John 14:5

THE MESSAGE

Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”

King James Version (1611)
Thomas saith vnto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest: and how can we know the way?

King James Version
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

English Standard Version
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

New American Standard Bible
Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?"

New Century Version
Thomas said to Jesus, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. So how can we know the way?"

Amplified Bible
Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?"

Legacy Standard Bible
Thomas *said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going. How do we know the way?"

Berean Standard Bible
"Lord," said Thomas, "we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?"

Contemporary English Version
Thomas said, "Lord, we don't even know where you are going! How can we know the way?"

Complete Jewish Bible
T'oma said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you're going; so how can we know the way?"

Darby Translation
Thomas says to him, Lord, we know not where thou goest, and how can we know the way?

Easy-to-Read Version
Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thomas sayd vnto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest: how ca we then know ye way?

George Lamsa Translation
Thomas said to him, Our Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?

Good News Translation
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?"

Lexham English Bible
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How are we able to know the way?"

Literal Translation
Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You go, and how can we know the way?

American Standard Version
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way?

Bible in Basic English
Thomas said, Lord, we have no knowledge of where you are going; how may we have knowledge of the way?

Hebrew Names Version
T'oma says to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

International Standard Version
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Etheridge Translation
Thoma saith to him, Our Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way ?

Murdock Translation
Thomas said to him: Our Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thomas sayth vnto hym: Lorde, we knowe not whither thou goest: And howe is it possible for vs to knowe the waye?

English Revised Version
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way?

World English Bible
Thomas says to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Thomas saith to him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?

Weymouth's New Testament
"Master," said Thomas, "we do not know where you are going. In what sense do we know the way?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thomas seith to hym, Lord, we witen not whidur thou goist, and hou moun we wite the weie?

Update Bible Version
Thomas says to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going; how can we know the way?

Webster's Bible Translation
Thomas saith to him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

New English Translation
Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

New King James Version
Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"

New Living Translation
"No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. "We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

New Life Bible
Thomas said to Jesus, "Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way to get there?"

New Revised Standard
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thomas saith unto him - Lord! we know not whither thou goest: How know we, the way?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thomas saith to him: Lord, we know not whither thou goest. And how can we know the way?

Revised Standard Version
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Thomas sayde vnto him: Lorde we knowe not whyther thou goest. Also how is it possible for vs to knowe the waye?

Young's Literal Translation
Thomas saith to him, `Sir, we have not known whither thou goest away, and how are we able to know the way?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thomas sayde vnto him: LORDE, we knowe not whither thou goest, & how can we knowe the waye?

Mace New Testament (1729)
Thomas said to him, Lord, we know not whither you are going, how then can we know the way?

Simplified Cowboy Version
Tom said, "Boss, we ain't sure where you're going. So how can we know which trail to take?"

Contextual Overview

⁵ Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?" ⁶Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!" ⁸ Philip said, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content." ⁹"You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act. ¹¹"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thomas: John 20:25-28

we know not: John 15:12, Mark 8:17, Mark 8:18, Mark 9:19, Luke 24:25, Hebrews 5:11, Hebrews 5:12

Reciprocal: Luke 9:45 - General John 13:36 - whither John 16:17 - said John 16:23 - ask John 20:24 - Thomas

Cross-References

Genesis 14:10
The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram's nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.

Deuteronomy 3:11
Og king of Bashan was the last remaining Rephaite. His bed, made of iron, was over thirteen feet long and six wide. You can still see it on display in Rabbah of the People of Ammon.

Joshua 12:4
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2 Samuel 5:22
Later there was a repeat performance. The Philistines came up again and deployed their troops in the Rephaim Valley. David again prayed to God . This time God said, "Don't attack them head-on. Instead, circle around behind them and ambush them from the grove of sacred trees. When you hear the sound of shuffling in the trees, get ready to move out. It's a signal that God is going ahead of you to smash the Philistine camp." David did exactly what God told him. He routed the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

2 Samuel 23:13
One day during harvest, the Three parted from the Thirty and joined David at the Cave of Adullam. A squad of Philistines had set up camp in the Valley of Rephaim. While David was holed up in the Cave, the Philistines had their base camp in Bethlehem. David had a sudden craving and said, "Would I ever like a drink of water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem!" So the Three penetrated the Philistine lines, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But David wouldn't drink it; he poured it out as an offering to God , saying, "There is no way, God , that I'll drink this! This isn't mere water, it's their life-blood—they risked their very lives to bring it!" So David refused to drink it. This is the sort of thing that the Three did.

1 Chronicles 11:15
The Big Three from the Thirty made a rocky descent to David at the Cave of Adullam while a company of Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. David was holed up in the Cave while the Philistines were prepared for battle at Bethlehem. David had a sudden craving: "What I wouldn't give for a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem, the one at the gate!" The Three penetrated the Philistine camp, drew water from the well at the Bethlehem gate, shouldered it, and brought it to David. And then David wouldn't drink it! He poured it out as a sacred offering to God , saying, "I'd rather be damned by God than drink this! It would be like drinking the lifeblood of these men—they risked their lives to bring it." So he refused to drink it. These are the kinds of things that the Big Three of the Mighty Men did.

Psalms 105:23
Then Israel entered Egypt, Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham. God gave his people lots of babies; soon their numbers alarmed their foes. He turned the Egyptians against his people; they abused and cheated God's servants. Then he sent his servant Moses, and Aaron, whom he also chose. They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland, miracles in the Land of Ham. He spoke, "Darkness!" and it turned dark— they couldn't see what they were doing. He turned all their water to blood so that all their fish died; He made frogs swarm through the land, even into the king's bedroom; He gave the word and flies swarmed, gnats filled the air. He substituted hail for rain, he stabbed their land with lightning; He wasted their vines and fig trees, smashed their groves of trees to splinters; With a word he brought in locusts, millions of locusts, armies of locusts; They consumed every blade of grass in the country and picked the ground clean of produce; He struck down every firstborn in the land, the first fruits of their virile powers. He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot, and not one among his tribes even stumbled. Egypt was glad to have them go— they were scared to death of them. God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day and a fire to light their way through the night; They prayed and he brought quail, filled them with the bread of heaven; He opened the rock and water poured out; it flowed like a river through that desert— All because he remembered his Covenant, his promise to Abraham, his servant.

Jeremiah 48:1
The Message on Moab from God -of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: "Doom to Nebo! Leveled to the ground! Kiriathaim demeaned and defeated, The mighty fortress reduced to a molehill, Moab's glory—dust and ashes. Conspirators plot Heshbon's doom: ‘Come, let's wipe Moab off the map.' Dungface Dimon will loudly lament, as killing follows killing. Listen! A cry out of Horonaim: ‘Disaster—doom and more doom!' Moab will be shattered. Her cries will be heard clear down in Zoar. Up the ascent of Luhith climbers weep, And down the descent from Horonaim, cries of loss and devastation. Oh, run for your lives! Get out while you can! Survive by your wits in the wild! You trusted in thick walls and big money, yes? But it won't help you now. Your big god Chemosh will be hauled off, his priests and managers with him. A wrecker will wreck every city. Not a city will survive. The valley fields will be ruined, the plateau pastures destroyed, just as I told you. Cover the land of Moab with salt. Make sure nothing ever grows here again. Her towns will all be ghost towns. Nobody will ever live here again. Sloppy work in God 's name is cursed, and cursed all halfhearted use of the sword.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thomas saith unto him, Lord,.... Who was one of his apostles, and here betrays his ignorance, as elsewhere his unbelief; and not only speaks for himself, but for the rest of the apostles, of whom he judged by himself; and who, it may be, might understand things better than himself, though their knowledge at present was but small:

we know not whither thou goest; though he had but just told them of his Father's house, and of his going to prepare a place for them:

and how can we know the way? for if we do not know the place, it is not reasonable to think we should know the way to it. Thomas seemed to have no other notion than that Christ was talking of some particular place in Judea, whither he was going, and of the road to it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

We know not whither thou goest - Though Jesus had so often told them of his approaching death and resurrection, yet it seems they did not understand him, nor did they fully comprehend him until after his resurrection. See Luke 24:21. They entertained the common notions of a temporal kingdom; they supposed still that he was to be an earthly prince and leader, and they did not comprehend the reason why he should die. Thomas confessed his ignorance, and the Saviour again patiently explained his meaning. All this shows the difficulty of believing when the mind is full of prejudice and of contrary opinions. If Thomas had laid aside his previous opinions - had he been willing to receive the truth as Jesus plainly spoke it, there would have been no difficulty. Faith would have been an easy and natural exercise of the mind. And so with the sinner. If he were willing to receive the plain and unequivocal doctrines of the Bible, there would be no difficulty; but his mind is full of opposite opinions and plans, occupied with errors and vanities, and these are the reasons, and the only reasons, why he is not a Christian. Yet who would say that, after the plain instructions of Jesus, Thomas might not have understood him? And who will dare to say that any sinner may not lay aside his prejudices and improper views, and receive the plain and simple teaching of the Bible?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 14:5. Lord, we know not — Thomas, perhaps, thought that our Lord only spoke of his going some distance from the place where he then was.