John 1 · Verse 10

John 1:10

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
John 1:10, King James Version

John 1:10 in other translations

BSBHe was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
WEBHe was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him.
ASVHe was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not.
YLTin the world he was, and the world through him was made, and the world did not know him:
DARBYHe was in the world, and the world had its being through him, and the world knew him not.
BBEHe was in the world, the world which came into being through him, but the world had no knowledge of him.
WebsterHe was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

What does John 1:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 1:10-13
10-13. He was in the world, &c.--The language here is nearly as wonderful as the thought. Observe its compact simplicity, its sonorousness--"the world" resounding in each of its three members--and the enigmatic form in which it is couched, startling the reader and setting his ingenuity a-working to solve the stupendous enigma of Christ ignored in His own world. "The world," in the first two clauses, plainly means the created world, into which He came, says Joh 1:9; "in it He was," says this verse. By His Incarnation, He became an inhabitant of it, and bound up with it. Yet it "was made by Him" (Joh 1:3-5). Here, then, it is merely alluded to, in contrast partly with His being in it, but still more with the reception He met with from it. "The world that knew Him not" (1Jo 3:1) is of course the intelligent world of mankind. (See on Joh 1:11,12). Taking the first two clauses as one statement, we try to apprehend it by thinking of the infant Christ conceived in the womb and born in the arms of His own creature, and of the Man Christ Jesus breathing His own air, treading His own ground, supported by substances to which He Himself gave being, and the Creator of the very men whom He came to save. But the most vivid commentary on this entire verse will be got by tracing (in His matchless history) Him of whom it speaks walking amidst all the elements of nature, the diseases of men and death itself, the secrets of the human heart, and "the rulers of the darkness of this world" in all their number, subtlety, and malignity, not only with absolute ease, as their conscious Lord, but, as we might say, with full consciousness on their part of the presence of their Maker, whose will to one and all of them was law. And this is He of whom it is added, "the world knew Him not!"

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 10. He was in the world. This refers, probably, not to his pre-existence, but to the fact that he became incarnate; that he dwelt among men.

And the world was made by him. This is a repetition of what is said in Jn 1:3. Not only men, but all material things, were made by him. These facts are mentioned here to make what is said immediately after more striking, to wit, that men did not receive him. The proofs which he furnished that they ought to receive him were,

1st. Those given while he was in the world--the miracles that he wrought and his instructions; and,

2nd. The fact that the world was made by him, It was remarkable that the world did not know or approve its own maker.

The world knew him not. The word knew is sometimes used in the sense of approving or loving, Ps 1:6, Mt 7:23. In this sense it may be used here. The world did not love or approve him, but rejected him and put him to death. Or it may mean that they did not understand or know that he was the Messiah; for had the Jews known and believed that he was the Messiah, they would not have put him to death, 1Cor 2:8: "Had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." Yet they might have known it, and therefore they were not the less to blame.

(m) "and the world knew him not" Jn 1:3

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 He was in the world - From its very commencement - he governed the universe - regulated his Church - spake by his prophets - and often, as the angel or messenger of Jehovah, appeared to them, and to the patriarchs. The world knew him not - Αυτον ουκ εγνω - Did not acknowledge him; for the Jewish rulers knew well enough that he was a teacher come from God; but they did not choose to acknowledge him as such. Men love the world, and this love hinders them from knowing him who made it, though he made it only to make himself known. Christ, by whom all things were made, Joh 1:3, and by whom all things are continually supported, Col 1:16, Col 1:17; Heb 1:3, has way every where, is continually manifesting himself by his providence and by his grace, and yet the foolish heart of man regardeth it not! See the reason, Joh 3:19 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 1:6-14

John the Baptist came to bear witness concerning Jesus. Nothing more fully shows the darkness of men's minds, than that when the Light had appeared, there needed a witness to call attention to it. Christ was the true Light; that great Light which deserves to be called so. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation; and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. Christ…

Read the full comment on John 1:6-14 →

John 1:10 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἐνenInG1722
τῷtōtheG3588
κόσμῳkosmōworldG2889
ἦν,ēnHe was,G1510
καὶkaiandG2532
ὁhotheG3588
κόσμοςkosmosworldG2889
δι᾽di᾽throughG1223
αὐτοῦautouHimG846
ἐγένετο,egenetocame into being,G1096
καὶkaiandG2532
ὁhotheG3588
κόσμοςkosmosworldG2889
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
οὐκouknotG3756
ἔγνω.egnōknew.G1097

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 1:10

  • John 17:25

    O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

  • 1 John 3:1

    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

  • 1 Corinthians 2:8

    Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:21

    For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

  • Matthew 11:27

    All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

  • Hebrews 11:3

    Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

  • Acts 17:24-27

    God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

  • John 1:18

    No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

  • Hebrews 1:2-3

    Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

  • John 1:5

    And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

  • Genesis 16:13

    And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

  • Jeremiah 10:11-12

    Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
was in.
18; 5:17; Ge 11:6-9; 16:13; 17:1; 18:33; Ex 3:4-6; Ac 14:17; 17:24-27
Heb 1:3
and the world was.See note on "Joh 1:3"
Jer 10:11,12; Heb 1:2; 11:3
knew.
5; 17:25; Mt 11:27; 1Co 1:21; 2:8; 1Jo 3:1

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 1:9

    That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

  • John 1:10

    He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

  • John 1:11

    He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Read all of John 1

John 1:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		En el mundo estaba, y el mundo fué hecho por él; y el mundo no le conoció.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il était dans le monde, et le monde fut fait par lui; et le monde ne l’a pas connu.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er war in der Welt, und die Welt ward durch ihn, und die Welt kannte ihn nicht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		In mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est, et mundus eum non cognovit.