A familiar Bible saying, checked in context
The truth will set you free
Altered wording
John 8:32 says the truth shall “make you free”; “set” changes the KJV wording in this common quotation.
By @The..Mustard..Seed · Updated
Read the relevant KJV passage
John 8:32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Compare the evidence
Jesus begins by addressing those who continue in his word; the statement about truth follows that condition.
John 8:31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Later Jesus says that if the Son makes people free, they will be free indeed, making the passage’s subject more explicit.
John 8:36If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
What the context adds
John 8:32 reads “the truth shall make you free.” The familiar version changes “make” to “set,” a real wording change even though the line remains close. Verse 31 speaks about continuing in Jesus’ word; the conversation then turns to freedom, sin, and the Son. Verse 36 returns to freedom with a direct statement about the Son. Pulling only verse 32 into a general slogan about sharing facts loses that unfolding argument. That does not deny the importance of truth elsewhere. In John 8, the surrounding conversation explains this particular KJV sentence.
A question to carry forward
What kind of freedom is being discussed as the conversation moves from verse 32 to verse 36?
Keep reading
Read John 8:31–36 and identify what Jesus says about abiding, truth, and freedom.
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