The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

The Jews answered him: For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, maketh thyself God.

The Jews answered him, saying, 'For a good work we do not stone thee, but for evil speaking, and because thou, being a man, dost make thyself God.'

"For no good deed," the Jews replied, "are we going to stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, who are only a man, are making yourself out to be God."

This was their answer: We are not stoning you for a good work but for evil words; because being a man you make yourself God.

The Jewish leaders answered him, 'We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God.'

The Jews answered him: "We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy and because, though you are a man, you make yourself God."

"It is not for any good action that we would stone you," they answered, "but for blasphemy; and because you, who are only a man, make yourself out to be God."

We stone thee not for a good work. Though wicked men carry on open war with God, yet they never wish to sin without some plausible pretense. The consequence is, that when they rage against the Son of God, they are not content with this cruelty, but bring an unprovoked accusation against him, and constitute themselves advocates and defenders of the glory of God. A good conscience must therefore be to us a wall of brass, by which we boldly repel the reproaches and calumnies with which we are assailed. For whatever plausibility may adorn their malice, and whatever reproach they may bring on us for a time, if we fight for the cause of God, he will not refuse to uphold his truth. But as the wicked never want pretences for oppressing the servants of God, and as they have also hardened impudence, so that, even when vanquished, they do not cease to slander, we have need of patience and meekness, to support us to the end. But for blasphemy. The word blasphemy, which among profane authors denotes generally every kind of reproach, Scripture refers to God, when his majesty is offended and insulted. Because thou, being a man, makest thyself God. There are two kinds of blasphemy, either when God is deprived of the honor which belongs to him, or when anything unsuitable to his nature, or contrary to his nature, is ascribed to him. They argue therefore that Christ is a blasphemer and a sacrilegious person, because, being a mortal man, he lays claim to Divine honor. And this would be a just definition of blasphemy, if Christ were nothing more than a man. They only err in this, that they do not design to contemplate his Divinity, which was conspicuous in his miracles.

For blasphemy - See the notes at Matthew 9:3.
Makest thyself God - See the notes at John 5:18. This shows how they understood what he had said.
Makest thyself - Dost claim to be God, or thy language implies this.

But for blasphemy - I have elsewhere shown that the original word, βλασφημειν, when applied to men, signifies to speak injuriously of their persons, character, connections, etc.; but when applied to God it signifies to speak impiously, i.e. contrary to his nature, perfections, the wisdom of his providence, or goodness of his works.
Thou, being a man - That is, only a man - makest thyself God. When Christ said before, John 10:30, I and the Father are one, had the Jews understood him (as many called Christians profess to do) as only saying he had a unity of sentiments with the Father, they would not have attempted to treat him for this as a blasphemer; because in this sense Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, and all the prophets, were one with God. But what irritated them so much was that they understood him as speaking of a unity of nature. Therefore they say here, thou makest thyself God; which word they understood, not in a figurative, metaphorical, or improper sense, but in the most literal meaning of the term.

The Jews answered him, saying,.... As follows;
for a good work we stone thee not: they could not deny, that he had done many good works; this was too barefaced to be contradicted; yet they cared not to own them; and though they industriously concealed their resentment at them, yet they were very much gravelled and made uneasy by them, but chose to give another reason for their stoning him:
but for blasphemy; which required death by stoning, according to Leviticus 24:16, and according to the Jews' oral law (q):
and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God; which they concluded very rightly, from his saying, John 10:30, that God was his Father, and that he and his Father were one; that is, in nature and essence, and therefore he must be God; but then this was no blasphemy, but a real truth, as is hereafter made to appear; nor is there any contradiction between his being man, and being God; he is truly and really man, but then he is not a mere man, as the Jews suggested; but is truly God, as well as man, and is both God and man in one person, the divine and human nature being united in him, of which they were ignorant: two mistakes they seem to be guilty of in this account; one that Christ was a mere man, the other that he made himself God, or assumed deity to himself, which did not belong to him, and therefore must be guilty of blasphemy; neither of which were true: the phrase is used by the Jews, of others who have taken upon them the name and title of God; as of Hiram king of Tyre, of whom they say, , "that he made himself God" (r); the same they say of Nebuchadnezzar; and the modern Jews still continue the same charge against Jesus, as their ancestors did, and express it in the same language, and say of him, that he was a man, and set himself up for God (s).
(q) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. (r) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 4. & Tzeror Hammor, fol. 134. 4. (s) Aben Ezra in Genesis. xxvii. 39. & Abarbinel Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 5. 1.

for a blasphemy--whose legal punishment was stoning (Leviticus 24:11-16).
thou, being a man--that is, a man only.
makest thyself God--Twice before they understood Him to advance the same claim, and both times they prepared themselves to avenge what they took to be the insulted honor of God, as here, in the way directed by their law (John 5:18; John 8:59).

For blasphemy. Because he said he and the Father were one.