I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Parallel translations
- WEB I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
- BSB That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
- NKJV Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
- NASB Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
- NLT That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”
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 warns that those who refuse to believe he is the divine "I am" will die in their sins. Saving faith in his identity is a matter of eternal life or death.
Overview
Continuing his temple discourse, Jesus presses the consequence of unbelief: persisting in rejection of him leaves people unforgiven and under judgment. The phrase "I am he" (Greek ego eimi) deliberately echoes God's self-revelation in Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah, hinting at his deity. The gospel turns on receiving Jesus for who he truly is; faith in him is the only deliverance from sin's penalty.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 3:36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
- Mark 16:16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
- John 3:18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
- Heb 10:26–29For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
- Heb 12:25See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
- Prov 8:36But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
- John 13:19Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
- John 4:26Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
- Heb 2:3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
- Acts 4:12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- John 8:21Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
- Mark 13:6For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
- Luke 21:8And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:24 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.