Now we understand that You know all things and that You have no need for anyone to question You. Because of this, we believe that You came from God.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Now we know that you know all things, and don’t need for anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.”
- KJV Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
- NKJV Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
- NASB Now we know that You know all things, and that You have no need for anyone to question You; this is why we believe that You came forth from God.”
- NLT Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”
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 disciples confess that Jesus knows all things and conclude that he came from God. It is a genuine, if incomplete, statement of faith.
Overview
They recognize Jesus' divine knowledge, perhaps prompted by his anticipating their questions (16:19). Their confession that he 'came from God' is true and central to John's Gospel. Yet their faith is not yet tested by the cross; the very next verses warn that they will scatter, showing that true, settled faith would come only through Jesus' death and resurrection and the gift of the Spirit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- John 21:17Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
- John 17:8For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
- John 16:17Then some of His disciples asked one another, “Why is He telling us, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
- Heb 4:13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
- John 5:20The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these.
- John 16:27–28For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.
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
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 16:30 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.