He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Parallel translations
- WEB He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him.
- BSB He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
- NKJV He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
- NASB He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him.
- NLT He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.
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
The Creator entered the very world He had made, yet the world failed to recognize Him. This is the tragedy of human blindness to God.
Overview
With striking irony, John notes that the One through whom the world was made walked within it unrecognized. The 'world' here means humanity in its fallen estrangement from God. This blindness is not God's failure but the result of sin, setting up the gospel's remedy: only those given new birth and faith truly perceive who Jesus is.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- John 17:25O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
- 1 Jn 3:1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
- 1 Cor 2:8Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
- 1 Cor 1:21For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
- Matt 11:27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
- Heb 11:3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
- Acts 17:24–27God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
- John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
- Heb 1:2–3Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
- John 1:5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
- John 5:17But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
- Gen 11:6–9And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
- Gen 16:13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
- Jer 10:11–12Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
- Gen 17:1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
- Acts 14:17Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
- Exod 3:4–6And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
- Gen 18:33And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Pastoral
Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.
Seminary
- ★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed
The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.
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
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 1:10 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.