John 10:18

John 10:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
• New International Version (NIV)No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."
• New King James Version (NKJV)No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

Context of John 10:18

16I also have other sheep, and I must bring them too. They do not belong to this group of sheep. But they also will listen to my voice. So all the sheep will become one group, and they will have one shepherd. 17The Father loves me because I choose to die for my sheep. But after I give my life like that, I will become alive again. Nobody can take my life away from me. Instead, I myself can choose to die. I have authority to do that. I also have authority to become alive again. My Father has said that I must do that.’ 19Again, the Jews could not agree about these things that Jesus said. 20Many of them said, ‘He has a demon in him and he is crazy. You should not listen to him!’

John 10:18 word by word

οὐδεὶς αἴρει αὐτὴν ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ἀπ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ. ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι αὐτὴν καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν· ταύτην τὴν ἐντολὴν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• No manοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• takethαἴρωairō · to take upG142
• itαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• layτίθημιtithēmi · to placeG5087
• myselfἐμαυτοῦemautou emautō emauton · myselfG1683
• I haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• powerἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to takeλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
• againπάλινpalin · againG3825
• Thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• commandmentὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• commandmentἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
• ofπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962

Cross-references for John 10:18

• John 18:5They answered, ‘Jesus, who comes from Nazareth.’ Jesus said, ‘That is who I am.’ Judas, who sold Jesus to his enemies, was standing there with the soldiers.
• John 19:11Jesus answered, ‘You could have no power against me unless God had given it to you. So the man who sold me to you has done a worse thing than you have done.’
• Matthew 26:53You should know that I could ask my Father God to help me. He would immediately send more than 12 large groups of angels to fight for me.
• John 2:19Jesus answered them, ‘If you destroy this house of God, I will build it up again in three days.’
• Isaiah 53:10But it was the Lord who chose to hurt his servant. He caused his servant to receive much pain. His servant died to remove people's guilt. As a result, God will bless him with many descendants, and he will have a long life. What the Lord wants will happen, because of what his servant does.
• Acts 2:24But after his death, God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for death to keep hold of him.
• Acts 3:15But Jesus is the person who leads people to true life. When you refused him, it meant that you killed him. But God made him alive again and raised him up from death. We ourselves saw him alive after he had died and we are telling you about it.
• Philippians 2:6Christ had the same nature as God. He was completely equal with God. But he did not try to keep hold of that.
• Hebrews 2:9But we do see Jesus! God made him less important than the angels for a short time. And now God has made him the great and powerful king. God did this because Jesus died as a sacrifice on behalf of all people. His death showed that God is very kind.
• John 6:38I have not come down from heaven to do what I myself choose to do. No, my Father has sent me. I have come to do what he wants me to do.
• John 14:31But the people who belong to this world must learn about me. They must know that I love the Father. I do everything that he tells me to do. I must show that to them. Now get up, we must go from here.’
• John 15:10If you obey what I have told you, you will be living in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed what my Father has told me to do. In that way, I live in his love.
• Psalms 40:6You do not really want sacrifices and offerings. I understand that! You do not ask for burnt offerings or sin offerings.
• Hebrews 5:6And in another place in the Bible God says this: ‘You will be a priest for ever, in the same way that Melchizedek was a priest long ago.’
• Hebrews 10:6Sacrifices do not make you happy. If people burn whole animals as a sacrifice, or if they offer a sacrifice to make them clean from their sins, that does not make you happy.

Commentaries on John 10:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18I have power - Or, authority, . Our Lord speaks of himself here as man, or the Messiah, as being God's messenger, and sent upon earth to fulfill the Divine will, in dying and rising again for the salvation of men. This commandment have I received - That is, I act according to the Divine commandment in executing these things, and giving you this information.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18No man taketh it from me - That is, no one could take it by force, or unless I was willing to yield myself into his hands. He had power to preserve his life, as he showed by so often escaping from the Pharisees; he voluntarily went up to Jerusalem, knowing that he would die; he knew the approach of Judas to betray him; and he expressly told Pilate at his bar that he could have no power at all against him except it were given him by his Father, John 19:11…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-18Verses 10-18 Christ is a good Shepherd; many who were not thieves, yet were careless in their duty, and by their neglect the flock was much hurt. Bad principles are the root of bad practices. The Lord Jesus knows whom he has chosen, and is sure of them; they also know whom they have trusted, and are sure of Him. See here the grace of Christ; since none could demand his life of him, he laid it down of himself for our redemption. He offered himself to be…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18No one takes it from Me: The death of the Son was voluntary. Jesus was not a helpless victim of events beyond his control. He chose to give his life freely in obedience and close relationship with the Father (see Acts 2:23–24). The resurrection of Jesus was not an afterthought or a rescue from failure. God cannot be confined by death or a tomb. Because Jesus and the Father are one, Jesus possessed the authority to rise from death.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1815-18. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father--What claim to absolute equality with the Father could exceed this? (See on Mt 11:27). and I lay down my life for the sheep--How sublime this, immediately following the lofty claim of the preceding clause! It is the riches and the poverty of "the Word made flesh"--one glorious Person reaching at once up to the Throne and down even to the dust of death, "that we might live through Him." A candid…Read the comment

Topics related to John 10:18

• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Power

In the dictionaries

• Fold
• Lay
• Resurrection of Christ
• Sanctify
• Thief
• Authority in Religion
• Christ, Offices of
• Christ, the Exaltation of
• Commandment, the New
• Commandment; Commandments

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