New Living Translation
1 Corinthians 13:12
12Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
- New International Version (NIV)For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
Context of 1 Corinthians 13:12
10But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 11When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 131 Corinthians 13:12 word by word
βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι᾽ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον· ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- nowἄρτιarti · nowG737
- we seeβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
- throughδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- a glassἔσοπτρονesoptron · mirrorG2072
- ·ἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- darklyαἴνιγμαainigma · obscure thingG135
- butδέde · thenG1161
- thenτότεtote · thenG5119
- faceπρόσωπονprosōpon · faceG4383
- toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- I knowγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
- inἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- partμέροςmeros · partG3313
- shall I knowἐπιγινώσκωepiginōskō · to come to knowG1921
- even asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
- alsoκαίkai · andG2532
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 13:12
- 2 Corinthians 3:18So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
- 2 Corinthians 5:7For we live by believing and not by seeing.
- Philippians 3:12I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
- James 1:23For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
- Judges 14:12Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.
- Ezekiel 17:2“Son of man, give this riddle, and tell this story to the people of Israel.
- Exodus 33:11Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 12:8I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”
- Matthew 5:8God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
- Matthew 18:10“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.
- Romans 8:18Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
- 1 John 3:2Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
- Revelation 22:4And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.
- 1 Corinthians 13:9Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!
- John 10:15just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 13:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Now we see through a glass, darkly - ' . Of these words some literal explanation is necessary. The word which we translate a glass, literally signifies a mirror or reflector, from , into, and , I look; and among the ancients mirrors were certainly made of fine polished metal. The word here may signify any thing by which the image of a person is reflected, as in our looking, or look in glass. The word is not used for a glass to look through; nor would such…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12For now we see through a glass - Paul here makes use of another illustration to show the imperfection of our knowledge here. Compared with what it will be in the future world, it is like the imperfect view of an object which we have in looking through an obscure and opaque medium compared with the view which we have when we look at it “face to face.” The word “glass” here ( ̓ esoptron) means properly a mirror, a looking-glass. The mirrors of the ancients…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-13Verses 8-13 Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhood, the future that of manhood. Such is the difference between earth and heaven. What narrow views, what confused notions of things, have children when compared with grown men! Thus shall we think of our most valued gifts of this world, when we come to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12The difference between now and the future is between this age and the coming age. Now, we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror. In Paul's time, mirrors were usually made of polished bronze, so the view was unclear. Our perception in this life is limited, and our understanding is incomplete. Then, when the end comes and Christ establishes his eternal kingdom, we will see everything clearly. At that time, the spiritual gifts that…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. now--in our present state. see--an appropriate expression, in connection with the "prophets" of seers (1Sa 9:9). through a glass--that is, in a mirror; the reflection seeming to the eye to be behind the mirror, so that we see it through the mirror. Ancient mirrors were made of polished brass or other metals. The contrast is between the inadequate knowledge of an object gained by seeing it reflected in a dim mirror (such as ancient mirrors were)…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 13:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 13
- 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
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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