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For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
John 6:55 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
  • KJV For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
  • BSB For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.
  • NKJV For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
  • NLT For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

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 calls His flesh true food and His blood true drink. He is the genuine nourishment that satisfies the soul's deepest need.

Overview

Over against perishable manna and ordinary food, Jesus presents Himself as real and lasting sustenance. His sacrificial death truly feeds those who trust Him. The verse reinforces that only Christ, given for sinners, can nourish the soul unto eternal life.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • John 6:32Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
  • John 8:31Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples.
  • John 8:36If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
  • John 15:1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
  • John 1:9The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
  • 1 Jn 5:20We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
  • John 1:47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
  • Heb 8:2a servant of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
  • Ps 4:7You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 6:55YouTube · 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 6:55 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.