I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
Parallel translations
- WEB I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
- KJV And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
- NKJV And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
- NASB and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
- NLT I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,
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 gives His sheep eternal life, promising they will never perish and that none can snatch them from His hand. He guarantees the eternal security of His own.
Overview
This is one of the clearest assurances of the believer's preservation, grounded in Christ's own power. The gift of eternal life cannot fail, and no enemy can wrest the sheep away. It assures believers that their salvation rests on the shepherd's grip, not their own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 40
- John 6:39–40And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
- John 6:37Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
- John 3:15–16that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
- Heb 7:25Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
- John 18:9This was to fulfill the word He had spoken: “I have not lost one of those You have given Me.”
- Rom 8:29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
- Isa 54:17No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
- Phil 1:6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
- John 4:14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- 1 Jn 2:25And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.
- Rom 8:1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- Jude 1:24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- John 17:2For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
- John 5:24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
- 1 Jn 5:11And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- 1 Pet 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Deut 33:3Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—
- Ps 37:28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
- Jude 1:21keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
- Col 3:3–4For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
- Luke 22:31–32Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
- John 17:11–12I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
- Ps 103:17–18But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—
- 1 Jn 5:13–20I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
- Isa 45:17But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated, to ages everlasting.
- Rom 8:33–39Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
- Jer 31:3The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.
- John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:
- Prov 24:16For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
- 2 Th 2:13But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- John 6:47Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
- Rom 5:21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- 2 Tim 1:12For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
- Job 17:9Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.
- Rom 5:17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
- 1 Sam 2:9He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
- Ps 125:1–2A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 10:28 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.