Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them.
Parallel translations
- WEB They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
- KJV Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
- BSB At this, they tried again to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.
- NKJV Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
- NASB Therefore they were seeking again to arrest Him, and He eluded their grasp.
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
They try again to seize Jesus, but He escapes their grasp. His hour had not yet come.
Overview
Despite their renewed attempt to arrest Him, Jesus eludes them, showing that no one could take Him before the appointed time. His sovereignty over His own fate is evident. The episode confirms that His coming death would be voluntary, not forced.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- John 7:30They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
- John 8:59Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.
- John 7:44Some of them would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him.
- Luke 4:29–30They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.
- John 10:31Therefore Jews took up stones again to stone him.
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 10:39 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.