What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?
Parallel translations
- WEB What is this word that he said, ‘You will seek me, and won’t find me; and where I am, you can’t come’?”
- BSB What does He mean by saying, ‘You will look for Me, but you will not find Me,’ and, ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
- NKJV What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
- NASB What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
- NLT What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”
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
They repeat their bewilderment over Jesus' saying that they will seek Him and not find Him, and cannot come where He is. His words leave them confused and unsettled.
Overview
The repetition emphasizes how completely Jesus' meaning escapes them. Their confusion reflects the spiritual blindness that John highlights throughout the Gospel, where Jesus' words divide hearers into those who believe and those who cannot understand. The mystery of His departure points forward to His death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 3:9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
- John 7:34Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
- John 3:4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
- John 12:34The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
- 1 Cor 2:14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- John 6:60Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
- John 16:17–18Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
- John 6:52The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
- John 6:41The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
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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 7:36 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.