Section 80 of 10516:16-24John

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King James VersionJohn 16:16-24

A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

John 16:16-24

Sorrow Turns to Joy through Seeing Jesus Again

A little while of grief is labor, not a deadline on mourning.

Jesus says they will not see him, then they will see him, because he goes to the Father. The disciples cannot parse the 'little while.' He tells them they will weep while the world rejoices, then their sorrow will turn into joy. A woman in labor has pain, but joy at a child's birth makes her forget the anguish. He will see them again, their hearts will rejoice, and no one will take that joy. Until now they have asked nothing in his name; they are to ask and receive so that their joy may be complete.

Going, coming, seeing, resurrection, the Spirit, and final return overlap in this farewell, and readers should not force one timetable onto every clause. Labor imagery honors real anguish. It does not romanticize dangerous childbirth, erase maternal trauma, or promise that every grief will resolve quickly. Prayer in his name remains tied to this reunion and mission; it does not guarantee every requested outcome.

How this should shape us

Name sorrow honestly and stay with people through a painful wait. Resurrection-shaped joy is real, and it still does not let you impose a deadline on grief, skip funeral lament, or tell a bereaved parent that the labor image means they should already be glad. Ask in his name for the joy he actually promised, not for a shortcut around loss.

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King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.

John 16:16-24, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.

Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 16:16-24

STEP Bible Data

Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.

STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 16:16-24

NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes

Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.

NET Bible John PDF, John 16:16-24 and attached translator, study, and textual notes

John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

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 16:16-24

The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides

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 16:16-24

John

Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.

Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 16:16-24

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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 16:16-24, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

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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, 16:16-24

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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 16:16-24

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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 16:16-24 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 16:16-24

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 16:16-24

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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 16:16-24

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