John 8:23

John 8:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
• New International Version (NIV)But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Context of John 8:23

21Jesus said to them again, ‘I will go away and you will look for me. But even when you die, God will still not have forgiven your sins. You cannot go where I will go.’ 22So the Jewish leaders said to each other, ‘Perhaps he means that he will kill himself. He says, “You cannot go where I will go.” Perhaps that is why he says this.’ Jesus answered, ‘You belong to the things down here in the world. But I have come from above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 24I told you that when you die, God will not have forgiven you. You must believe that “I am who I am.” If not, you will die and God will certainly not have forgiven you.’ 25Then the Jewish leaders asked Jesus, ‘So, who are you?’ He answered, ‘I have told you who I am from the beginning.

John 8:23 word by word

καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· ὑμεῖς ἐκ τῶν κάτω ἐστέ, ἐγὼ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω εἰμί· ὑμεῖς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ κόσμου ἐστέ, ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Yeσύsu · youG4771
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• fromἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• beneathκάτωkatō katōterō · underG2736
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• aboveἄνωanō · aboveG507
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• notοὐou · noG3756

Cross-references for John 8:23

• John 1:14The Word became a man. He lived among us. We saw his great glory. He has the glory of the Father's one true Son. He is full of God's grace and truth.
• John 3:13The Son of Man came down from heaven. Nobody else has gone up to heaven except him.
• Psalms 17:4I have watched people do bad things. But I have obeyed your commands. I have not joined with cruel people to do what they do.
• Romans 8:7If our weak human thoughts rule us, we become God's enemies. People like that do not want to obey God's Law. They are not even able to obey it.
• 1 Corinthians 15:47God used soil from the ground to make the first man, Adam. But the second man came from heaven.
• Philippians 3:19In the end, God will destroy them. Their stomach is what they worship. They are proud of things that should make them ashamed. Their thoughts are full of things that belong to this world.
• James 3:15You are not being wise in the way that God wants you to be wise. Instead, you are thinking like people who do not know God. Your thoughts do not come from God's Spirit. They come from demons.
• 1 John 2:15Do not live like people who do not know God. Do not love the wrong things that belong to this world. If anyone loves those things, it shows that they do not love God, their Father.
• John 15:18‘The people who belong to this world may hate you. But remember this: They hated me before they hated you.
• John 17:14I have given your message to them. The world's people have hated them because they do not belong to the world. They do not belong to the world, in the same way that I do not belong to the world.
• James 4:4You are turning away from God, like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. You choose to be friends with people who are against God. So you yourselves become enemies of God. You should know that!
• 1 John 4:5Those false prophets belong to this world. Their message comes from the ideas of people of this world. So the people of this world believe what they teach.
• 1 John 5:19We know that we belong to God. We know that Satan rules all the people who belong to this world.

Commentaries on John 8:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Ye are from beneath - Ye are capable of murder, and of self-murder too, because ye have nothing of God in you. Ye are altogether earthly, sensual, and devilish. They verified this character in murdering the Lord Jesus; and many of them afterwards, to escape famine, etc., put an end to their own lives.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Ye are from beneath - The expression from bequeath, here, is opposed to the phrase from above. It means, You are of the earth, or are influenced by earthly, sensual, and corrupt passions. You are governed by the lowest and vilest views and feelings, such as are opposed to heaven, and such as have their origin in earth or in hell. I am from above - From heaven. My views are heavenly, and my words should have been so interpreted. Ye are of this world - You…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-29Verses 21-29 Those that live in unbelief, are for ever undone, if they die in unbelief. The Jews belonged to this present evil world, but Jesus was of a heavenly and Divine nature, so that his doctrine, kingdom, and blessings, would not suit their taste. But the curse of the law is done away to all that submit to the grace of the gospel. Nothing but the doctrine of Christ's grace will be an argument powerful enough, and none but the Spirit of Christ's…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23Jesus told his listeners that they were from below, while he was from above (3:31; see study note on 3:3). From below refers to human life limited to this world. From above refers to heaven and to God’s realm. Because they were thinking only in earthly terms, they could not understand what Jesus meant. His origin and authority came from God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2521-25. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, &c.--(See on Joh 7:33).Read the comment

Topics related to John 8:23

• Depravity of Man

In the dictionaries

• Act
• Conscience
• Continue
• Flesh
• Hear
• Lift
• Treasury
• Beneath
• Jesus Christ
• Literature, Sub-Apostolic

Commentaries on John 8

• 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