A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.
Parallel Translations
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A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.
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A woman when she traveyleth hath sorowe because her houre is come: but assone as she is delivered of the chylde she remembreth no moare the anguysshe for ioye that a man is borne in to the worlde.
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A woman when she traueileth, hath sorowe, because her houre is come: but assoone as she is deliuered of the childe, she remembreth no more the anguish, for ioy that a man is borne into the world.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to John 16:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 113:9 He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother of children. Praise Yah!
- Isaiah 13:8 They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at another. Their faces will be faces of flame.
- Jeremiah 30:6-7 Ask now, and see whether a man travails with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned pale? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he will be saved out of it.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape.
- Isaiah 26:16-18 Yahweh, in trouble they have visited you. They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them. Just as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs, so we have been before you, Yahweh. We have been with child. We have been in pain. We gave birth, it seems, only to wind. We have not worked any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
- Hosea 13:13-14 The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an unwise son; for when it is time, he doesn’t come to the opening of the womb. I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction? “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.
- Micah 4:10 Be in pain, and labor to give birth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now you will go out of the city, and will dwell in the field, and will come even to Babylon. There you will be rescued. There Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
- Revelation 12:2-5 She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth. Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God, and to his throne.
- Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
- Genesis 21:6-7 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.” She said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
- Genesis 30:23-24 She conceived, bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” She named him Joseph, saying, “May Yahweh add another son to me.”
- 1 Samuel 1:26-27 She said, “Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh. I prayed for this child, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him.
- Luke 1:57-58 Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
- Galatians 4:27 For it is written, “Rejoice, you barren who don’t bear. Break out and shout, you who don’t travail. For the desolate have more children than her who has a husband.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 21. A woman, when she is in labor. He…
21. A woman, when she is in labor. He employs a comparison to confirm the statement which he had just now made, or rather, he expresses his meaning more clearly, that not only will their sorrow be turned into joy, but also that it contains in itself the ground and occasion of joy It frequently happens that, when adversity has been followed by prosperity, men forget their former grief, and give themselves up unreservedly to joy, and yet the grief which came before it is not the cause of the joy But Christ means that the sorrow which they shall endure for the sake of the Gospel will be profitable. Indeed, the result of all griefs cannot be otherwise than unfavorable, unless when they are blessed in Christ. But as the cross of Christ always contains in itself the victory, Christ justly compares the grief arising from it to the sorrow of a woman in labor, which receives its reward when the mother is cheered by the birth of the child. The comparison would not apply, if sorrow did not produce joy in the members of Christ, when they become partakers of his sufferings, just as the labor in the, woman is the cause of the birth. The comparison must also be applied in this respect, that though the sorrow of the woman is very severe, it quickly passes away. It was no small solace to the apostles, therefore, when they learned that their sorrow would not be of long duration.
We ought now to appropriate the use of this doctrine to ourselves. Having been regenerated by the Spirit of Christ, we ought to feel in ourselves such a joy as would remove every feeling of our distresses. We ought, I say, to resemble women in labor, on whom the mere sight of the child born produces such an impression, that their pain gives them pain no longer. But as we have received nothing more than the first-fruits, and these in very small measure, we scarcely taste a few drops of that spiritual gladness, to soothe our grief and alleviate its bitterness. And yet that small portion clearly shows that they who contemplate Christ by faith are so far from being at any time overwhelmed by grief, that, amidst their heaviest sufferings, they rejoice with exceeding great joy.
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But since it is an obligation laid
on all creatures to labor till the last day of redemption, (Romans 8:22, 23,)
let us know that we too must groan, until, having been delivered from the incessant afflictions of the present life, we obtain a full view of the fruit of our faith. To sum up the whole in a few words, believers are like women in labor, because, having been born again in Christ, they have not yet entered into the heavenly kingdom of God and a blessed life; and they are like pregnant women who are in childbirth, because, being still held captive in the prison of the flesh, they long for that blessed state which lies hidden under hope.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 21 A woman when she is in travail hath…
21 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.
Ver. 21. A woman when she is in travail] The sorrow of a saint is often compared to that of a travailing woman, Isa 26:17; Jer 6:24, &c. 1. In bitterness and sharpness; which made Medea say, that she had rather a thousand times be slain in battle than once bring forth a child: Millies in belle perire mallem, quam semel parere. 2. In utility; it tends to a birth. 3. In hope and expectation, not only of an end, but also of fruit. 4. In that there is a certain set time for both. And Finis edulcat media. The end sweetens the means. (Keckermann.)
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 Our Lord compares the state of the church in…
Our Lord compares the state of the church in this life, and more especially in those first and most furious times, to the state of a woman that is big with child, and in her travail; when, he saith, she hath sorrow, that is, great pain, because God, when he cursed the woman for her transgression, made this her portion, Gen 3:16, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and when her weeks are fulfilled, her hour is come to feel the effect of this curse, the fruit of the first woman’s transgression: but no sooner is she delivered of a child, but she forgetteth all her throes and pains, for joy of a child born into the world. Such (saith our Saviour to his disciples) is your state; you are as a woman in travail; so will all those that believe in me be, to the end of the world.
