John 1:47 (YLT)

Passage

Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto him, and he saith concerning him, `Lo, truly an Israelite, in whom guile is not;'

Nearby Context

John 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, `Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph, who <FI>is<Fi> from Nazareth;'

John 1:46 and Nathanael said to him, `Out of Nazareth is any good thing able to be?' Philip said to him, `Come and see.'

John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto him, and he saith concerning him, `Lo, truly an Israelite, in whom guile is not;'

John 1:48 Nathanael saith to him, `Whence me dost thou know?' Jesus answered and said to him, `Before Philip's calling thee--thou being under the fig-tree--I saw thee.'

John 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith to him, `Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "nathanael", "coming", "saith", "concerning", "truly", "israelite", and "guile". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "nathanael", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 46's "and Nathanael said to him Out of..." into verse 48's "Nathanael saith to him Whence me dost...", so "jesus" and "nathanael" 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 "nathanael" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.