John 8 · Verse 44

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 8:44, King James Version

John 8:44 in other translations

BSB	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.
WEB	You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
ASV	Ye 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.
YLT	‘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.
DARBY	Ye 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:
BBE	You 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.
Webster	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.

What does John 8:44 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

44. Ye are of your father the devil--"This is one of the most decisive testimonies to the objective (outward) personality of the devil. It is quite impossible to suppose an accommodation to Jewish views, or a metaphorical form of speech, in so solemn an assertion as this" [Alford]. the lusts of your father--his impure, malignant, ungodly propensities, inclinations, desires. ye will do--are willing to do; not of any blind necessity of nature, but of pure natural inclination. He was a murderer from the beginning--The reference is not to Cain (as Locke, De Wette, Alford, &c.), but to Adam [Grotius, Calvin, Meyer, Luthardt, &c.]. The death of the human race, in its widest sense, is ascribed to the murderous seducer of our race. and abode not in the truth--As, strictly speaking, the word means "abideth," it has been denied that the fall of Satan from a former holy state is here expressed [Locke, &c.], and some superior interpreters think it only implied [Olshausen, &c.]. But though the form of the thought is present--not past--this is to express the important idea, that his whole character and activity are just a continual aberration from his own original truth or rectitude; and thus his fall is not only the implied basis of the thought, but part of the statement itself, properly interpreted and brought out. no truth in him--void of all that holy, transparent rectitude which, as His creature, he originally possessed. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own--perhaps his own resources, treasures (Mt 12:35) [Alford]. (The word is plural). It means that he has no temptation to it from without; it is purely self-begotten, springing from a nature which is nothing but obliquity. the father of it--that is, of lying: all the falsehood in the world owes its existence to him. What a verse is this! It holds up the devil (1) as the murderer of the human race; but as this is meant here in the more profound sense of spiritual death, it holds him up, (2) as the spiritual parent of this fallen human family, communicating to his offspring his own evil passions and universal obliquity, and stimulating these into active exercise. But as there is "a stronger than he," who comes upon him and overcomes him (Lu 11:21, 22), it is only such as "love the darkness," who are addressed as children of the devil (Mt 13:38; 1Jo 3:8-10).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 44. Ye are of your father the devil. That is, you have the temper, disposition, or spirit of the devil. You are influenced by him, you imitate him, and ought therefore to be called his children. See also 1Jn 3:8-10, Acts 13:10: "Thou child of the devil."

The devil. Mt 4:1.

The lusts. The desires or the wishes. You do what pleases him. Ye will do. The word will, here, is not an auxiliary verb. It does not simply express futurity, or that such a thing will take place, but it implies an act of volition. This you will or choose to do. The same mode of speech occurs in Jn 5:40. In what respects they showed that they were the children of the devil he proceeds to state:

1st. in their murderous disposition;

2nd. in rejecting the truth;

3rd. in being favourable to falsehood and error.

He was a murderer from the beginning. That is, from the beginning of the world, or in the first records of him he is thus represented. This refers to the seduction of Adam and Eve. Death was denounced against sin, Gen 2:17. The devil deceived our first parents, and they became subject to death, Gen 3:1-24. As he was the cause why death came into the world, he may be said to have been a murderer in that act, or from the beginning. We see here that the tempter mentioned in Gen 3:1 was Satan or the devil, who is here declared to have been the murderer. Comp. Rev 5:12, 12:9:

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent
called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the
whole world."

Besides, Satan has in all ages deceived men, and been the cause of their spiritual and eternal death. His work has been to destroy, and in the worst sense of the word he may be said to have been a murderer. It was by his instigation, also, that Cain killed his brother, 1Jn 3:12: "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother." As the Jews endeavoured to kill the Saviour, so they showed that they had the spirit of the devil.

Abode not in the truth. He departed from the truth, or was false and a liar.

No truth in him. That is, he is a liar. It is his nature and his work to deceive.

