John 1:38 (DBY)

Passage

But Jesus having turned, and seeing them following, says to them, What seek ye? And *they* said to him, Rabbi (which, being interpreted, signifies Teacher), where abidest thou?

Nearby Context

John 1:36 And, looking at Jesus as he walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God.

John 1:37 And the two disciples heard him speaking, and followed Jesus.

John 1:38 But Jesus having turned, and seeing them following, says to them, What seek ye? And *they* said to him, Rabbi (which, being interpreted, signifies Teacher), where abidest thou?

John 1:39 He says to them, Come and see. They went therefore, and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.

John 1:40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard [this] from John and followed him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "having", "turned", "seeing", "following", "says", "seek", and "said". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "having", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "And the two disciples heard him speaking..." into verse 39's "He says to them Come and see...", so "jesus" and "having" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "having" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.