Bible Strands
John 10:31
At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus has just declared, "I and the Father are one," prompting the Jewish leaders to seize stones to execute Him for blasphemy. This immediate reaction follows His teaching in the temple courts about His relationship with the Father and His role as the Good Shepherd.
The words — The adverb πάλιν (palin) means "again," indicating a repeated pattern of hostility, while the verb λιθάσωσιν (lithasōsin) literally means "they may stone." These terms describe the specific, violent action the crowd initiates in direct response to Jesus' statement.
The thread — This escalation mirrors earlier attempts to kill Jesus in John 5:18 and John 8:59, where opponents also seized stones to execute Him. The pattern echoes the mob mentality described in Exodus 17:4, where threats of stoning force a confrontation with divine authority.
Why it lands — The text records a direct escalation from theological claim to physical threat, leaving the reader to weigh the basis of the accusation against Jesus' subsequent appeal to His works. It demands a clear-eyed assessment of whether the opposition responds to truth or to perceived authority.
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
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
Cross-references
- John 5:18 Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
- John 8:59 At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
- Exodus 17:4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”
- 1 Samuel 30:6 And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
- John 11:8 “Rabbi,” they replied, “the Jews just tried to stone You, and You are going back there?”
- Matthew 21:35 But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
- Matthew 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
- Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
- Acts 7:58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.