He speaketh of his own. The word "own" is in the plural number, and means of the things that are appropriate to him, or that belong to his nature. His speaking falsehood is originated by his own propensities or disposition; he utters the expressions of his genuine character.

He is a liar. As when he deceived Adam, and in his deceiving, as far as possible, the world, and dragging man down to perdition.

The father of it. The father or originator of falsehood. The word "it" refers to lie or falsehood understood. From him falsehood first proceeded, and all liars possess his spirit and are under his influence. As the Jews refused to hear the truth which Jesus spoke, so they showed that they were the children of the father of lies.

(r) "Ye are" Mt 13:38, 1Jn 3:8 (s) "abode not in the truth" Jude 1:6

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 44 Ye are of your father the devil - Ye are the seed of the old serpent. See on Joh 8:37 (note). The lusts of your father - Like father like son. What Satan desires, ye desire; because ye are filled with his nature. Awful state of unregenerate men! They have the nearest alliance to Satan; they partake of his nature and have in them the same principles and propensities which characterize the very nature and essence of the devil! Reader, canst thou rest in this state? Apply to God, through Christ, that thou mayest be born again. He was a murderer from the beginning - It was through him that Adam transgressed; in consequence of which death entered into the world, and slew him and all his posterity. This was the sentiment of the Jews themselves. In Sohar Kadash, the wicked are called, "The children of the old serpent, who slew Adam and all his descendants." See Schoettgen. Abode not in the truth - He stood not in the truth - was once in a state of glorious felicity, but fell from it; and, being deprived of all good himself, he could not endure that others should enjoy any; therefore by his lies he deceived Eve, and brought her, her husband, and, through them, their posterity, into his own condemnation. He speaketh of his own - Εκ των ιδιων λαλει, He speaketh of his own offspring, or, from his own disposition, for he is the father and fountain of all error and falsity; and all who are deceived by him, and partake of his disposition, falsity and cruelty, are his offspring, for he is a liar, and the father of it - και ὁ πατηρ αυτου - literally, his father also. There is considerable difficulty in this verse. The Cainites, and the Archontites, mentioned by Epiphanius, read it thus: "Ye are the children of your father the devil, because he is a liar, and his father was a liar. He was a man-slayer, and he did not remain in the truth. When he speaketh, he speaketh a lie of his own, (progenitors understood), because his father also was a liar." The consequences which the above heretics drew from this verse were the following. They said that the father of the Jews was a demon; that he also had a demon for his father; and that he had a demon for his father, etc. The Archontites maintained that Cain had a demon for his father, the spirit which our Lord speaks of here; and that the Jews proceeded from the race of Cain. Grotius, supposing that the devil who tempted Eve was not the prince of devils, but rather a subordinate one, seems to think he may be understood here, he is a liar, and his father also, which is the literal translation of the latter clause of the text, ὡς και ὁ πατηρ αυτου, as it has been read by many of the primitive fathers. Mr. Wakefield, by changing το, before ψευδος, into τις, gives the text the following translation: - "The devil is your father, and ye willingly perform the lusts of your father. He was a man-slayer from the first, and continued not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When Any One speaketh a lie, he speaketh according to his own kindred: for his father also is a liar." Our own translation, that refers πατηρ αυτου to ψευδος, a lie, and not to ψευϚης, a liar, is probably the most correct.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 8:41-47

Satan prompts men to excesses by which they murder themselves and others, while what he puts into the mind tends to ruin men's souls. He is the great promoter of falsehood of every kind. He is a liar, all his temptations are carried on by his calling evil good, and good evil, and promising freedom in sin. He is the author of all lies; whom liars resemble and obey, with whom all liars shall have their portion for…

Read the full comment on John 8:41-47 →

John 8:44 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.

