John 16:17-20

16:17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ¹  ‘In a little while you ²  will not see me; again after a little while, you ³  will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ⁴  16:18 So they kept on repeating, ⁵  “What is the meaning of what he says, ⁶  ‘In a little while’? ⁷  We do not understand ⁸  what he is talking about.” ⁹ 

16:19 Jesus could see ¹⁰  that they wanted to ask him about these things, ¹¹  so ¹²  he said to them, “Are you asking ¹³  each other about this – that I said, ‘In a little while you ¹⁴  will not see me; again after a little while, you ¹⁵  will see me’? 16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁶  you will weep ¹⁷  and wail, ¹⁸  but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, ¹⁹  but your sadness will turn into ²⁰  joy.

[16:17]  ¹ tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”

[16:17]  ² tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ³ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ⁴ 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.

[16:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “they kept on saying.”

[16:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “What is this that he says.”

[16:18]  ⁷ 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.

[16:18]  ⁸ tn Or “we do not know.”

[16:18]  ⁹ tn Grk “what he is speaking.”

[16:19]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “knew.”

[16:19]  ¹¹ 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.

[16:19]  ¹² tn Καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.

[16:19]  ¹³ tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”

[16:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or “wail,” “cry.”

[16:20]  ¹⁸ tn Or “lament.”

[16:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “sorrowful.”

[16:20]  ²⁰ tn Grk “will become.”