John 8:51 (DBY)

Passage

Verily, verily, I say unto you, If any one shall keep my word, he shall never see death.

Nearby Context

John 8:49 Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honour my Father, and ye dishonour me.

John 8:50 But I do not seek my own glory: there is he that seeks and judges.

John 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If any one shall keep my word, he shall never see death.

John 8:52 The Jews therefore said to him, Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham has died, and the prophets, and thou sayest, If any one keep my word, he shall never taste death.

John 8:53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who has died? and the prophets have died: whom makest thou thyself?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "verily", "shall", "keep", "word", "never", and "death". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "verily" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 50's "But I do not seek my own..." into verse 52's "The Jews therefore said to him Now...", so "verily" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "verily" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.