John 12:38

That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
That	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
saying	λόγος logos	G3056	something said (including the thought) · noun — nominative singular masculine
Esaias	Ἠσαΐου Ēsaiou	G2268	Hesaias (i.e. Jeshajah) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
prophet	προφήτου prophētou	G4396	a foreteller ("prophet") · noun — genitive singular masculine
fulfilled	πληρωθῇ plērōthēa	G4137	to make replete · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
which	ὃν hon	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — accusative singular masculine
spake	εἶπεν· eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
Lord	κύριε, kurie	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — vocative singular masculine, a title
who	τίς tis	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
believed	ἐπίστευσεν episteusen	G4100	to have faith (in · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
our	ἡμῶν hēmōn	G2257	of (or from) us
report	ἀκοῇ akoēa	G189	hearing (the act · noun — dative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
whom	τίνι tini	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — dative singular masculine
hath	ἀπεκαλύφθη; apekaluphthē	G601	to take off the cover · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
arm	βραχίων brachiōn	G1023	the arm · noun — nominative singular masculine
Lord	κυρίου kuriou	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
revealed	ἀποκαλύπτω apokalýptō	G601	to take off the cover

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Romans 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Romans 10:20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father wh…
Acts 8:28-30 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
Acts 13:27-29 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabba…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:37-41

We have here the honour done to our Lord Jesus by the Old Testament prophets, who foretold and lamented the infidelity of the many that believed not on him. It was indeed a dishonour and grief to Christ that his doctrine met with so little acceptance and so much opposition; but this takes off the wonder and reproach, makes the offence of it to cease, and made it no disappointment to Christ, that herein the scriptures were fulfilled. Two things are here said concerning this untractable people, and both were foretold by the evangelical prophet Isaiah, that they did not believe, and that they could not believe. I. They did not believe (Joh 12:37): Though he had done so many miracles before them…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:38

That the saying of Esaias . . . might be fulfilled--This unbelief did not at all set aside the purposes of God, but, on the contrary, fulfilled them.

Adam Clarke on John 12:38

That the saying of Esaias - Or, Thus the word of Isaiah was fulfilled. So I think ἱνα (commonly rendered that) should be translated. For it certainly does not mean the end the Pharisees had in view by not believing; nor the end which the prophet had in view in predicting the incredulity of the Jews; but simply, such a thing was spoken by the prophet, concerning the Jews of his own time, and it had its literal fulfillment in those of our Lord's time. Our report - The testimony of the prophets, concerning the person, office, sufferings, death, and sacrifice of the Messiah. See Isa 53:1, etc. The arm of the Lord - The power, strength, and miracles of Christ.

John Gill on John 12:38

That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled,.... For though this was not the end of these men in disbelieving Christ, that the words of Isaiah might be fulfilled, yet hereby they were eventually fulfilled; and though the predictions of the prophet had no such influence on the wills of these men, as to lay upon them a coactive necessity, or force them to do, or to answer to the things foretold; yet they were to have, and had an infallible event or completion, otherwise the foreknowledge of God, and the authority of the prophetic writings, could not be maintained: which he spake in Isaiah 53:1; Lord, who hath believed our report? which words the prophet delivered by way of compl…

The Church Fathers

Who, i. e. so very few believed.
— Alcuin of York ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

What did he see? In the spiritual vision, in the revelation of divine nature, which is incomprehensible, Isaiah saw the glory that, since it is common to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Scripture cannot establish precisely whether it is the glory of the Son or the Holy Spirit, and therefore neither the Evangelist nor the apostle are in contradiction by saying that it is the glory of the Son or of the Holy Spirit.
— Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON JOHN 12.38-41

(Hom. lxviii. 2) But why then did Christ come? Did He not know that they would not believe in Him? Yes: the Prophets had prohibited this very unbelief, and He came that it might be made manifest, to their confusion and condemnation; That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which He spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Hom. lxviii. 2) That the saying of Esaias might be fulfilled: that here is expressive not of the cause, but of the event. They did not disbelieve because Esaias said they would; but because they would disbelieve, Esaias said they would.
— John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Arm — Used to denote power (Ps. 10:15; Ezek. 30:21; Jer. 48:25). It is also used of the omnipotence of God (Ex. 15:16; Ps. 89:13; 98:1; 77:15; Isa. 53:1; John 12:38; Acts 13:17)
Isaiah, The Book of — Consists of prophecies delivered (Isa. 1) in the reign of Uzziah (1-5), (2) of Jotham (6), (3) Ahaz (7-14:28), (4) the first half of Hezekiah’s reign (14:28-35), (5) the second half of Hezekiah’s…
Unbelief · 5:12-14; — 5:12-14;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

John 12:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:37-41

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:38

Adam Clarke on John 12:38

John Gill on John 12:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 12:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:37-41

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:38

Adam Clarke on John 12:38

John Gill on John 12:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 12:37-41

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 12:37