John 16 · Verse 9

John 16:9

Of sin, because they believe not on me;

John 16:9, King James Version

John 16:9 in other translations

BSB	in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;
WEB	about sin, because they don’t believe in me;
ASV	of sin, because they believe not on me;
YLT	concerning sin indeed, because they do not believe in me;
DARBY	of sin, because they do not believe on me;
BBE	Of sin, because they have not faith in me;
Webster	Of sin, because they believe not on me;

What does John 16:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

9. Of sin, because they believe not on me--As all sin has its root in unbelief, so the most aggravated form of unbelief is the rejection of Christ. The Spirit, however, in fastening this truth upon the conscience, does not extinguish, but, on the contrary, does consummate and intensify, the sense of all other sins.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 9. Of sin. The first thing specified of which the world would be convinced is sin. Sin, in general, is any violation of a law of God, but the particular sin of which men are here said to be convinced is that of rejecting the Lord Jesus. This is placed first, and is deemed the sin of chief magnitude, as it is the principal one of which men are guilty. This was particularly true of the Jews who had rejected him and crucified him; and it was the great crime which, when brought home to their consciences by the preaching of the apostles, overwhelmed them with confusion, and filled their hearts with remorse. It was their rejection of the Son of God that was made the great truth that was instrumental of their conversion, Acts 2:22, 23, 37, 3:13-15, 4:10, 26-28; comp. Jn 16:31-33. It is also true of other sinners. Sinners, when awakened, often feel that it has been the great crowning sin of their lives that they have rejected the tender mercy of God, and trampled on the blood of his Son; and that they have for months and years refused to submit to him, saying that they would not have him to reign over them. Thus is fulfilled what is spoken by Zechariah, Zech 3:10: "And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and mourn." Throughout the New Testament this is regarded as the sin that is pre-eminently offensive to God, and which, if unrepented of, will certainly lead to perdition, Mk 16:16, Jn 3:36. Hence it is placed first in those sins of which the Spirit will convince men; and hence, if we have not yet been brought to see our guilt in rejecting God's tender mercy through his Son, we are yet in the gall of bitterness and under the bond of iniquity.

(e) "of sin" Rom 3:20, 7:9

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 9 Of sin - Of the sin of the Jews in not receiving me as the Messiah, though my mission was accredited by the very miracles which the prophets foretold: see Isa 35:3-6. This was literally fulfilled on the day of pentecost, when the Spirit was given; for multitudes of Jews were then convinced of this sin, and converted to God. See Act 2:37. If we take this prediction of our Lord in a more general sense, then we may consider that it is one of the grand offices of the Holy Spirit to convince of sin, to show men what sin is, to demonstrate to them that they are sinners, and to show the necessity of an atonement for sin; and in this sense the phrase, περι ἁμαρτιας, may be understood, and in this sense it is used in multitudes of places in the Septuagint, but the words, because they believe not in me, restrict the meaning particularly to the sin of the Jews in rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 16:7-15

Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to convince. Convincing work is the…

Read the full comment on John 16:7-15 →

John 16:9 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

περὶpericoncerningG4012

ἁμαρτίαςhamartiassinG266

μέν,menindeed,G3303

ὅτιhotibecauseG3754

οὐounotG3756

πιστεύουσινpisteuousindo they believeG4100

εἰςeisinG1519

ἐμέ·emeMe myself;G1473

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 16:9

John 15:22-25
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
John 12:47-48
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
John 8:23-24
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Hebrews 3:12
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
John 8:42-47
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. …
Acts 2:22-38
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: …
Acts 3:14-19
But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. …
John 3:18-21
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Hebrews 10:28-29
He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Acts 7:51-54
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
Romans 7:9
For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

3:18-21; 5:40-44; 8:23,24,42-47; 12:47,48; 15:22-25; Mr 16:16
Ac 2:22-38; 3:14-19; 7:51-54; 26:9,10; Ro 3:19,20; 7:9; 1Th 2:15,16
1Ti 1:13; Heb 3:12; 10:28,29

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

John 16:8
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
John 16:9
Of sin, because they believe not on me;
John 16:10
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

Read all of John 16

John 16:9 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	De pecado ciertamente, por cuanto no creen en mí;
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	de péché, parce qu’ils ne croient pas en moi;
German Elberfelder 1871	Von Sünde, weil sie nicht an mich glauben;
Latin Clementine Vulgate	De peccato quidem, quia non crediderunt in me.