Jesus Prays for Himself and His Followers

17 After Jesus said these things, he looked toward heaven and prayed, “Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you. ² You gave the Son power over all people so that he could give eternal life to all those you have given to him. ³ And this is eternal life: that people can know you, the only true God, and that they can know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. ⁴ I finished the work you gave me to do. I brought you glory on earth. ⁵ And now, Father, give me glory with you. Give me the glory I had with you before the world was made.

⁶ “You gave me some people from the world. I have shown them what you are like. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your teaching. ⁷ Now they know that everything I have came from you. ⁸ I told them the words you gave me, and they accepted them. They realized the fact that I came from you and believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them now. I am not praying for the people in the world. But I am praying for these people you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is seen in them.

¹¹ “Now I am coming to you. I will not stay in the world, but these followers of mine are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name—the name you gave me. Then they will be one, just as you and I are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name—the name you gave me. I protected them. And only one of them was lost—the one who was sure to be lost. This was to show the truth of what the Scriptures said would happen.

¹³ “I am coming to you now. But I pray these things while I am still in the world. I say all this so that these followers can have the true happiness that I have. I want them to be completely happy. ¹⁴ I have given them your teaching. And the world has hated them, because they don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world.

¹⁵ “I am not asking you to take them out of the world. But I am asking that you keep them safe from the Evil One. ¹⁶ They don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world. ¹⁷ Make them ready for your service through your truth. Your teaching is truth. ¹⁸ I have sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. ¹⁹ I am making myself completely ready to serve you. I do this for them, so that they also might be fully qualified for your service.

²⁰ “I pray not only for these followers but also for those who will believe in me because of their teaching. ²¹ Father, I pray that all who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me. I gave them this glory so that they can be one, just as you and I are one. ²³ I will be in them, and you will be in me. So they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.

²⁴ “Father, I want these people you have given me to be with me in every place I am. I want them to see my glory—the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. ²⁵ Father, you are the one who always does what is right. The world does not know you, but I know you, and these followers of mine know that you sent me. ²⁶ I showed them what you are like, and I will show them again. Then they will have the same love that you have for me, and I will live in them.”