He is inserted in the versions and is not in the text. By retaining it, we read, I am the Messiah. But the words are rather the solemn expression of His absolute divine being, as in Joh 8:58 : “If ye believe not that I am.†See Deu 32:39; Isa 43:10; and compare Joh 8:28, Joh 8:58 of this chapter, and Joh 13:19.