Bible Strands
John 10:29
My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks in the shepherd discourse, immediately following His declaration that believers will never perish and cannot be snatched from His hand.
The words — The phrase ὁ πατὴρ μου ὃς δεδώκεν μοι (ho patēr mou hos dedōken moi) literally renders "the Father of Mine who has given [them] to Me," identifying the divine source of the believers. The comparative μείζων πάντων (meizōn pantōn) translates "greater than all," establishing the Father's supreme power over any opposing force.
The thread — The Father's act of entrusting believers to the Son recurs in John 6:37, John 17:2, and John 17:9, consistently linking divine giving to the Son's authority to preserve and grant eternal life.
Why it lands — The text states that the Father's hand securely holds believers, making their preservation a function of divine power rather than human endurance. It demands recognition that salvation's security rests entirely on the Father's greater authority and the Son's received inheritance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Cross-references
- John 6:37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
- John 17:2 For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
- John 17:9 I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.
- John 14:28 You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
- Malachi 1:14 “But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.
- John 17:6 I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
- John 17:11 I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
- Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
- Psalms 145:3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.
- Daniel 4:3 How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation.