John 10:39 (WEB)

Passage

They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.

Nearby Context

John 10:37 If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me.

John 10:38 But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

John 10:39 They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.

John 10:40 He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and there he stayed.

John 10:41 Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sought", "again", "seize", "went", and "hand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sought" and "again", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "But if I do them though you..." into verse 40's "He went away again beyond the Jordan...", so "sought" and "again" 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 "sought" and "again" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.