These men who oppose Jesus do not come from God, and so they do not listen to God’s words (see verse 42-43).

The last sentence of this verse reads literally “because of this you do not listen, because you are not from God.” Good News Translation and New English Bible invert the order of the two clauses to attain a more natural English structure. New English Bible reads “You are not God’s children; that is why you do not listen.” You will not listen is literally “you do not listen,” but it is obvious that the idea of willfulness is involved (note Jerusalem Bible “if you refuse to listen”).

In this context listen must be understood in the sense of “pay heed to.” It is not merely a matter of hearing what is said but of responding positively to it. One may translate therefore this passage “The one who comes from God pays attention to what God has said; but you are not from God, and that is why you refuse to pay attention.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .