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Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
John 8:48 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then the Jews answered him, “Don’t we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?”
  • BSB The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
  • NKJV Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
  • NASB The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?”
  • NLT The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”

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 opponents resort to insults, calling Jesus a Samaritan and demon-possessed. Unable to answer his words, they attack his character.

Overview

Cornered by Jesus' logic, his hearers slander him as a despised Samaritan and as demonized. Their abuse reveals the hardness of their hearts and the lengths of their hostility. Such rejection foreshadows the suffering Christ would endure, despised and accused though wholly innocent.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • John 7:20The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?
  • 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.
  • John 4:9Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
  • 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.
  • 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 10:5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
  • John 10:20And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
  • Matt 15:7Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
  • Jas 2:19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
  • Rom 15:3For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
  • Isa 53:3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
  • John 13:13Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
  • Isa 49:7Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
  • Heb 13:13Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
  • Matt 12:31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 8:48YouTube · 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 8:48 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.