ὁ
ὁ, ἡ, τό
ArticleNominative · Singular · Masculine
the. Subject article, governing κλέπτης.
κλέπτης
κλέπτης, -ου, ὁ
NounNominative · Singular · Masculine
thief. 1st declension masculine (-ης stem). Agent noun from κλέπτω. Subject of ἔρχεται. In context, the thief stands in contrast to ἐγώ (Jesus, the Good Shepherd).
οὐκ
οὐ
Adverb (Negative)
not. The form οὐκ appears before a vowel with smooth breathing. Combined with εἰ μή to form the exceptive idiom "not…except."
ἔρχεται
ἔρχομαι
VerbPresent · Middle/Deponent · Indicative
3rd · Singular
comes, arrives. Deponent verb (middle form, active meaning). Present tense = gnomic: the thief's coming is characteristic, habitual. Main verb of the first clause.
εἰ
εἰ
Conjunction
if. Here part of the fixed idiom εἰ μή ("except, unless").
μή
μή
Adverb (Negative)
not. Combined with εἰ to form the exceptive: "if not" = "except." Note the pairing of οὐ (indicative negation) with εἰ μή (subjunctive / conditional negation).
ἵνα
ἵνα
Conjunction
in order that, so that. Introduces a purpose clause; governs the three following aorist subjunctive verbs. This is the first of two ἵνα clauses in the verse.
κλέψῃ
κλέπτω
VerbAorist · Active · Subjunctive
3rd · Singular
he may steal. First of three purpose-clause verbs. Aorist subjunctive is the standard mood-tense combination in ἵνα purpose clauses. The -ψ- is the aorist marker for labial-stem verbs (π + σ → ψ).
καί
καί
Conjunction
and. Connective, linking the three purpose verbs in series.
θύσῃ
θύω
VerbAorist · Active · Subjunctive
3rd · Singular
he may kill, slaughter, sacrifice. The primary meaning of θύω is "sacrifice, slaughter an animal"; here used metaphorically for violent destruction. Aorist active subjunctive, governed by ἵνα. The -σ- is the standard aorist marker.
καί
καί
Conjunction
and. Third link in the chain.
ἀπολέσῃ·
ἀπόλλυμι
VerbAorist · Active · Subjunctive
3rd · Singular
he may destroy, ruin utterly. Compound: ἀπό + ὄλλυμι. The aorist stem ἀπολεσ- is irregular (suppletive). Climactic third verb in the triad: stealing → slaughter → total destruction. Governed by ἵνα.
ἐγώ
ἐγώ
Personal PronounNominative · Singular · 1st person
I. Emphatic by its explicit presence (Greek verbs already encode person/number). Jesus sets himself in sharp contrast to the thief: "I, for my part…"
ἦλθον
ἔρχομαι
VerbAorist · Active · Indicative
1st · Singular
I came. Second aorist (no sigma; the stem itself changes: ἔρχ- → ἐλθ-). Aorist = the single decisive act of the incarnation. Note the deliberate echo: the thief ἔρχεται (present, habitual) but Jesus ἦλθον (aorist, once-for-all).
ἵνα
ἵνα
Conjunction
in order that, so that. Second ἵνα clause — now stating Jesus' purpose. Parallel to the thief's ἵνα but with opposite content.
ζωήν
ζωή, -ῆς, ἡ
NounAccusative · Singular · Feminine
life. Direct object of ἔχωσιν. Placed before the verb for emphasis — life is the focal point. In Johannine theology, ζωή is the fullness of divine life, not mere biological existence (for which John uses βίος).
ἔχωσιν
ἔχω
VerbPresent · Active · Subjunctive
3rd · Plural
they may have, they may possess. Present subjunctive (not aorist like the thief's verbs) = ongoing, continuous possession. Governed by ἵνα. Subject is the sheep (implied from context of the Good Shepherd discourse).
καί
καί
Conjunction
and. Links the two ἔχωσιν clauses.
περισσόν
περισσός, -ή, -όν
Adjective (used adverbially)Accusative · Singular · Neuter
abundantly, in excess, beyond measure. Neuter accusative functioning as an adverb (accusative of manner/degree). From περί ("beyond") + -σσος. The life Jesus gives is not merely sufficient — it overflows.
ἔχωσιν.
ἔχω
VerbPresent · Active · Subjunctive
3rd · Plural
they may have. Repeated deliberately. The verb is the same, but now modified by περισσόν: "have it, and have it overflowingly." The repetition drives the rhetorical climax.
Structural & Theological Notes
The two ἵνα clauses — antithetical purpose
The verse is built on a stark parallel: the thief comes ἵνα κλέψῃ καὶ θύσῃ καὶ ἀπολέσῃ; Jesus came ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχωσιν. Both arrivals are purposeful, but the purposes are diametrically opposed. John structures the contrast so that three verbs of destruction are answered by a single noun — ζωή — as though life alone outweighs all three threats combined.
ἔρχεται vs. ἦλθον — tense as theology
The thief's coming is present tense (ἔρχεται), suggesting something habitual and recurring — threats that never cease. Jesus' coming is aorist (ἦλθον), pointing to a single, decisive, unrepeatable event: the incarnation. The tense shift is not accidental; it encodes John's Christology. The thief keeps coming; Jesus came once, and it was enough.
Aorist subjunctive vs. present subjunctive
The thief's purpose verbs are all aorist subjunctive (κλέψῃ, θύσῃ, ἀπολέσῃ) — destructive acts conceived as punctiliar events. Jesus' purpose verb is present subjunctive (ἔχωσιν) — life conceived as a continuous, ongoing state. The grammar mirrors the theology: destruction strikes in moments; divine life is an enduring possession.
περισσόν — the signature of grace
The adverbial περισσόν ("abundantly, in excess") transforms the second ἔχωσιν from mere repetition into climax. Jesus does not merely restore what the thief takes; he gives beyond measure. The word belongs to a family that appears across the New Testament in contexts of divine generosity (cf. Paul's ὑπερπερισσεύω in Romans 5:20). John's Jesus does not do "enough" — he overflows.
ἐγώ — the emphatic pivot
The explicit ἐγώ is unnecessary for grammar (ἦλθον already encodes first person) but essential for rhetoric. It is the hinge on which the verse turns, forcing a full stop between the thief's programme and Jesus' counter-programme. This kind of emphatic ἐγώ is characteristic of the Johannine "I am" discourses (ἐγώ εἰμι), and even where εἰμι does not follow, the pronoun carries the weight of self-revelation.