to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
therefore
οὖνoun
G3767
(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
unto you
ὑμῖνhymîn
G5213
to (with or by) you
that
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
ye shall die
ἀποθανεῖσθεapothaneisthe
G599
to die off (literally or figuratively) · verb — future middle deponent indicative, 2nd person plural
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
your
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
sins
ἁμαρτίαιςhamartiais
G266
a sin (properly abstract) · noun — dative plural feminine
for
γὰρgar
G1063
properly · conjunction
if
ἐὰνean
G1437
a conditional particle · conditional particle
ye believe
πιστεύσητεpisteusēte
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural
not
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
that
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
I
ἐγώegō
G1473
I · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular
am
εἰμι,eimi
G1510
I exist (used only when emphatic) · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
ye shall die
ἀποθανεῖσθεapothaneisthe
G599
to die off (literally or figuratively) · verb — future middle deponent indicative, 2nd person plural
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
your
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
sins
ἁμαρτίαιςhamartiais
G266
a sin (properly abstract) · noun — dative plural feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 3:36 He 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 hi…
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
John 3:18 He 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 o…
Hebrews 10:26-29 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Hebrews 12:25 See 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…
Proverbs 8:36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
John 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
John 13:19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 8:21-30
Christ here gives fair warning to the careless unbelieving Jews to consider what would be the consequence of their infidelity, that they might prevent it before it was too late; for he spoke words of terror as well as words of grace. Observe here,
I. The wrath threatened (Joh 8:21): Jesus said again unto them that which might be likely to do them good. He continued to teach, in kindness to those few who received his doctrine, though there were many that resisted it, which is an example to ministers to go on with their work, notwithstanding opposition, because a remnant shall be saved. Here Christ changes his voice; he had piped to them in the offers of his grace, and they had not danced; now…
if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins--They knew well enough what He meant (Mar 13:6, Greek; compare Mat 24:5). But He would not, by speaking it out, give them the materials for a charge for which they were watching. At the same time, one is irresistibly reminded by such language, so far transcending what is becoming in men, of those ancient declarations of the God of Israel, "I AM HE" (Deu 32:39; Isa 43:10, Isa 43:13; Isa 46:4; Isa 48:12). See on Joh 6:20.
Adam Clarke on John 8:23
Ye are from beneath - Ye are capable of murder, and of self-murder too, because ye have nothing of God in you. Ye are altogether earthly, sensual, and devilish. They verified this character in murdering the Lord Jesus; and many of them afterwards, to escape famine, etc., put an end to their own lives.
John Gill on John 8:24
I said therefore unto you,.... Because they were from beneath, and of the world, and discovered an earthly, worldly, carnal, yea, devilish disposition, in their conduct towards him:
that ye shall die in your sins; this he had said in John 8:21, and now repeats it, and confirms it by the following reason:
for if believe not that I am he; the everlasting and unchangeable I am, the true God, God over all, blessed for ever; the eternal Son of God, God manifest in the flesh, really made flesh, and become incarnate; the true Messiah, the only Saviour of sinners; the one and only Mediator between God and man; the Head of the church, prophet, priest, and King, and the Judge of quick and dead; as a…
The Church Fathers
This, then, is to be believed, according to Plato, though it is announced and spoken "without probable and necessary proofs," but in the Old and New Testament. "For except ye believe," says the Lord, "ye shall die in your sins." And again: "He that believeth hath everlasting life." "Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." For trusting is more than faith. For when one has believed that the Son of God is our teacher, he trusts that his teaching is true. And as "instruction," according to Empedocles, "makes the mind grow," so trust in the Lord makes faith grow.
"I said therefore unto you that...if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." For if He came to take away the sin of the world, and if it is impossible for men to put that off in any other way except by the washing, it needs must be that he that believeth not must depart hence, having the old man; since he that will not by faith slay and bury that old man, shall die in him, and shall go away to that place to suffer the punishment of His former sins. Wherefore He said, "He that believeth not is judged already"; not merely through his not believing, but because he departeth hence having his former sins upon him.
Now, if the one who does not believe that Jesus is the Christ will die in his sins, it is clear that the one who does not die in his sins has believed in the Christ. But he who dies in his sins, even if he says that he believes in the Christ, has not believed in him so far as truth is concerned. And if faith is mentioned but it lacks works, such faith is dead. … For one who believes in [Christ's] justice does not do injustice. One who believes in his wisdom would not say or do anything foolish.… And if we collected the remaining attributes of Christ, we will easily discover that whoever does not believe in Christ will die in his sins because he comes to be the very opposite of what is seen in Christ. The sins themselves kill him.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Pardon · Withheld from: The unbelieving — Withheld from: The unbelieving
Unbelief · 5:12-14; — 5:12-14;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John 8:21-24
21. Jesus therefore spake again to them, I go, and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sin. Whither I go, you cannot come. 22. The Jews therefore said, Will he kill himself? Because he saith, Whither I go, you cannot come. 23. Then he said to them, You are from beneath, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24. Therefore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am, you shall die in your sins.
21. I go. Perceiving that he is doing no good among these obstinate men, he threatens their destruction; and this is the end of all those who reject the Gospel. For it is not thrown uselessly into the air, but must…
unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be: Jesus used God’s divine name (see 4:26; Exod 3:14), but the listeners missed the nuance (John 8:25). • die in your sins: Jesus’ presence in the world, as the light penetrating the darkness, is the world’s only chance for salvation.
