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We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
John 9:29 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.”
  • BSB We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”
  • NKJV We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
  • NASB We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this Man, we do not know where He is from.”
  • NLT We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

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 leaders say they know God spoke to Moses but do not know where Jesus comes from. They dismiss Jesus despite the evidence of his miracle.

Overview

The Pharisees profess certainty about Moses yet plead ignorance about Jesus' origin, using it as grounds to reject him. Ironically, Jesus' origin is from God, which the miracle itself attests. Their claimed ignorance is willful, illustrating how unbelief refuses the truth that God has plainly revealed in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • John 8:14Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
  • John 9:24Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
  • Ps 22:6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
  • Acts 22:22And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
  • Matt 26:61And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
  • Ps 106:16They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
  • Num 16:28And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
  • Acts 7:35This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
  • Acts 26:22Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
  • 2 Kgs 9:11Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.
  • Isa 53:2–3For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
  • John 7:27Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
  • John 7:41–42Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
  • 1 Kgs 22:27And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
  • Ps 103:7He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
  • Num 12:2–7And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
  • Matt 12:24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
  • John 9:16Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
  • Ps 105:26He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.
  • Mal 4:4Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
  • Deut 34:10And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
  • Luke 23:2And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.
  • Heb 3:2–5Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
  • John 1:17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

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 9:29YouTube · 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 9:29 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.