Translation
Therefore Jesus said to them, I say to you, Amen, amen,
Go to footnote numberIf you have not eaten the flesh of the Son of Man, and have not drunk his blood,
Go to footnote numberyou do not possess life inside you.
Paraphrase
Then Jesus said this to them: Listen to me. This is important; you need to get this. If you have not plugged into Me as the source of true life, and if you have not subjected yourselves to the covenant made with my blood, you don’t possess true life, only a cheap copy of it.
Footnotes
1
When “Amen, Amen” were used at the beginning of the sentence instead of at the end, it is an emphasis marker, intended to point to an upcoming statement of pivotal importance, one that will be essential for understanding what is being said in the entire passage.
2
Blood was mentioned here as Jesus looked ahead to His death. When He said these words no one fully understood what He meant, but after he died and rose again His disciples remembered them and understood them because His blood now fulfilled a role they had not understood before.