But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.
Parallel translations
- WEB But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
- KJV But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto 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.
- 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 who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”
- 2 Cor 4:3–4Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who perish;
- John 6:65He said, “For this cause I have said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”
- John 12:37–40But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- Rom 11:7–8What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened.
- John 10:4Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
- John 6:44–45No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
- John 6:37All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
- 1 Jn 4:6We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know 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.