Bible Strands
John 10:6
Jesus spoke to them using this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a group of listeners immediately after describing how sheep refuse to follow a stranger. He delivers this statement at the transition between his metaphor about the sheep and his explicit declaration that he is the gate.
The words — παροιμία (paroimia) denotes a figurative illustration or allegory. The text records that Jesus spoke this parable to them, yet they did not understand what He was telling them.
The thread — This pattern of failed comprehension appears in Proverbs 28:5, where evil men do not understand justice. It parallels the spiritual darkness described in Psalms 82:5 and the unperceptive shepherds of Isaiah 56:11.
Why it lands — The verse states that hearing a message does not automatically produce understanding. It requires the reader to distinguish between passive auditory reception and active spiritual discernment.
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
This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 56:11 Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Psalms 82:5 They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
- Proverbs 28:5 Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD comprehend fully.
- Psalms 106:7 Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wonders or remember Your abundant kindness; but they rebelled by the sea, there at the Red Sea.
- Isaiah 6:9 And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Daniel 12:10 Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
- Matthew 13:51 Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.
- John 16:25 I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
- Matthew 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
- John 6:52 At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”