John 1:38

John 1:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
• New International Version (NIV)Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

Context of John 1:38

36and he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following Him, and asked them, “What do you want?” They answered Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went [with Him] and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40One of the two who heard what John said and [as a result] followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

John 1:38 word by word

Στραφεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ θεασάμενος αὐτοὺς ἀκολουθοῦντας λέγει αὐτοῖς· τί ζητεῖτε; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· ῥαββί, ὃ λέγεται μεθερμηνευόμενον διδάσκαλε, ποῦ μένεις;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thenδέde · thenG1161
• Jesusὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• turnedστρέφωstrephō · to turnG4762
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• sawθεάομαιtheaomai · to look atG2300
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• followingἀκολουθέωakoloutheō · to followG190
• saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• seek yeζητέωzēteō · to seekG2212
• They saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Rabbiῥαββίrhabbi · RabbiG4461
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• being interpretedἑρμηνεύωhermēneuō · to interpretG2059
• Masterδιδάσκαλοςdidaskalos · teacherG1320
• whereποῦpou · where?G4226
• dwellest thouμένωmenō · to stayG3306

Cross-references for John 1:38

• Luke 14:25Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them,
• Luke 15:20So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
• Luke 19:5When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
• Luke 22:61The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
• John 18:4Then Jesus, knowing all that was about to happen to Him, went to them and asked, “Whom do you want?”
• John 20:15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? For whom are you looking?” Supposing that He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you are the one who has carried Him away from here, tell me where you have put Him, and I will take Him away.”
• Luke 7:24When John’s messengers left, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
• Luke 18:40Then Jesus stopped and ordered that the blind man be led to Him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
• Acts 10:21Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. For what reason have you come?”
• John 1:49Nathanael answered, “Rabbi (Teacher), You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
• John 3:2who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.”
• John 6:25And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
• Matthew 23:7and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi.
• John 12:21these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
• Ruth 1:16But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God.
• 1 Kings 10:8How blessed (fortunate, happy) are your men! How blessed are these your servants who stand continually before you, hearing your wisdom!

Commentaries on John 1:38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 38What seek ye? - These disciples might have felt some embarrassment in addressing our blessed Lord, after hearing the character which the Baptist gave of him; to remove or prevent this, he graciously accosts them, and gives them an opportunity of explaining themselves to him. Such questions, we may conceive, the blessed Jesus still puts to those who in simplicity of heart desire an acquaintance with him. A question of this nature we may profitably ask…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38What seek ye? - This was not asked to obtain “information.” Compare John 1:48. It was not a harsh reproof, forbidding them to follow him. Compare Matthew 11:28-30. It was a kind inquiry respecting their desires; an invitation to lay open their minds, to state their wishes, and to express all their feelings respecting the Messiah and their own salvation. We may learn: 1.That Jesus regards the first inclinations of the soul to follow him. He “turned” toward…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 37-42Verses 37-42 The strongest and most prevailing argument with an awakened soul to follow Christ, is, that it is he only who takes away sin. Whatever communion there is between our souls and Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What seek ye? The question Jesus put to them, we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and desire? In following Christ, do we seek the favour of God and eternal life? He invites…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 35-51This section introduces the model for discipleship in John’s Gospel. Disciples wanted to come and see Jesus, and when they met him, they stayed with him (1:39).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 37-5138. What seek ye--gentle, winning question, remarkable as the Redeemer's first public utterance. (See on Mt 12:18-20.) where dwellest thou--that is, "That is a question we cannot answer in a moment; but had we Thy company for a calm hour in private, gladly should we open our burden."Read the comment

Topics related to John 1:38

• Jesus, the Christ
• John
• Rabbi

In the dictionaries

• Jesus
• Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus
• Behold
• Believe
• Blood
• Dwell
• Flesh
• Guile
• Light
• Prefer

Commentaries on John 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings