John 7 · Verse 34

John 7:34

Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
John 7:34, King James Version

John 7:34 in other translations

BSBYou will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
WEBYou will seek me and won’t find me. You can’t come where I am.”
ASVYe shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, ye cannot come.
YLTye will seek me, and ye shall not find; and where I am, ye are not able to come.'
DARBYYe shall seek me and shall not find me, and where I am ye cannot come.
BBEYou will be looking for me, and you will not see me: and where I am you may not come.
WebsterYe will seek me, and will not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.

What does John 7:34 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 7:33-34

33-34. Yet a little while, &c.--that is, "Your desire to be rid of Me will be for you all too soon fulfilled. Yet a little while and we part company--for ever; for I go whither ye cannot come: nor, even when ye at length seek Him whom ye now despise, shall ye be able to find Him"--referring not to any penitential, but to purely selfish cries in their time of desperation.

Read the full comment on John 7:33-34 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 34. Ye shall seek me. This probably means simply, Ye shall seek the Messiah. Such will be your troubles, such the calamities that will come on the nation, that you will earnestly desire the coming of the Messiah. You will seek for a deliverer, and will look for him, that he may bring deliverance. This does not mean that they would seek for Jesus and not be able to find him, but that they would desire the aid and comfort of the Messiah, and would be disappointed. Jesus speaks of himself as the Messiah, and his own name as synonymous with the Messiah. Mt 23:39.

Shall not find me. Shall not find the Messiah. He will not come, according to your expectations, to aid you. Mt 24:1 and following.

Where I am. This whole clause is to be understood as future, though the words "am" and "cannot" are both in the present tense. The meaning is, Where I shall be you will not be able to come. That is, he, the Messiah, would be in heaven; and though they would earnestly desire his presence and aid to save the city and nation from the Romans, yet they would not be able to obtain it--represented here by their not being able to come to him. This does not refer to their individual salvation, but to the deliverance of their nation. It is not true of individual sinners that they seek Christ in a proper manner and are not able to find him; but it was true of the Jewish nation that they looked for the Messiah, and sought his coming to deliver them, but he did not do it.

(d) "Ye shall seek me" Hos 5:6, Jn 8:21

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 34 Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me - When the Roman armies come against you, you will vainly seek for a deliverer. But ye shall be cut off in your sins, because ye did not believe in me; and where I am - in the kingdom of glory, ye cannot come; for nothing that is unholy shall enter into the new Jerusalem. In this, and the thirty-sixth verse, εἰμὶ, I am, is read by several εἷμι, I came, as in the twenty-ninth verse; and in these two last places the Ethiopic, Arabic, three copies of the Itala, Nonnus, and Theophylact, agree. See the note on Joh 7:29.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 7:31-36

The discourses of Jesus convinced many that he was the Messiah; but they had not courage to own it. It is comfort to those who are in the world, but not of it, and therefore are hated by it and weary of it, that they shall not be in it always, that they shall not be in it long. Our days being evil, it is well they are few. The days of life and of grace do not last long; and sinners, when in misery, will be glad of…

Read the full comment on John 7:31-36 →

John 7:34 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.

ζητήσετέzētēseteYou will seekG2212
μεmeMeG3165
καὶkaiandG2532
οὐχouchnotG3756
εὑρήσετέheurēsetewill findG2147
με,meMe,G3165
καὶkaiandG2532
ὅπουhopouwhereG3699
εἰμὶeimiamG1510
ἐγὼegōI myselfG1473
ὑμεῖςhumeisyou yourselvesG4771
οὐounotG3756
δύνασθεdunastheare ableG1410
ἐλθεῖν.¶eltheinto come.G2064

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

Cross references for John 7:34

  • John 13:33-36

    Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

  • Proverbs 1:24-31

    Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. …

  • Hosea 5:6

    They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

  • John 14:3

    And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

  • John 17:24

    Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

  • John 8:21-24

    Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

  • John 14:6

    Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

  • Luke 13:34-35

    O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

  • Luke 13:24-25

    Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

  • Luke 17:22-23

    And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

  • Matthew 23:39

    For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:21-24; 13:33-36; 14:3,6; 17:24; Pr 1:24-31; Ho 5:6; Mt 23:39
Lu 13:24,25,34,35; 17:22,23

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

Context

  • John 7:33

    Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.

  • John 7:34

    Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.

  • John 7:35

    Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?

Read all of John 7

John 7:34 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Me buscaréis, y no me hallaréis; y donde yo estaré, vosotros no podréis venir.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Vous me chercherez, et vous ne me trouverez pas; et là où moi je serai, vous, vous ne pouvez venir.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Ihr werdet mich suchen und nicht finden, und wo ich bin, könnt ihr nicht hinkommen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quæretis me, et non invenietis: et ubi ego sum, vos non potestis venire.