God’s Word Translation
John 6:53
53Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have the source of life in you.
John 6:53 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
- New International Version (NIV)Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
Context of John 6:53
51I am the living bread that came from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread I will give to bring life to the world is my flesh.” 52The Jews began to quarrel with each other. They said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have the source of life in you. 54Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will bring them back to life on the last day. 55My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Read all of John 6John 6:53 word by word
Εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν· ἐὰν μὴ φάγητε τὴν σάρκα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πίητε αὐτοῦ τὸ αἷμα, οὐκ ἔχετε ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
- Jesusὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- Verilyἀμήνamēn · amenG281
- I sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto youσύsu · youG4771
- Exceptἐάνean · ifG1437
- ·μήmē · notG3361
- ye eatφαγεῖνphagō · to eatG5315
- the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
- of the Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- of manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- drinkπίνωpinō piō poō · to drinkG4095
- bloodαἷμαaima · bloodG129
- ye haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- noοὐou · noG3756
- lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- youἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
Cross-references for John 6:53
- John 6:26Jesus replied to them, “I can guarantee this truth: You’re not looking for me because you saw miracles. You are looking for me because you ate as much of those loaves as you wanted.
- John 3:3Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.”
- Matthew 5:18I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear, neither a period nor a comma will disappear from the Scriptures before everything has come true.
- John 13:8Peter told Jesus, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus replied to Peter, “If I don’t wash you, you don’t belong to me.”
- John 15:4Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me.
- Matthew 18:3Then he said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Luke 13:3No! I can guarantee that they weren’t. But if you don’t turn to God and change the way you think and act, then you, too, will all die.
- John 6:55My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
- John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, he will see God’s constant anger.”
- Matthew 26:26While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take this, and eat it. This is my body.”
- 1 John 5:12The person who has the Son has this life. The person who doesn’t have the Son of God doesn’t have this life.
- Revelation 2:7“Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the paradise of God, to everyone who wins the victory.
Commentaries on John 6:53
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 53Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man - Unless ye be made partakers of the blessings about to be purchased by my blood, passion, and violent death, ye cannot be saved. As a man must eat bread and flesh, in order to be nourished by them, so a man must receive the grace and Spirit of Christ, in order to his salvation. As food in a rich man's store does not nourish the poor man that needs it, unless it be given him, and he receive it into his stomach, so…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 53-55Verses 53-55 In these verses Jesus repeats what he had in substance said before. Except ye eat the flesh - He did not mean that this should be understood literally, for it was never done, and it is absurd to suppose that it was intended to be so understood. Nothing can possibly be more absurd than to suppose that when he instituted the Supper, and gave the bread and wine to his disciples, they literally ate his flesh and drank his blood. Who can believe…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 52-59Verses 52-59 The flesh and blood of the Son of man, denote the Redeemer in the nature of man; Christ and him crucified, and the redemption wrought out by him, with all the precious benefits of redemption; pardon of sin, acceptance with God, the way to the throne of grace, the promises of the covenant, and eternal life. These are called the flesh and blood of Christ, because they are purchased by the breaking his body, and the shedding of his blood. Also…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 53-58eats My flesh and drinks My blood: Jesus answered the question the people asked (6:52). His words pointed ahead to the Lord’s Supper, which would come later (see Luke 22:19). In Jewish speech, the phrase “flesh and blood” referred to the whole person. In this context, Jesus was calling people to receive him fully by completely believing in him. Ever since the Protestant Reformation, there have been three main interpretations of the words of Jesus about…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 53-5853-58. Except ye eat the flesh ... and drink the blood ... no life, &c.--The harshest word He had yet uttered in their ears. They asked how it was possible to eat His flesh. He answers, with great solemnity, "It is indispensable." Yet even here a thoughtful hearer might find something to temper the harshness. He says they must not only "eat His flesh" but "drink His blood," which could not but suggest the idea of His death--implied in the separation of…Read the comment
Topics related to John 6:53
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on John 6
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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