Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
- KJV These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
- NKJV These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
- NASB These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke about Him.
- NLT Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory.
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
John says Isaiah saw Christ's glory and spoke of Him. It is a striking testimony to the pre-existence and deity of Jesus.
Overview
John identifies the glorious LORD whom Isaiah beheld in the temple vision (Isaiah 6) as Christ Himself. This implies that the eternal Son shares the very glory of Yahweh and was the object of Old Testament worship. It is one of the New Testament's clearest affirmations that Jesus is fully God, present and glorious throughout redemptive history.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 6:1–5In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.
- Isa 6:9–10And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- John 1:14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- 2 Cor 4:6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- John 1:18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- John 5:39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
- John 14:9Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
- Heb 1:3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
- Rev 19:10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
- Acts 10:43All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
- Exod 33:18–23Then Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.”
- Luke 24:27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
- 1 Pet 1:11trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 12:41 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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