Limitless Word
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 8:26 · King James Version
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.”
  • BSB “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.”
  • 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 15:15Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
  • John 12:47–50And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
  • John 8:40But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
  • John 17:8For 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.
  • John 7:28Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.
  • John 16:12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
  • Heb 5:11–12Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
  • John 3:32–33And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
  • John 7:16Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
  • 2 Cor 1:18But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
  • John 5:42–43But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
  • John 8:16–17And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
  • John 9:39–41And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 8:26YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.