John 16:32

16:32 Look, a time ¹  is coming – and has come – when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, ²  and I will be left alone. ³  Yet ⁴  I am not alone, because my Father ⁵  is with me.

John 19:38

Jesus’ Burial

19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders ⁶ ), ⁷  asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate ⁸  gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. ⁹ 

[16:32]  ¹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:32]  ² 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.

[16:32]  ³ 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.

[16:32]  ⁴ tn Grk “And” (but with some contrastive force).

[16:32]  ⁵ tn Grk “the Father.”

[19:38]  ⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

[19:38]  ⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:38]  ⁸ tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:38]  ⁹ tn Grk “took away his body.”