But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!
Parallel translations
- WEB But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me.
- KJV And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
- NKJV But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
- NASB But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me.
- NLT So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!
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
Precisely because Jesus tells the truth, they refuse to believe him. Their rejection is driven by their resistance to truth itself.
Overview
Jesus exposes the irony that his truthfulness, which should compel belief, instead provokes unbelief. Aligned with the father of lies, they recoil from the truth. The verse shows that unbelief is not for lack of evidence but flows from a heart at odds with God, highlighting humanity's need for spiritual rebirth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Tim 4:3–4For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- John 18:37“Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”
- John 3:19–20And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- 2 Th 2:10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- John 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- Gal 4:16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:45 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.