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 Living Translation (NLT)No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

Context of John 10:18

16And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 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.” 19Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you 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 Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.
• John 19:11Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
• Matthew 26:53Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
• John 2:19Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
• Isaiah 53:10Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
• Acts 2:24whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
• Acts 3:15and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
• Philippians 2:6who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
• Hebrews 2:9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
• John 6:38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
• John 14:31But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
• John 15:10If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
• Psalms 40:6Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
• Hebrews 5:6As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;
• Hebrews 10:6In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.

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