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.”
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.”
- KJV 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.
- 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.”
- 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 3:36One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
- Mark 16:16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
- John 3:18He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
- Heb 10:26–29For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins,
- Heb 12:25See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven,
- Prov 8:36But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death.”
- John 13:19From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he.
- John 4:26Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who speaks to you.”
- Heb 2:3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation — which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard;
- Acts 4:12There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
- John 8:21Jesus said therefore again to them, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.”
- Mark 13:6For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and will lead many astray.
- Luke 21:8He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them.
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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.