my Father: and ye also do the things which ye heard from your father.
YLTI--that which I have seen with my Father do speak, and ye, therefore, that which ye have seen with your father--ye do.'
DARBYI speak what I have seen with my Father, and ye then do what ye have seen with your father.
BBEI say the things which I have seen in my Father's house: and you do the things which come to you from your father's house.
WebsterI speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

What does John 8:38 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 8:37-41

37-41. ye seek to kill me--He had said this to their face before: He now repeats it, and they do not deny it; yet are they held back, as by some marvellous spell--it was the awe which His combined dignity, courage, and benignity struck into them. because my word hath no place in you--When did ever human prophet so speak of His words? They tell us of "the word of the Lord" coming to them. But here is One who holds up…

Read the full comment on John 8:37-41 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 38. I speak, &c. Jn 3:11-13.

My Father. God.

Your father. The devil. See Jn 8:44. To see here means to learn of. They had learned of or been taught by the devil, and imitated him.

(i) "I speak that" Jn 14:10,24

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 38 I speak that which I have seen - I speak nothing but that unchangeable, eternal truth which I have received from the bosom of God. Ye do that which ye have seen - Instead of ἑωρακατε, ye have seen, I think we should read ηκουσατε, ye have heard, on the authority of BCKL, fifteen others; Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, later Syriac in the margin, Gothic, one copy of the Itala; Origen, Cyril, and Chrysostom. This reading, says Bishop Pearce, (who has adopted it), seems preferable to the other, because it could not be said, with the same propriety, that the Jews had seen any thing with their father the devil, as it could that Jesus had seen with his. Jesus saw the Father, for he was the Word that was with God from eternity. The Jews did not see, they only felt and heard, their father the devil. It is the interest of Satan to keep himself out of sight, and to work in the dark.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 8:37-40

Our Lord opposed the proud and vain confidence of these Jews, showing that their descent from Abraham could not profit those of a contrary spirit to him. Where the word of God has no place, no good is to be expected; room is left there for all wickedness. A sick person who turns from his physician, and will take neither remedies nor food, is past hope of recovery. The truth both heals and nourishes the hearts of…

Read the full comment on John 8:37-40 →

John 8:38 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἃhaThose whichG3739
ἐγὼegōI myselfG1473
ἑώρακαhe'ōrakahave seenG3708
παρὰparawithG3844
τῷtōtheG3588
πατρὶpatriFatherG3962
μουmouof mineG3165
λαλῶ·lalōI speak;G2980
καὶkaialsoG2532
ὑμεῖςhumeisyou yourselvesG4771
οὖνounthereforeG3767
ἃhawhat thingsG3739
ἠκούσατεēkousateyou have heardG191
παρὰparafromG3844
τοῦtoutheG3588
πατρὸςpatrosfatherG3962
ὑμῶνhumōnof youG4771
ποιεῖτε.¶poieiteyou do.G4160

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 8:38

  • John 5:19

    Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

  • John 8:44

    Ye 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.

  • John 5:30

    I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

  • John 8:41

    Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

  • John 12:49-50

    For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

  • John 14:10

    Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

  • John 3:32

    And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

  • John 14:24

    He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

  • 1 John 3:8-10

    He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

  • John 8:26

    I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.

  • John 17:8

    For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

  • Matthew 3:7

    But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
speak.
26; 3:32; 5:19,30; 12:49,50; 14:10,24; 17:8
and ye.
41,44; Mt 3:7; 1Jo 3:8-10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 8:37

    I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

  • John 8:38

    I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

  • John 8:39

    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 Abraham.

Read all of John 8

John 8:38 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Yo hablo lo que he visto cerca del Padre; y vosotros hacéis lo que habéis oído cerca de vuestro padre.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Moi, je dis ce que j’ai vu chez mon Père; vous aussi donc, vous faites les choses que vous avez entendues de la part de votre père.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ich rede, was ich bei meinem Vater gesehen habe, und ihr nun tut, was ihr von eurem Vater gehört habt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ego quod vidi apud Patrem meum, loquor: et vos quæ vidistis apud patrem vestrum, facitis.