The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?
Parallel translations
- WEB The multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?”
- BSB “You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”
- NKJV The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”
- NASB The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill You?”
- NLT The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The crowd accuses Jesus of being demon-possessed and denies anyone is trying to kill Him. Their reaction shows ignorance of the leaders' plot and hostility toward Jesus' words.
Overview
Some in the multitude, perhaps unaware of the authorities' intentions, dismiss Jesus' claim with the slander that He has a demon. This charge of demon possession recurs in John (8:48; 10:20) as a way of discrediting Him. Their blindness illustrates how unbelief twists Jesus' truthful words into accusations against Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 10:20And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
- John 8:48Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
- Mark 3:21–22And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
- John 8:52Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
- Mark 3:30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
- Matt 12:24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
- Acts 26:24And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
- Matt 10:25It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
- Matt 11:18–19For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 7:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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