Footnotes

1. John 16:16 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
2. John 16:16 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
3. John 16:16 sn The phrase after a little while, you will see me is sometimes taken to refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus departs, but (as at 14:19) it is much more probable that it refers to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. There is no indication in the context that the disciples will see Jesus only with “spiritual” sight, as would be the case if the coming of the Spirit is in view.
4. John 16:17 tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”
5. John 16:17 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
6. John 16:17 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
7. John 16:17 sn These fragmentary quotations of Jesus’ statements are from 16:16 and 16:10, and indicate that the disciples heard only part of what Jesus had to say to them on this occasion.
8. John 16:18 tn Grk “they kept on saying.”
9. John 16:18 tn Grk “What is this that he says.”
10. John 16:18 tn Grk “A little while.” Although the phrase τὸ μικρόν (to mikron) in John 16:18 could be translated simply “a little while,” it was translated “in a little while” to maintain the connection to John 16:16, where it has the latter meaning in context.
11. John 16:18 tn Or “we do not know.”
12. John 16:18 tn Grk “what he is speaking.”
13. John 16:19 tn Grk “knew.”sn Jesus could see. Supernatural knowledge of what the disciples were thinking is not necessarily in view here. Given the disciples’ confused statements in the preceding verses, it was probably obvious to Jesus that they wanted to ask what he meant.
14. John 16:19 tn The words “about these things” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
15. John 16:19 tn Καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.
16. John 16:19 tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”
17. John 16:19 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
18. John 16:19 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
19. John 16:20 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
20. John 16:20 tn Or “wail,” “cry.”
21. John 16:20 tn Or “lament.”
22. John 16:20 tn Or “sorrowful.”
23. John 16:20 tn Grk “will become.”
24. 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).
25. John 16:21 tn Grk “her hour.”
26. John 16:21 tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).
27. 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.
28. John 16:22 tn Or “distress.”
29. 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.
30. John 16:23 tn Grk “And in that day.”
31. John 16:23 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
32. John 16:23 sn This statement is also found in John 15:16.
33. John 16:24 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
34. John 16:25 tn Or “in parables”; or “in metaphors.” There is some difficulty in defining παροιμίαις (paroimiais) precisely: A translation like “parables” does not convey accurately the meaning. BDAG 779-80 s.v. παροιμία suggests in general “proverb, saw, maxim,” but for Johannine usage “veiled saying, figure of speech, in which esp. lofty ideas are concealed.” In the preceding context of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus has certainly used obscure language and imagery at times: John 13:8-11; 13:16; 15:1-17; and 16:21 could all be given as examples. In the LXX this word is used to translate the Hebrew mashal which covers a wide range of figurative speech, often containing obscure or enigmatic elements.
35. John 16:25 tn Grk “an hour.”
36. John 16:25 tn Or “inform you.”
37. John 16:25 tn Or “openly.”
38. John 16:26 tn Grk “In that day.”
39. John 16:26 tn Grk “I do not say to you.”
40. John 16:27 tc A number of early mss (א¹ B C* D L co) read πατρός (patros, “Father”) here instead of θεοῦ (theou, “God”; found in P⁵ א*^,2 A C³ W Θ Ψ 33 ƒ^1,13 M). Although externally πατρός has relatively strong support, it is evidently an assimilation to “I came from the Father” at the beginning of v. 28, or more generally to the consistent mention of God as Father throughout this chapter (πατήρ [patēr, “Father”] occurs eleven times in this chapter, while θεός [theos, “God”] occurs only two other times [16:2, 30]).
41. John 16:28 tn Or “into the world; again.” Here πάλιν (palin) functions as a marker of contrast, with the implication of a sequence.
42. John 16:28 sn The statement I am leaving the world and going to the Father is a summary of the entire Gospel of John. It summarizes the earthly career of the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, on his mission from the Father to be the Savior of the world, beginning with his entry into the world as he came forth from God and concluding with his departure from the world as he returned to the Father.
43. John 16:29 tn Or “openly.”
44. John 16:29 tn Or “not in parables.” or “not in metaphors.”sn How is the disciples’ reply to Jesus now you are speaking plainly and not in obscure figures of speech to be understood? Their claim to understand seems a bit impulsive. It is difficult to believe that the disciples have really understood the full implications of Jesus’ words, although it is true that he spoke to them plainly and not figuratively in 16:26-28. The disciples will not fully understand all that Jesus has said to them until after his resurrection, when the Holy Spirit will give them insight and understanding (16:13).
45. John 16:30 tn Grk “all things.”
46. John 16:30 tn Grk “and have no need of anyone.”
47. John 16:30 tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
48. John 16:30 tn Or “By this.”
49. John 16:31 tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”
50. John 16:32 tn Grk “an hour.”
51. John 16:32 tn Grk “each one to his own”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The phrase “each one to his own” may be completed in a number of different ways: “each one to his own property”; “each one to his own family”; or “each one to his own home.” The last option seems to fit most easily into the context and so is used in the translation.
52. John 16:32 sn The proof of Jesus’ negative evaluation of the disciples’ faith is now given: Jesus foretells their abandonment of him at his arrest, trials, and crucifixion (I will be left alone). This parallels the synoptic accounts in Matt 26:31 and Mark 14:27 when Jesus, after the last supper and on the way to Gethsemane, foretold the desertion of the disciples as a fulfillment of Zech 13:7: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Yet although the disciples would abandon Jesus, he reaffirmed that he was not alone, because the Father was still with him.
53. John 16:32 tn Grk “And” (but with some contrastive force).
54. John 16:32 tn Grk “the Father.”
55. John 16:33 tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (thlipsis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.
56. John 16:33 tn Or “but be courageous.”
57. John 16:33 tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”sn The Farewell Discourse proper closes on the triumphant note I have conquered the world, which recalls 1:5 (in the prologue): “the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.” Jesus’ words which follow in chap. 17 are addressed not to the disciples but to his Father, as he prays for the consecration of the disciples.