Limitless Word
I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
John 17:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.
  • KJV I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
  • NKJV “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
  • NASB “I have revealed Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have followed Your word.
  • NLT “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

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 says he has revealed the Father's name to those given to him out of the world, and they have kept his word. His disciples are the Father's gift, kept by grace.

Overview

To reveal God's 'name' is to make known his character and saving identity. Jesus speaks of his disciples as those the Father gave him out of the world, who belonged to the Father and now belong to the Son. Their keeping of his word, though imperfect, marks them as genuine. This verse highlights the Father's electing love and the Son's faithful revelation of God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • John 17:26And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
  • John 14:21–24Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
  • John 10:27–29My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
  • John 17:24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
  • John 6:37Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
  • Exod 34:5–7And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD.
  • John 17:2For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
  • Exod 3:13–15Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”
  • John 15:19If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
  • Eph 1:4–11For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
  • 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.
  • Matt 11:25–27At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
  • 2 Th 2:13–14But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
  • Luke 10:21–22At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
  • Ps 22:22I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.
  • John 15:7If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
  • Rev 3:8I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. For you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.
  • Ps 119:11I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.
  • Exod 9:16But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
  • Heb 3:6But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.
  • Prov 3:1–4My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
  • 2 Tim 1:13Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
  • Prov 2:10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight your soul.
  • Heb 2:12He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”
  • John 8:31–32So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
  • Ps 71:17–19O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.
  • John 18:9This was to fulfill the word He had spoken: “I have not lost one of those You have given Me.”
  • John 6:39And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
  • Rev 2:13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
  • Prov 2:1–5My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
  • John 17:14I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
  • John 12:28Father, glorify Your name!” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
  • Acts 13:48When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
  • John 15:3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
  • Prov 23:23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
  • Col 3:16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
  • John 17:9–11I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.
  • John 17:16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
  • 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.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 17:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 17:6 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.