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 told them this parable, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth, I am the door for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

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 tell you the solemn truth, the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
• Isaiah 56:10All their watchmen are blind, they are unaware. All of them are like mute dogs, unable to bark. They pant, lie down, and love to snooze.
• Ezekiel 22:25Her princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows within it.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?
• Zephaniah 3:3Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions; her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert, who completely devour their prey by morning.
• Zechariah 11:4The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter.
• Acts 5:36For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it.
• John 10:5They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger’s voice.”

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