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Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
John 6:70 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jesus answered them, “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”
  • BSB Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”
  • NKJV Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”
  • NASB Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
  • NLT Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.”

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 responds that He chose the Twelve, yet one of them is a devil. Even within the closest circle, unbelief and betrayal are present.

Overview

Jesus tempers Peter's confession with a sobering reminder that outward nearness is not the same as saving faith. Calling Judas a 'devil' marks him as an instrument of Satan's opposition. The verse warns that membership among the disciples does not guarantee a true heart, and that Jesus knew the betrayer all along.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • John 13:27And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
  • John 13:2And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
  • John 17:12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
  • John 6:64But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
  • John 13:18I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
  • Rev 3:9–10Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
  • John 8:44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
  • 1 Jn 3:8He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
  • John 13:21When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
  • 1 Tim 3:11Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
  • John 15:16Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
  • Luke 6:13–16And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
  • Acts 1:17For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
  • John 15:19If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
  • Titus 2:3The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
  • Matt 10:1–4And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
  • Acts 13:10And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 6:70YouTube · 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 6:70 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.