John 16
New King James Version
Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples
16 “These things I have spoken to you, that you (A)should not be made to stumble. 2 (B)They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming (C)that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And (D)these things they will do [a]to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when [b]the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5 “But now I (E)go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, (F)sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but (G)if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has (H)come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 (I)of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 (J)of righteousness, (K)because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 (L)of judgment, because (M)the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, (N)but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, (O)the Spirit of truth, has come, (P)He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 (Q)He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 (R)All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He [c]will take of Mine and declare it to you.
Sorrow Will Turn to Joy
16 “A (S)little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, (T)because I go to the Father.”
17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” 18 They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not [d]know what He is saying.”
19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and (U)lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into (V)joy. 21 (W)A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and (X)your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. (Y)Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, (Z)that your joy may be (AA)full.
Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World
25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you (AB)plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 (AC)for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and (AD)have believed that I came forth from God. 28 (AE)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30 Now we are sure that (AF)You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this (AG)we believe that You came forth from God.”
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 (AH)Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, (AI)each to his [e]own, and will leave Me alone. And (AJ)yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that (AK)in Me you may have peace. (AL)In the world you [f]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, (AM)I have overcome the world.”
Footnotes
- John 16:3 NU, M omit to you
- John 16:4 NU their
- John 16:15 NU, M takes of Mine and will declare
- John 16:18 understand
- John 16:32 own things or place
- John 16:33 NU, M omit will
John 16
New American Standard Bible 1995
Jesus’ Warning
16 “(A)These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from (B)stumbling. 2 [a]They will (C)make you outcasts from the synagogue, but (D)an hour is coming for everyone (E)who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. 3 These things they will do (F)because they have not known the Father or Me. 4 But these things I have spoken to you, (G)so that when their hour comes, you [b]may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you (H)at the beginning, because I was with you.
The Holy Spirit Promised
5 “But now (I)I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘(J)Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, (K)sorrow has filled your heart. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the [c](L)Helper will not come to you; but if I go, (M)I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, (N)because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning (O)righteousness, because (P)I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 (Q)and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, (R)the Spirit of truth, comes, He will (S)guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will (T)glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 (U)All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Foretold
16 “(V)A little while, and (W)you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and (X)you will see Me.” 17 Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘(Y)A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because (Z)I go to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” 19 (AA)Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, that (AB)you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but (AC)your grief will be turned into joy. 21 (AD)Whenever a woman is in labor she has [d]pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a [e]child has been born into the world. 22 Therefore (AE)you too have grief now; but (AF)I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
Prayer Promises
23 (AG)In that day (AH)you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, (AI)if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 (AJ)Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your (AK)joy may be made full.
25 “These things I have spoken to you in [f](AL)figurative language; (AM)an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in [g]figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 (AN)In that day (AO)you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; 27 for (AP)the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and (AQ)have believed that (AR)I came forth from the Father. 28 (AS)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and (AT)going to the Father.”
29 His disciples *said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not [h]using (AU)a figure of speech. 30 Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we (AV)believe that You (AW)came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, (AX)an hour is coming, and has already come, for (AY)you to be scattered, each to (AZ)his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet (BA)I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, so that (BB)in Me you may have peace. (BC)In the world you have tribulation, but (BD)take courage; (BE)I have overcome the world.”
Footnotes
- John 16:2 Or They will have you excommunicated
- John 16:4 Or will remember them, that I told you
- John 16:7 Gr Paracletos, one called alongside to help; or Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor
- John 16:21 Lit grief
- John 16:21 Lit human being
- John 16:25 Lit proverbs; or figures of speech
- John 16:25 Lit proverbs; or figures of speech
- John 16:29 Lit saying a proverb
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

