Now we see but a dim 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
- 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.
- 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.
- NASB For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Now we see dimly as in a mirror, but then face to face; now we know in part, but then fully. A day of complete knowing and unhindered fellowship is coming.
Overview
Paul contrasts present partial perception with future direct sight, evoking the ancient bronze mirror's blurry reflection. 'Face to face' points to the believer's future, unveiled communion with God. Our knowledge will then match the fullness with which God already knows us, the glorious hope secured for us in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Jn 3:2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
- 2 Cor 3:18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- 1 Cor 13:9–10For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
- Phil 3:12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
- Rev 22:4They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
- 2 Cor 5:7For we walk by faith, not by sight.
- Matt 5:8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- Jas 1:23For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,
- Rom 8:18I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.
- 1 Cor 8:3But the one who loves God is known by God.
- Gen 32:30So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- John 10:15just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
- Matt 18:10See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
- Num 12:8I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
- Exod 33:11Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.
- Judg 14:12–19“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
- Ezek 17:2“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 13:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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