Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ and, ‘Because I go to the Father’?”
Parallel Translations
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Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ and, ‘Because I go to the Father’?”
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Then sayd some of his disciples bitwene them selves: what is this that he sayth vnto vs after a whyle ye shall not se me and agayne after a whyle ye shall se me: and that I go to the father.
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Then said some of his disciples among them selues, What is this that he saieth vnto vs, A litle while, and ye shall not see me, and againe, a litle while, and ye shall see me, and, For I goe to the Father.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to John 16:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 16:16 A little while, and you will not see me. Again a little while, and you will see me.”
- Mark 9:32 But they didn’t understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
- John 16:5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
- John 14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
- John 16:19 Therefore Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, “Do you inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me?’
- Mark 9:10 They kept this saying to themselves, questioning what the “rising from the dead” meant.
- Luke 18:34 They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn’t understand the things that were said.
- John 12:16 His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
- Luke 9:45 But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
- John 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
- John 16:1 “I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (6 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Christ had used much the same expression to the…
Christ had used much the same expression to the Jews, Joh 7:33,
Yet a little while I am with you; he had spoken the same to his disciples, Joh 13:33; yet it is plain from this verse, that his disciples did not understand him. What need the best of us have of the illuminations of the blessed Spirit, rightly to conceive of and understand spiritual things! These doctrines of his death resurrection, and ascension, and coming to judgment, our Lord had inculcated to his disciples, not only in the two texts aforementioned, but also Joh 8:21; 12:33,36; 14:2,4,12,28; and in this chapter, Joh 16:5,7.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask…
Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him,.... This is a proof of Christ's deity, that he is the omniscient God who knows all things, what is in man, even the secrets of the heart; for he not only knew the whisperings of the disciples, and their inquiries among themselves about the sense of his words, but also their secret desires to ask him concerning it:
and said unto them, do ye inquire 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? which he said before they could put the question to him, they being bashful, and backward, through fear or shame; and which not only confirms what is before observed of his omniscience, but also shows his readiness to open his mind and meaning, and explain himself to his disciples, as he does in the following words.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. Then … disciples] Better, Some of His disciples…
17. Then … disciples] Better, Some of His disciples therefore said.
among themselves] Better, as in Joh_4:33, one to another; so also in Joh_19:24. The Greek for ‘among themselves’ (Joh_12:19) is different.
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ye shall not see] Ye behold Me not. As in the previous verse we have two different verbs for ‘see.’
and, Because I go] They refer to what was said in Joh_16:10. The Apostles are perplexed both about the apparent contradiction of not beholding and yet seeing and also the departure to the Father. ‘Because’ (ὅτι) should probably be ‘that,’ to introduce the saying ‘I go to the Father.’ As already indicated, the reason, ‘because I go, &c.’ in Joh_16:16 is not genuine.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17, 18) Then said some of his disciples among…
(17, 18) Then said some of his disciples among themselves.—Better, Therefore said . . . The question arises out of what He has said. They draw aside and discuss the matter privately. It is beyond their comprehension, and seems to be contradictory.
A little while, and ye shall not see me.—Better, A little while, and ye behold Me not, as in Joh_16:16.
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Because I go to the Father.—So far they have quoted word for word what He had said in the previous verse. They now connect it with what He had said in Joh_16:7; Joh_16:10, and this forms the ground of their surprise. There He had spoken of their beholding Him no more because He goeth to the Father. Here He speaks of a little while, after which they shall not behold Him, and again a little while, after which they shall see Him. They cannot reconcile these things. They cannot tell what He saith.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Then said (some) of his disciples one to another,…
Then said (some) of his disciples one to another, not daring to utter it to him, What is this that he saith to us, A little while, and ye behold me not: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? This clause now aggravates their difficulty, whether they associate it with the idea already uttered, or whether they repeat the Lord"s word (gar , may be simply the "that" of quotation). The program of the future e.g.
(1) death and momentary absence,
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(2) resurrection and transitory presence,
(3) departure to the Father and abiding presence form a group of ideas very difficult even for us now to realize or "to know" fully what he saith. Who need wonder that these disciples should have been in doubt, since one of their number intimately acquainted with them and their state of feeling records it of them?
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
There is a break in Jesus' speaking as his disciples ask each other about what Jesus meant.
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A short amount of time you will no longer see me
The disciples did not understand that this refers to Jesus' death on the cross.
after another short amount of time you will see me
Possible meanings are 1) This could refer to Jesus' resurrection or 2) This could refer to Jesus' coming at the end of time.
the Father
This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
translationWords
disciple
God the Father
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.