They said therefore, “What is this that he says, ‘A little while’? We don’t know what he is saying.”
Parallel Translations
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They said therefore, “What is this that he says, ‘A little while’? We don’t know what he is saying.”
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They sayd therfore: what is this that he sayth after a whyle? we cannot tell what he sayth.
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They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A litle while? we know not what he sayeth.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to John 16:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 24:25 He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
- Matthew 16:9-11 Don’t you yet perceive, neither remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? How is it that you don’t perceive that I didn’t speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
- Hebrews 5:12 For although by this time you should be teachers, you again need to have someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the revelations of God. You have come to need milk, and not solid food.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves,…
17 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?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
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Ver. 18. We cannot tell what he saith] We know here but in part; the greatest part of our knowledge is the least part of our ignorance, saith one. Man’s heart, saith another, may be compared to a vessel, the means to a pipe; the Spirit of God to the wheel that beats the water into the pipe; the minister is the servant that opens the cock. (August.) And then the reason why we know but in part is, either the cock always runs not, or not always in the same measure; and sometimes our vessels are filled with other things (as the apostles here were with worldly grief and the conceit of an earthly kingdom), and so they run over; and usually our vessels run over, and lose what we received by the means.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Still they do not understand what he meant. Who…
Still they do not understand what he meant. Who shall hereafter arrogate to man’s reason or understanding a power to comprehend spiritual mysteries? Had not the disciples reasonable souls? Will any say they had no mind to understand them? Certainly none can say so. Some lay the fault of the disciples not understanding these things upon the obscurity of our Saviour’s phrase, and his parabolical expression of them, others, in their ignorance of our Saviour’s resurrection from the dead; others, in their not understanding the circumstance of time: but certainly it is best imputed to the disciples inability to conceive of these things, and the prejudices of their national error concerning the temporal kingdom of the Messias. Let it lie where it will, the weakness of the disciples may be reasonably conceived not to be greater than is incident to the best of men; and if they were so dull of hearing and understanding, we may reasonably conceive that we are not free from the like impotency and infirmity.
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 Verily, verily, I say unto you,.... A strong asseveration,…
Verily, verily, I say unto you,.... A strong asseveration, a way of speaking often used by him, when he solemnly affirms any thing, and would assure of the truth of it, as here:
that ye shall weep and lament; meaning at his death, when he should be removed from them, so that they should not see him; when they should be filled with inward grief on account thereof, and express it by mournful gestures, and a doleful voice; and which was fulfilled in them, Mar 16:10; and how pensive the two disciples were that were going to Emmaus, it is easy to observe from the account given of them;
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but the world shall rejoice; the unbelieving Jews; and not only the common people, but the chief priests, with the Scribes and elders, mocked at him, insulted him, and triumphed over him when on the cross, being glad at heart they had got him there; imagining now, that it was all over, the day was their own, and they should be no more disturbed by Christ and his followers:
and ye shall be sorrowful; Christ repeats it again, and uses a variety of words to express the greatness of their sorrow, and the many ways in which they would signify it:
but your sorrow shall be turned into joy; as it was, when he was raised from the dead, which was so wonderful and surprising to them, that for joy they could scarce believe their own eyes; it being a mercy unexpected, though they had been told of it, and too great for them to enjoy; yea, that very thing which was the occasion of their sorrow, became the foundation of their joy; namely, the death of Christ, salvation, and all the benefits and blessings of grace coming to them in this way.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 18. What is this that he saith] They…
Verse 18. What is this that he saith] They knew from what he had said that he was to die, but knew not what he meant by their seeing him again in a little time.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 18. What is this that he saith—We suppose that,…
18. What is this that he saith—We suppose that, at the close of the last verse, a slight pause of the Saviour’s discourse enabled him to hear a murmur of perplexity and inquiry among his disciples, which induces him to pause still further, until their perplexity is fully expressed in a low and rapid consultation among themselves. Seven times does this phrase a little while occur in these chapters, and at this point their query is specially fixed upon that clause, but not that clause alone. They take his last expressions by piecemeal, and toss them from one to the other. They would be glad to know, but dare not interrogate the Lord.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. we cannot tell what he saith] More literally,…
18. we cannot tell what he saith] More literally, we know not what He speaketh.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain They said, What is this little while whereof he…
They said, What is this little while whereof he speaketh? (legei ; Vulgate, dicit). (The R.T. and Westcott and Hort invert the touto and ti , and thus greatly increase the simplicity of the passage.) What are these two short periods of which he speaks, so full of mysterious significance? We know not what he saith (lalei ; Vulgate, loquitur). We do not apprehend the wonderful interchange of vision and blank darkness of presence and absence and presence again!
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.