He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Come, and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
- KJV He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
- BSB “Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.
- NASB He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour.
- NLT “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
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
Jesus invites them to 'come and see,' and they spend the day with Him. Personal encounter with Christ deepens into discipleship.
Overview
Jesus' welcoming 'Come, and see' invites firsthand experience rather than mere argument. The disciples remain with Him, and the precise time ('the tenth hour') reflects vivid eyewitness memory. This pattern — invitation, personal encounter, abiding fellowship — characterizes how people come to know and follow Jesus throughout the Gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Luke 24:29They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.
- Matt 11:28–30“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
- John 6:37All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
- John 4:40So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed there two days.
- John 1:46Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
- Prov 8:17I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me.
- Rev 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.
- John 14:22–23Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
- Acts 28:30–31Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who were coming to him,
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 1:39 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.