John 15:26-16:4, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
John 15:26-16:4
The Paraclete and Disciples Bear Witness amid Expulsion
The Spirit and the disciples will testify even when worship is turned into a weapon.
When the Paraclete comes, whom Jesus will send from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father will testify about him. The disciples must testify as well, because they have been with him from the beginning. He tells them this to keep them from falling away: they will be put out of synagogues, and an hour is coming when those who kill them will think they are offering service to God, because they have not known the Father or him.
The warning describes a severe conflict, and it may also carry the later community's scars. It does not make Jewish worshipers or synagogues enemies in every age, and it does not authorize retaliation or religious demonization. 'Proceedeth from the Father' is a mission saying about the Spirit's sending. It later became central to the filioque controversy, but this paragraph does not settle the complete eternal-procession debate. Firsthand presence grounds the first disciples' witness; later readers testify by that testimony, not by inventing the same access.
How this should shape us
Bear truthful witness with the Spirit's help, prepare people for pressure without cultivating paranoia, and refuse any killing or expulsion done as if it served God. A synagogue, a church, or a state can all baptize harm as worship. Name the actors; do not inherit an enemy.
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Explain John 15:26-16:4 in your own words. Include its place in John's movement, the decisive claim or action, one sourced uncertainty, and one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The Spirit 'proceedeth from the Father' later became central to the filioque controversy, but this mission saying does not settle the complete eternal-procession debate. Synagogue expulsion and attackers imagining service to God reflect a severe conflict and possible later community experience; they must never authorize reciprocal anti-Jewish hostility.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
John 15:26-16:4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 15:26-16:4
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 15:26-16:4
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible John PDF, John 15:26-16:4 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Enter the Bible John course, Farewell and Spirit materials; applied to 15:26-16:4
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Last Supper and Farewell Discourses study guide; applied to 15:26-16:4
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 15:26-16:4
Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.
Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 15:26-16:4
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: John 15:26-16:4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 15:26-16:4
Open the John Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 15:26-16:4
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible John PDF, John 15:26-16:4 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET John PDF ↗modern scholarly book introduction
John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Craig R. Koester; revised by Karoline M. Lewis
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Exact location: Enter the Bible John course, Farewell and Spirit materials; applied to 15:26-16:4
Open the Enter the Bible John course ↗modern scholarly narrative and theological course
The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Last Supper and Farewell Discourses study guide; applied to 15:26-16:4
Open the Yale Gospel of John course ↗modern open confessional commentary
John
Andreas J. Köstenberger
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Exact location: Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 15:26-16:4
Open Köstenberger's John commentary ↗modern scholarly ethical and historical study
Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence as Flawed Interpretations of the Gospel of John
Paul N. Anderson
Bible and Interpretation; expanded from John and Judaism, SBL Resources for Biblical Study 87, 2017
Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.
Exact location: Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 15:26-16:4
Open Anderson's full study ↗