ὑμεῖςhumeisYou yourselvesG4771

ἐκekofG1537

τοῦtoutheG3588

πατρὸςpatrosfatherG3962

τοῦtoutheG3588

διαβόλουdiaboloudevilG1228

ἐστὲesteareG1510

καὶkaiandG2532

τὰςtastheG3588

ἐπιθυμίαςepithumiasdesiresG1939

τοῦtouof theG3588

πατρὸςpatrosfatherG3962

ὑμῶνhumōnof youG4771

θέλετεtheleteyou desireG2309

ποιεῖν.poieinto do.G4160

ἐκεῖνοςekeinosHeG1565

ἀνθρωποκτόνοςanthrōpoktonosa murdererG443

ἦνēnwasG1510

ἀπ᾽ap᾽fromG575

ἀρχῆςarchēs[the] beginningG746

καὶkaiandG2532

ἐνeninG1722

τῇtēatheG3588

ἀληθείᾳalētheiatruthG225

οὐκouknotG3756

ἔστηκεν,estēkenit has stood,G2476

ὅτιhotibecauseG3754

οὐκouknotG3756

ἔστινestinthere isG1510

ἀλήθειαalētheiatruthG225

ἐνeninG1722

αὐτῷ.autōhim.G846

ὅτανhotanWheneverG3752

λαλῇlalēahe may speakG2980

τὸto<the>G3588

ψεῦδος,pseudosfalsehood,G5579

ἐκekfromG1537

τῶνtōn<the>G3588

ἰδίωνidiōn[his] ownG2398

λαλεῖ,laleihe speaks,G2980

ὅτιhotiforG3754

ψεύστηςpseustēsa liarG5583

ἐστὶνestinhe isG1510

καὶkaiandG2532

ὁhotheG3588

πατὴρpatērfatherG3962

αὐτοῦ.autouof it.G846

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

Cross references for John 8:44

Acts 13:10
And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
1 John 3:12
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
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.
2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
John 8:38
I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Revelation 20:7-10
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
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.
Matthew 13:38
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
1 John 2:4
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 John 3:15
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Jude 1:6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

are.
38,41; 6:70; Ge 3:15; Mt 13:38; Ac 13:10; 1Jo 3:8-10,12
He was.
Ge 3:3-7; 1Ki 22:22; 1Ch 21:1; Jas 4:1-7; 1Pe 5:8; Re 2:10; 9:11
Re 13:6-8; 20:7-9
and abode.
2Pe 2:4; Jude 1:6
When.
Ge 3:4,5; 2Ch 18:20-22; Job 1:11; 2:4-6; Ac 5:3; 13:10; 2Co 11:3
2Co 11:13-15; 2Th 2:9-11; Re 12:9; 13:14; 20:2,3,10; 21:8; 22:15

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

Context

John 8:43
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
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 8:45
And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Read all of John 8

John 8:44 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Vosotros de vuestro padre el diablo sois, y los deseos de vuestro padre queréis cumplir. El, homicida ha sido desde el principio, y no permaneció en la verdad, porque no hay verdad en él. Cuando habla mentira, de suyo habla; porque es mentiroso, y padre de mentira.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Vous, vous avez pour père le diable, et vous voulez faire les convoitises de votre père. Lui a été meurtrier dès le commencement, et il n’a pas persévéré dans la vérité, car il n’y a pas de vérité en lui. Quand il profère le mensonge, il parle de son propre fonds, car il est menteur, et le père du mensonge.
German Elberfelder 1871	Ihr seid aus dem Vater, dem Teufel, und die Begierden eures Vaters wollt ihr tun. Jener war ein Menschenmörder von Anfang und ist in der Wahrheit nicht bestanden, weil keine Wahrheit in ihm ist. Wenn er die Lüge redet, so redet er aus seinem Eigenen, denn er ist ein Lügner und der Vater derselben.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Vos ex patre diabolo estis: et desideria patris vestri vultis facere. Ille homicida erat ab initio, et in veritate non stetit: quia non est veritas in eo: cum loquitur mendacium, ex propriis loquitur, quia mendax est, et pater ejus.