John 8:23
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And he said to them, You are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And he said to them, You are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
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.
Webster's Revision
And he said to them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye 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.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
Clarke's John 8:23 Bible Commentary
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.
Barnes's John 8:23 Bible Commentary
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.
Wesley's John 8:23 Bible Commentary
8:23 Ye are - Again he passes over their interruption, and proves what he advanced, John 8:21. Of them that are beneath - From the earth. I am of them that are above - Here he directly shows whence he came, even from heaven, and whither he goes.