John 8:43 (DRB)

Passage

Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word.

Nearby Context

John 8:41 You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God.

John 8:42 Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded and came. For I came not of myself: but he sent me.

John 8:43 Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word.

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil: and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning: and he stood not in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.

John 8:45 But if I say the truth, you believe me not.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "speech", "hear", and "word". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "speech" and "hear", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 42's "Jesus therefore said to them If God..." into verse 44's "You are of your father the devil...", so "speech" and "hear" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "speech" and "hear" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.