John 10:20 (YLT)

Passage

and many of them said, `He hath a demon, and is mad, why do ye hear him?'

Nearby Context

John 10:18 no one doth take it from me, but I lay it down of myself; authority I have to lay it down, and authority I have again to take it; this command I received from my Father.'

John 10:19 Therefore, again, there came a division among the Jews, because of these words,

John 10:20 and many of them said, `He hath a demon, and is mad, why do ye hear him?'

John 10:21 others said, `These sayings are not those of a demoniac; is a demon able blind men's eyes to open?'

John 10:22 And the dedication in Jerusalem came, and it was winter,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "hath", "demon", and "hear". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Therefore again there came a division among..." into verse 21's "others said These sayings are not those...", so "said" and "hath" 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 "said" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.