Devine Scripture

John 16:8

What does John 16:8 mean?

A plain-English look at John 16:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What John 16:8 means

Jesus summarizes the Spirit’s public ministry: He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment. Convict means to expose, persuade, and press truth upon the conscience. The Spirit will not merely comfort the church; He will confront the world’s wrong assessments. By raising questions of guilt, true goodness, and ultimate verdict, the Spirit will overturn false standards. This is hope for mission: the disciples are not alone in bearing witness. The Spirit will take the initiative to make people face reality. The categories are then explained in the next verses, showing precisely how the Spirit redefines sin, vindicates true righteousness, and announces the decisive judgment already rendered.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

KJV

King James Version · 1611

And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And he, when he comes, will make the world conscious of sin, and of righteousness, and of being judged:

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and having come, He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin and of justice and of judgment.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And having come, he will bring demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Context

Having promised the Comforter, Jesus turns to the Spirit’s effect on “the world,” the sphere of opposition. Verse 8 is a headline statement that the next three verses unpack. Readers should expect clarification about each term—sin, righteousness, judgment. This sets a theological foundation for evangelism and assurance. It also transitions from the world’s hostility to God’s sovereign work within it, preparing for promises about the Spirit’s guidance to the disciples themselves.

v.7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you.

v.8This passage

v.9of sin, because they believe not on me;

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Zechariah 12:10

    And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.

  • 1 Corinthians 14:24

    But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all;

  • Acts 16:29

    And he called for lights and sprang in, and, trembling for fear, fell down before Paul and Silas,

  • Acts 2:37

    Now when they heardthis, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?

  • John 8:46

    Which of you convicteth me of sin? If I say truth, why do ye not believe me?

  • John 8:9

    And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst.

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