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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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.
- 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, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.
- 2 Cor 3:18But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
- 1 Cor 13:9–10For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
- Phil 3:12Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, if it is so that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.
- 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 shall see God.
- Jas 1:23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;
- Rom 8:18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
- 1 Cor 8:3But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
- Gen 32:30Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
- John 10:15even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
- Matt 18:10See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
- Num 12:8With him, I will speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles; and he shall see Yahweh’s form. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”
- Exod 33:11Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, didn’t depart from the Tent.
- Judg 14:12–19Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing;
- Ezek 17:2“Son of man, tell a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.