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

36He saw Jesus, who was walking past them. John said, ‘Look! Here is the Lamb of God.’ 37When the two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned round. He saw that they were following him. He asked them, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi (which means “Teacher”), where are you staying?’ 39Jesus replied, ‘Come with me and you will see.’ So they went with him. They saw where he was staying. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. And they stayed with him that day. 40Andrew was one of the two disciples who had followed Jesus. They had heard what John had said about Jesus. Andrew was 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 14:25Crowds of many people were travelling with Jesus on his journey. So he turned and said to them,
• Luke 15:20So he went off to return to his father. But he was still a long way from the house when his father saw him. He felt very sorry for his son and he ran towards him. Then he put his arms round his son and he kissed him.
• Luke 19:5When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up at Zacchaeus. He said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly. Today I must stay in your home.’
• Luke 22:61Then the Lord Jesus turned round and he looked at Peter. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him: ‘You will say tonight that you do not know me. You will say it three times before the cockerel sings in the morning.’
• John 18:4Jesus knew everything that would soon happen to him. He went towards them and he asked them, ‘Who are you looking for?’
• John 20:15Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’ Mary thought that he was the gardener. So she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away somewhere, please tell me. Tell me where you have put him. Then I will go and I will take him away.’
• Luke 7:24The two disciples of John then left. Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. He said to them, ‘You went out to the wilderness. What did you go there to see? Was it a tall piece of grass which the wind was blowing this way and that? No, you did not go to see that.
• Luke 18:40Then Jesus stopped. He said to the people, ‘Bring that man to me.’ When the man came near, Jesus asked him,
• Acts 10:21Peter went downstairs and he said to the men, ‘I am the person that you are looking for. Why have you come here?’
• John 1:49Nathanael said, ‘Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.’
• John 3:2He came to speak with Jesus at night. He said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that God has sent you to us. We have seen the miracles that you are doing. Nobody could do these things unless God was with him.’
• John 6:25The people found Jesus on the other side of the lake. They asked him, ‘Teacher, when did you arrive here?’
• Matthew 23:7They like people to praise them in the market place. They want people to call them “Teacher.”
• John 12:21These Greek people came to Philip, who was from a town in Galilee called Bethsaida. They said to him, ‘Please sir, we want to meet Jesus.’
• Ruth 1:16Ruth said to Naomi, ‘Do not say that I must leave you. I will go with you, wherever you go. I will live wherever you live. You belong to Israel's people. I will belong to them too. Your God will be my God.
• 1 Kings 10:8God has blessed your people and your officers! They are always with you, and they can listen to your wise words.

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