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And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
John 16:8 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment;
  • KJV And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
  • BSB And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
  • NASB And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment:
  • NLT And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

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

When the Spirit comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Spirit exposes the world's true spiritual condition.

Overview

Jesus describes the Spirit's convicting ministry toward the world in three areas, which the next verses unpack. This conviction confronts the world with the reality of its sin, the true righteousness found in Christ, and the certainty of judgment. The Spirit thus works through the gospel to bring conviction that can lead to repentance and faith.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Jude 1:15to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
  • Acts 2:37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
  • Zech 12:10I will pour on David’s house, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn.
  • Acts 16:29–30He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,
  • 1 Cor 14:24But if all prophesy, and someone unbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all, and he is judged by all.
  • John 8:9They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle.
  • John 8:46Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 16:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 16:8 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.