“I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
- NASB I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I say to the world.”
- NLT I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.”
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
Jesus could say much in judgment, but he faithfully speaks to the world only what he has heard from the trustworthy Father who sent him. His message carries the Father's own authority.
Overview
Jesus restrains himself from immediate condemnation, yet affirms that genuine judgment belongs to his ministry. He grounds the truthfulness of his words in the One who sent him, declaring perfect dependence on the Father. This reveals the unity between the Son and the Father and assures hearers that to receive Jesus' word is to receive God's own truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
- John 12:47–50As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
- John 8:40But 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.
- John 17:8For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
- John 7:28Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him,
- John 16:12I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.
- Heb 5:11–12We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing.
- John 3:32–33He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.
- John 7:16“My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me.
- 2 Cor 1:18But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”
- John 5:42–43but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you.
- John 8:16–17But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me.
- John 9:39–41Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
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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 8:26 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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