John 16:16-33
New American Standard Bible
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Foretold
16 “(A)A little while, and (B)you no longer are going to see Me; and again a little while, and (C)you will see Me.” 17 So some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is telling us, ‘(D)A little while, and you are not going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because (E)I am going 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 (F)Jesus knew that they wanted to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Truly, truly I say to you that (G)you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but (H)your grief will be turned into joy! 21 (I)Whenever a woman is in labor she has [a]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 [b]child has been born into the world. 22 Therefore (J)you too have grief now; but (K)I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one is going to take your joy away from you.
Prayer Promises
23 And (L)on that day (M)you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, (N)if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 (O)Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your (P)joy may be made full.
25 “These things I have spoken to you in (Q)figures of speech; (R)an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 (S)On that day (T)you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; 27 for (U)the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and (V)have believed that (W)I came forth from the Father. 28 (X)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and (Y)going to the Father.”
29 His disciples *said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and are not [c]using any (Z)figure of speech. 30 Now we know that You know all things, and that You have no need for anyone to question You; this is why we (AA)believe that You (AB)came forth from God.” 31 Jesus replied to them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, (AC)an hour is coming, and has already come, for (AD)you to be scattered, each to (AE)his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet (AF)I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you so that (AG)in Me you may have peace. (AH)In the world you have tribulation, but (AI)take courage; (AJ)I have overcome the world.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 16:21 Lit grief
- John 16:21 Lit human being
- John 16:29 Lit saying
John 16:16-33
International Standard Version
16 In a little while you will no longer see me, then in a little while you will see me again.”
17 At this point, some of his disciples asked each other, “What does he mean by telling us, ‘In a little while you will no longer see me, then in a little while you will see me again,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept saying, “What is this ‘in a little while’ that he keeps talking about? We don’t know what he means.”
Sorrow will Turn to Joy
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him a question, so he asked them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will no longer see me, then in a little while you will see me again’? 20 Truly, I tell all of you[a] emphatically, you’ll cry and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You’ll be deeply distressed, but your pain will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in labor she has pain, because her time has come. Yet when she has given birth to her child, she doesn’t remember the agony anymore because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. 22 Now you are having pain. But I’ll see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. 23 On that day, you won’t ask me for anything. Truly, I tell all of you[b] emphatically, whatever you ask the Father for in my name, he will give it to you.[c] 24 So far you haven’t asked for anything in my name. Keep asking and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
Victory over the World
25 “I have said these things to you in figurative language. The time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 At that time, you will make your requests in my name, so that I will have no need to ask the Father on your behalf, 27 because the Father himself loves you, and because you have loved me and believed that I came from God.[d] 28 I left the Father and came into the world. Now[e] I’m leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Jesus’[f] disciples said, “Well, now you’re speaking plainly and not using figurative language. 30 Now we know that you know everything and don’t need to have anyone ask you any questions. Because of this, we believe that you have come from God.”
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Listen, the time is coming, indeed it has already come, when you will be scattered, each of you to his own home, and you will leave me all by myself. Yet I’m not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you this so that through me you may have peace. In the world you’ll have trouble, but be courageous—I’ve overcome the world!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 16:20 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 16:23 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 16:23 Other mss. read ask the Father for, he will give it to you in my name
- John 16:27 Other mss. read from the Father
- John 16:28 Lit. Again
- John 16:29 Lit. His
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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