John 6:70

70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

John 6:70 in Other Translations

70 Jesus answered them,Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil."

70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.”

70 Jesus responded, "Haven't I handpicked you, the Twelve? Still, one of you is a devil!"

70 Jesus replied to them, "Didn't I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is the Devil!"

John 6:70 Meaning and Commentary

John 6:70

Jesus answered them
The disciples, taking Peter's answer to his question, as delivered in the name of them all, and as expressing their mind and sense:

have not I chosen you twelve;
not to grace and glory, to holiness and happiness; though this was true of eleven of them, but to be apostles:

and one of you is a devil?
or like to one, is a deceiver, a liar, and a murderer, as the devil is from the beginning; all which Judas was, and appeared to be, in the betraying of his master. The Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, "is Satan"; which name, if given to Peter, as it once was on a certain occasion, ( Matthew 16:23 ) , might very well be given to Judas; who, notwithstanding his profession of faith in Christ, was in the hands and kingdom of Satan, and under his influence and power: and this our Lord said, partly that they might not too much presume upon their faith and love, and steady attachment, and be over confident of their standing; and partly, to prepare them for the apostasy of one from among them.

John 6:70 In-Context

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

Cross References

• 1. John 15:16,19
• 2. John 13:27; John 17:12