John 10:8

John 10:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
• New International Version (NIV)All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

Context of John 10:8

6Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what He was talking about. 7So Jesus said again, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am the Door for the sheep [leading to life]. All who came before Me [as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders] are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not hear them. 9I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security). 10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

John 10:8 word by word

πάντες ὅσοι ἦλθον πρὸ ἐμοῦ, κλέπται εἰσὶν καὶ λῃσταί· ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτῶν τὰ πρόβατα.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• All thatπᾶςpas · allG3956
• everὅσοςhosos · just as/how muchG3745
• cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• beforeπρόpro · beforeG4253
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• thievesκλέπτηςkleptēs · thiefG2812
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• robbersλῃστήςlēstēs · robber/rebelG3027
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• the sheepὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the sheepπρόβατονprobaton · sheepG4263
• didἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• notοὐou · noG3756
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for John 10:8

• John 10:1“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from some other place [on the stone wall], that one is a thief and a robber.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.
• Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her [false] prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured [human] life; they have taken [in their greed] treasure and precious things; they have made many widows among her.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
• Zephaniah 3:3Her officials within her are roaring lions; Her judges are [as hungry as] the wolves at evening, They leave nothing for the morning.
• Zechariah 11:4Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed for slaughter,
• Acts 5:36For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody [of importance], and a group of about four hundred men allied themselves with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were scattered and came to nothing.
• John 10:5They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Commentaries on John 10:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8All that ever came before me - Or, as some translate, all that came instead of me, , i.e. all that came as the Christ, or Messiah, such as Theudas, and Judas the Gaulonite, who are mentioned, Acts 5:36, Acts 5:37; and who were indeed no other than thieves, plundering the country wherever they came; and murderers, not only slaying the simple people who resisted them, but leading the multitudes of their followers to the slaughter. But our Lord probably…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8All that ever came before me - This does not refer to the prophets, but to those who came pretending to be the pastors or guides of the people. Some have supposed that he referred to those who pretended to be the Messiah before him; but there is not evidence that any such person appeared before the coming of Jesus. It is probable that he rather refers to the scribes and Pharisees, who claimed to be instructors of the people, who claimed the right to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-9Verses 6-9 Many who hear the word of Christ, do not understand it, because they will not. But we shall find one scripture expounding another, and the blessed Spirit making known the blessed Jesus. Christ is the Door. And what greater security has the church of God than that the Lord Jesus is between it and all its enemies? He is a door open for passage and communication. Here are plain directions how to come into the fold; we must come in by Jesus Christ…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-21This illustration of a shepherd and his sheep comes from a Middle Eastern perspective of shepherding and Old Testament traditions in first-century AD Jewish culture. God was the shepherd of Israel (Genesis 49:24; Psalms 23; 78:52–53; Isaiah 40:10–11). Spiritual and political leaders of Israel were also shepherds of God’s people, the flock of God (Isaiah 56:9–12; Jeremiah 23:1–4; Ezekiel 34). Jesus spoke these words during the Feast of Dedication (see John…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-147-14. I am the door of the sheep--that is, the way in to the fold, with all blessed privileges, both for shepherds and sheep (compare Joh 14:6; Ep 2:18).Read the comment

Topics related to John 10:8

• Church
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Minister, Christian
• Sheep
• Shepherd

In the dictionaries

• Fold
• Lay
• Parable
• Sanctify
• Sheep
• Thief
• Allegory
• God
• Jesus Christ
• John, Gospel of

Commentaries on John 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings