John 12:26

John 12:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

Context of John 12:26

24Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

John 12:26 word by word

Ἐὰν ἐμοί τις διακονῇ, ἐμοὶ ἀκολουθείτω· καὶ ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγώ, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ διάκονος ὁ ἐμὸς ἔσται. ἐάν τις ἐμοὶ διακονῇ, τιμήσει αὐτὸν ὁ πατήρ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• any manτιςtis · oneG5100
• serveδιακονέωdiakoneō · to serveG1247
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• let him followἀκολουθέωakoloutheō · to followG190
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• whereὅπουhopou · where(-ever)G3699
• amεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• thereἐκεῖekei · thereG1563
• myἐμόςemos · mineG1699
• servantὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• servantδιάκονοςdiakonos · servantG1249
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• willτιμάωtimaō · to honorG5091
• Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962

Cross-references for John 12:26

• John 13:16Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
• John 14:15“If you love me, keep my commands.
• John 15:20Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
• Luke 6:46“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
• Romans 1:1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—
• Romans 14:18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
• 2 Corinthians 4:5For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
• Galatians 1:10Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
• Colossians 3:24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
• Colossians 4:12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
• 2 Peter 1:1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
• 1 John 5:3In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
• Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
• John 10:27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
• John 21:22Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
• Numbers 14:24But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

Commentaries on John 12:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26If any man serve me - Christ is a master in a twofold sense: To instruct men. To employ and appoint them their work. He who wishes to serve Christ must become: His disciple or scholar, that he may be taught: His servant, that he may be employed by and obey his master. To such a person a twofold promise is given: He shall be with Christ, in eternal fellowship with him; and He shall be honored by the Lord: he shall have an abundant recompense in glory; but…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26Serve me - Will be my disciple, or will be a Christian. Perhaps this was said to inform the Greeks John 12:20 of the nature of his religion. Let him follow me - Let him imitate me; do what I do, bear what I bear, and love what I love. He is discoursing here particularly of his own sufferings and death, and this passage has reference, therefore, to calamity and persecution. “You see me triumph - you see (me enter Jerusalem, and you supposed that my kingdom…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-26Verses 20-26 In attendance upon holy ordinances, particularly the gospel passover, the great desire of our souls should be to see Jesus; to see him as ours, to keep up communion with him, and derive grace from him. The calling of the Gentiles magnified the Redeemer. A corn of wheat yields no increase unless it is cast into the ground. Thus Christ might have possessed his heavenly glory alone, without becoming man. Or, after he had taken man's nature, he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-50In this part of John’s Gospel, two stories move forward at the same time. First, more and more people begin to praise Jesus. Their excitement reaches a high point when crowds welcome him into Jerusalem with shouts of joy (12:12–13). Second, the religious authorities become more determined to arrest Jesus and put him to death. As public support grows, their opposition grows as well. John's Gospel describes three events that happened only days before…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 23-2623-26. Jesus answered them, The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified--that is, They would see Jesus, would they? Yet a little moment, and they shall see Him so as now they dream not of. The middle wall of partition that keeps them out from the commonwealth of Israel is on the eve of breaking down, "and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, shall draw all men unto Me"; I see them "flying as a cloud, and as doves to their cotes"--a glorious…Read the comment

Topics related to John 12:26

• Deacon
• God
• Heaven
• Jesus Continued
• Obedience
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Chief
• Consult
• Costly
• Prince
• Andrew
• Christ, Offices of
• Jesus Christ
• John, Gospel of
• King, Christ As
• Ministry

Commentaries on John 12

• 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