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John 15:18-16:4
New Living Translation
John 15:18-16:4
New Living Translation
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures[a]: ‘They hated me without cause.’
26 “But I will send you the Advocate[b]—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.
16 “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. 2 For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3 This is because they have never known the Father or me. 4 Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.
John 15:18-16:4
New King James Version
John 15:18-16:4
New King James Version
The World’s Hatred
18 (A)“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 (B)If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet (C)because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, (D)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. (E)If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But (F)all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 (G)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, (H)but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 (I)He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them (J)the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have (K)seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, (L)‘They hated Me without a cause.’
The Coming Rejection
26 (M)“But when the [a]Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, (N)He will testify of Me. 27 And (O)you also will bear witness, because (P)you have been with Me from the beginning.
Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples
16 “These things I have spoken to you, that you (Q)should not be made to stumble. 2 (R)They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming (S)that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And (T)these things they will do [b]to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when [c]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.
Footnotes
- John 15:26 Comforter, Gr. Parakletos
- John 16:3 NU, M omit to you
- John 16:4 NU their
John 15:18-16:4
Christian Standard Bible
John 15:18-16:4
Christian Standard Bible
Persecutions Predicted
18 “If the world hates(A) you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen(B) you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’(C) If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word,(D) they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name,(E) because they don’t know(F) the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.(G) Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father.(H) 24 If I had not done the works(I) among them that no one else has done,(J) they would not be guilty of sin.(K) Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled:(L) They hated me for no reason.[a](M)
The Counselor’s Ministry
26 “When the Counselor(N) comes, the one I will send to you from the Father(O) —the Spirit of truth(P) who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify,(Q) because you have been with me from the beginning.
16 “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will ban you from the synagogues.(R) In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service(S) to God. 3 They will do these things because they haven’t known(T) the Father or me. 4 But I have told you these things so that when their time[b] comes you will remember(U) I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
John 15:18-16:4
New International Version
John 15:18-16:4
New International Version
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “If the world hates you,(A) keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you(B) out of the world. That is why the world hates you.(C) 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a](D) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.(E) If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name,(F) for they do not know the one who sent me.(G) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them,(H) they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.(I) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did,(J) they would not be guilty of sin.(K) As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:(L) ‘They hated me without reason.’[b](M)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate(N) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father(O)—the Spirit of truth(P) who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.(Q) 27 And you also must testify,(R) for you have been with me from the beginning.(S)
16 “All this(T) I have told you so that you will not fall away.(U) 2 They will put you out of the synagogue;(V) in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.(W) 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.(X) 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember(Y) that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you,(Z)
Footnotes
- John 15:20 John 13:16
- John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:4
John 15:18-16:4
The Voice
John 15:18-16:4
The Voice
18 If you find that the world despises you, remember that before it despised you, it first despised Me. 19 If you were a product of the world order, then it would love you. But you are not a product of the world because I have taken you out of it, and it despises you for that very reason. 20 Don’t forget what I have spoken to you: “a servant is not greater than the master.” If I was mistreated, you should expect nothing less. If they accepted what I have spoken, they will also hear you. 21 Everything they do to you they will do on My account because they do not know the One who has sent Me. 22 If I had not spoken within their hearing, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for ignoring My voice.
23 If someone despises Me, he also despises My Father. 24 If I had not demonstrated things for them that have never been done, they would not be guilty of sin. But the reality is they have stared Me in the face, and they have despised Me and the Father nonetheless. 25 Yet their law, which says, “They despised Me without any cause,”[a] has again been proven true.
26 I will send a great Helper to you from the Father, one known as the Spirit of truth. He comes from the Father and will point to the truth as it concerns Me. 27 But you will also point others to the truth about My identity, because you have journeyed with Me since this all began.
As Jesus warns of the mistreatment His followers can expect, He disarms fears by noting the most important things. If the Spirit is within, there is no reason to fear. In fact, the church will thrive under persecution. Yet humans are obsessed with power and political prominence as a means to influence the culture. Christian citizens have an obligation to strive for justice and freedom through the transforming power of the Spirit in people’s lives. Rather than exerting temporal power, the real work of the Kingdom often thrives under fierce attack and opposition. Jesus announces this coming persecution to His followers, believing this will lead to their finest hour.
16 Jesus: I am telling you all of this so that you may avoid the offenses that are coming. 2 The time will come when they will kick you out of the synagogue because some believe God desires them to execute you as an act of faithful service. 3 They will do this because they don’t know the Father, or else they would know Me. 4 I’m telling you all this so that when it comes to pass you will remember what you have heard. It was not important for Me to give you this information in the beginning when I was with you.
Footnotes
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
The Voice (VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.