John 8:23

Contemporary English Version

Jesus answered, "You are from below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don't.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
But Jesus said to them, "You people are from here below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don't belong to this world.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he sayde vnto the: ye are fro beneth I am from above. Ye are of this worlde I am not of this worlde.

Hebrew Names Version
He said to them, "You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

International Standard Version
He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above. You are of this world, but I am not of this world.John 3:31; 15:19; 17:16; 1 John 4:5;">[xr]

New American Standard Bible
And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

New Century Version
Jesus said, "You people are from here below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don't belong to this world.

Update Bible Version
And he said to them, You are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said to them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

English Standard Version
He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

World English Bible
He said to them, "You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he said to them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Weymouth's New Testament
"You," He continued, "are from below, I am from above: you are of this present world, I am not of this present world.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide to hem, Ye ben of bynethe, Y am of aboue; ye ben of this world, Y am not of this world.

English Revised Version
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Berean Standard Bible
Then He told them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Amplified Bible
He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

American Standard Version
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Bible in Basic English
And he said to them, You are of the earth; I am from heaven: you are of this world; I am not of this world.

Complete Jewish Bible
Yeshua said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

Darby Translation
And he said to them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above. Ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Etheridge Translation
And he said to them, From beneath are you; but I am from above: you are of this world;

Murdock Translation
And he said to them: Ye are from below, I am from above; ye are of this world, I am not of this world

King James Version (1611)
And hee said vnto them, Yee are from beneath, I am from aboue: Yee are of this world, I am not of this world.

New Living Translation
Jesus continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not.

New Life Bible
He answered them, "You are from below. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

New Revised Standard
He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And hee saide vnto them, Ye are from beneath, I am from aboue: ye are of this world, I am not of this worlde.

George Lamsa Translation
And he said to them, You are from be- low, and I am from above; you are of this world, but I am not of this world.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he was saying unto them - Ye, are, of the realms below, I, am, of the realms above: Ye, are, of this world, I, am not of this world.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to them: You are from beneath: I am from above. You are of this world: I am not of this world.

Revised Standard Version
He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he sayde vnto them: ye are from beneathe, I am from aboue: ye are of this worlde, I am not of this worlde.

Good News Translation
Jesus answered, "You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world.

Christian Standard Bible®
“You are from below,”

King James Version
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Lexham English Bible
And he said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are from this world; I am not from this world.

Literal Translation
And He said to them, You are from below; I am from above. You are from this world; I am not from this world.

Young's Literal Translation
and he said to them, `Ye are from beneath, I am from above; ye are of this world, I am not of this world;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he sayde vnto them: Ye are from beneth, I am from aboue: Ye are of this worlde, I am not of this worlde.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and he said to them, ye are from beneath, I am from above: ye are of this world, I am not of this world.

THE MESSAGE
Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a dead end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the dead end of sins. You're missing God in your lives."

New English Translation
Jesus replied, "You people are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world.

New King James Version
And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Jesus continued, "You live in what you can see, hear, feel, and touch. I come from beyond such human standards. You are hobbled to this world. I am not.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

Legacy Standard Bible
And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world.

Contextual Overview

²¹ Jesus also told them, "I am going away, and you will look for me. But you cannot go where I am going, and you will die with your sins unforgiven." ²² The Jewish leaders asked, "Does he intend to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying we cannot go where he is going?" ²³ Jesus answered, "You are from below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don't. ²⁴ That is why I said you will die with your sins unforgiven. If you don't have faith in me for who I am, you will die, and your sins will not be forgiven." ²⁵ "Who are you?" they asked Jesus. Jesus answered, "I am exactly who I told you at the beginning. ²⁶ There is a lot more I could say to condemn you. But the one who sent me is truthful, and I tell the people of this world only what I have heard from him." ²⁷ No one understood that Jesus was talking to them about the Father. ²⁸ Jesus went on to say, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will know who I am. You will also know that I don't do anything on my own. I say only what my Father taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him, and he will never leave me." ³⁰ After Jesus said this, many of the people put their faith in him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ye are from: John 1:14, John 3:13, John 3:31, Psalms 17:4, Romans 8:7, Romans 8:8, 1 Corinthians 15:47, 1 Corinthians 15:48, Philippians 3:19-21, James 3:15-17, 1 John 2:15, 1 John 2:16

ye are of: John 15:18, John 15:19, John 17:14, John 17:16, James 4:4, 1 John 2:15, 1 John 2:16, 1 John 4:5, 1 John 4:6, 1 John 5:19, 1 John 5:20

Reciprocal: Psalms 17:14 - men of John 6:64 - there John 13:19 - that I John 16:9 - General 1 Corinthians 5:10 - of this Ephesians 2:2 - walked according

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said unto them,.... Upon this wicked remark of theirs, and query on his words:

ye are from beneath: not only of the earth, earthy, and so spoke of the earth, and as carnal men; but even of hell, they were the children of the devil; they breathed his Spirit, spoke his language, and did his lusts, as in John 8:44.

I am from above; not with respect to his human body, which he did not bring with him from heaven, that was formed below, in the Virgin's womb; otherwise he would not have been the seed of the woman, the son of Abraham, David, and Mary: but either with regard to his divine nature and person, he was of God, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, who then lay in his bosom, and was in heaven above at that time; or to his mission, which was from heaven.

Ye are of this world; they were, as they were born into the world, sinful, carnal, and corrupt; they were in it, and belonged to it, had never been chosen, or called out of it; they had their conversation according to the course of it, and conformed to its evil customs and manners; they were under the influence of the God of the world, and were taken with the sinful and sensual lasts thereof; they were men of worldly spirits; they minded earth, and earthly things, and had their portion in this world, and might be truly called the men of it.

I am not of this world; he was in it, but not of it; he was come into it to save the chief of sinners, but he did not belong to it, nor did he conform to it; for though he conversed with sinners, ate with them, and received them, being called to repentance by him; yet he was separate from them, and did not as they did: nor did he pursue the pleasures, honours, and riches of this world, being all his days a man of sorrows, and despised of men; and though Lord of all, had not where to lay his head.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ye are from beneath - The expression from bequeath, here, is opposed to the phrase from above. It means, You are of the earth, or are influenced by earthly, sensual, and corrupt passions. You are governed by the lowest and vilest views and feelings, such as are opposed to heaven, and such as have their origin in earth or in hell.

I am from above - From heaven. My views are heavenly, and my words should have been so interpreted.

Ye are of this world - You think and act like the corrupt men of this world.

I am not of this world - My views are above these earthly and corrupt notions. The meaning of the verse is: “Your reference to self-murder shows that you are earthly and corrupt in your views. You are governed by the mad passions of men, and can think only of these.” We see here how difficult it is to excite wicked men to the contemplation of heavenly things. They interpret all things in a low and corrupt sense, and suppose all others to be governed as they are themselves.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 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, &c., put an end to their own lives.