John 16:20-22
English Standard Version
20 Truly, truly, I say to you, (A)you will weep and lament, but (B)the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but (C)your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 (D)When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 (E)So also you have sorrow now, but (F)I will see you again, and (G)your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
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John 16:20-22
New King James Version
20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and (A)lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into (B)joy. 21 (C)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 (D)your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
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John 16:20-22
New English Translation
20 I tell you the solemn truth,[a] you will weep[b] and wail,[c] but the world will rejoice; you will be sad,[d] but your sadness will turn into[e] joy. 21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress[f] because her time[g] has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being[h] has been born into the world.[i] 22 So also you have sorrow[j] now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.[k]
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- John 16:20 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
- John 16:20 tn Or “wail,” “cry.”
- John 16:20 tn Or “lament.”
- John 16:20 tn Or “sorrowful.”
- John 16:20 tn Grk “will become.”
- John 16:21 sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).
- John 16:21 tn Grk “her hour.”
- John 16:21 tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).
- John 16:21 sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.
- John 16:22 tn Or “distress.”
- John 16:22 sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but he will be indignant toward his enemies.” The change from “you will see [me]” to I will see you places more emphasis on Jesus as the one who reinitiates the relationship with the disciples after his resurrection, but v. 16 (you will see me) is more like Isa 66:14. Further support for seeing this allusion as intentional is found in Isa 66:7, which uses the same imagery of the woman giving birth found in John 16:21. In the context of Isa 66 the passages refer to the institution of the messianic kingdom, and in fact the last clause of 66:14 along with the following verses (15-17) have yet to be fulfilled. This is part of the tension of present and future eschatological fulfillment that runs throughout the NT, by virtue of the fact that there are two advents. Some prophecies are fulfilled or partially fulfilled at the first advent, while other prophecies or parts of prophecies await fulfillment at the second.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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