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He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!
John 3:32 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness.
  • KJV And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
  • BSB He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.
  • NKJV And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
  • NASB What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.

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 testifies to what he has seen and heard from heaven, yet people generally reject his witness. His firsthand divine testimony meets widespread unbelief.

Overview

Because Jesus comes from above, his testimony is direct knowledge of heavenly realities. The lament that 'no one' receives it echoes John's theme of the world's rejection of the light. Yet, as the next verse shows, those who do receive it confirm that God is true.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • John 3:11Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness.
  • John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.
  • John 8:26I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.”
  • John 1:11He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.
  • John 5:20For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
  • John 3:33He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.
  • Isa 53:1Who has believed our message? To whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
  • Isa 50:2Why, when I came, was there no one? when I called, why was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it can’t redeem? or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stink, because there is no water, and die for thirst.
  • John 3:26They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
  • Rom 11:2–6God didn’t reject his people, which he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says about Elijah? How he pleads with God against Israel:
  • Rom 10:16–21But they didn’t all listen to the glad news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 3:32YouTube · 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 3:32 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.