But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Parallel translations
- WEB But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
- BSB But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.
- NKJV But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
- NASB But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.
- NLT But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells them they do not believe because they are not among His sheep. Genuine belief flows from belonging to Christ's flock.
Overview
Rather than saying they are not His sheep because they disbelieve, Jesus reverses it: their unbelief stems from not being His. This points to God's sovereign work in giving people to the Son. It is a sobering word that faith is ultimately a gift, not mere human achievement.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- John 8:47He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
- 2 Cor 4:3–4But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
- John 6:65And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
- John 12:37–40But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- Rom 11:7–8What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
- John 10:4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
- John 6:44–45No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
- John 6:37All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
- 1 Jn 4:6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 10:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.