Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the Jews answered him, “Don’t we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?”
- KJV Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
- BSB The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You 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 multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?”
- John 8:52Then the Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’
- John 4:9The Samaritan woman therefore said to him, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
- Matt 12:24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
- Matt 10:25It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!
- Matt 10:5Jesus sent these twelve out, and commanded them, saying, “Don’t go among the Gentiles, and don’t enter into any city of the Samaritans.
- John 10:20Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane! Why do you listen to him?”
- Matt 15:7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
- Jas 2:19You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.
- Rom 15:3For even Christ didn’t please himself. But, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
- Isa 53:3He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
- John 13:13You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am.
- Isa 49:7Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
- Heb 13:13Let us therefore go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach.
- Matt 12:31Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.