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 In that day ye shall ask me nothing,.... Meaning,…
In that day ye shall ask me nothing,.... Meaning, not the whole Gospel dispensation, so often called, in prophetic language, "that day"; and is, in the New Testament, opposed to the night of Jewish and Gentile darkness; and, in comparison of the former dispensation, is a time of great spiritual light and knowledge: nor the latter part of that day, when there will be no night of darkness and desertion, of error and security, of affliction and persecution, with the church; when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord; when all the children of God shall be taught of him, and there will be no need to say, know the Lord, for all shall know him, from the least to the greatest: nor the day of judgment, which, by way of emphasis, is so frequently called "that day": nor the state of ultimate happiness, the everlasting day of glory; when all imperfections shall be done away, when saints will know, as they are known, and see Jesus as he is, and need not ask any questions about him: but the time when Christ, and his apostles, should meet again, and see each other's faces with joy and pleasure, is meant; and the time following thereon, especially the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured down upon them, and, according to his promise, came to them, taught them all things, and led them into all truth. This asking is not to be understood of asking in prayer; for it appears, by what follows, that they should ask in his name then, and he encourages to it; but of asking him questions, and that not of any sort; for it is certain, that, within this time, they did ask many things. Peter asked what John, the beloved disciple, should do; and they all asked him, a little before his ascension, whether he would, at that time, restore again the kingdom to Israel; but it is to be restrained to such things they had been, or were, desirous of asking him; such as, whither goest thou? show us the Father? how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? and more especially these last questions, they greatly desired to put to him, what is this, "a little while and ye shall not see me?" and what is this, "a little while and ye shall see me?" and what is the meaning of these words, "because I go to the Father?" Joh 16:17. Now our Lord intimates, that at this time all these things would be so clear and evident to them, that they should ask him no questions about them. But he adds,
verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Asking here signifies prayer, and a different word is here used than before. The object of prayer is the Father, though not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit, who were both separately, or in conjunction with the Father, prayed unto after this; see Act 7:59. The medium of access to the Father is the name of Christ; he is the Mediator between God and man, the way of access unto him; whatever is asked, is to be asked on account of his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, and then there is no doubt of success; whatever is asked will be given; his blood within the vail speaks loud for every blessing; his righteousness, God is always pleased with; his sacrifice is a sweet smelling savour: his mediation is powerful; and his name is always prevalent.
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 21. For joy that a man is born]…
Verse 21. For joy that a man is born] ανθρωπος is put here for a human creature, whether male or female; as homo among the Romans denoted either man or woman.
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 21. A woman… hath sorrow—A brief illustrative parable. It…
21. A woman… hath sorrow—A brief illustrative parable. It is plain that the woman stands for the apostles; her travail sorrow for their grief at Christ’s death; and the man child for Christ revealed at his resurrection. The best commentary upon this parable is furnished by John himself in Rev_12:1-5, where a woman brings forth a man child, who is caught up into the heaven to the throne of God; in which the woman represents the Church of God bringing forth a Saviour and ruler of the world. The literal basis of this figure is the birth of Christ from a pure virgin. Or, still farther back, it is Eve whose seed should bruise the serpent’s head. The woman thus symbolizing the Church is here represented by the apostles, who are the Church now in travail and overwhelmed with sorrow until the bringing forth of the glorified Christ. Then shall their very sorrow transform into joy.
Remembereth no more the anguish—It is God’s great compensation that her sorrow shall be as if it never had been, and the whole thing becomes a joy.
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A man is born—A human being, according to the Greek, of either sex. In the midst of humiliation and sorrow, the birth of a human immortal is a most stupendous event. The creation of a material world bears no comparison with it; hence, to the view of Scripture, all the circumstances of generation and birth are divine and wonderful.
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 21. A woman] Or, The woman, like ‘the servant’…
21. A woman] Or, The woman, like ‘the servant’ (Joh_15:15): in each case the article is generic, expressing the general law. The figure is frequent in O.T.; Isa_66:7; Hos_13:13; Mic_4:9. See on Mar_13:8.
for joy] Better, for the joy, the joy peculiar to the case.
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a man] A human being, one of the noblest of God’s creatures.
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 (21) A woman when she is in travail hath…
(21) A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow.—The Greek is more exactly, the woman . . . hath pangs—that is, “the woman in the well-known illustration.” (See Note on Joh_15:15.) This figure was of frequent use in the prophets. (Comp. Isa_21:3; Isa_26:17-18, and especially Isa_66:7-8; Jer_4:31; Jer_22:23; Jer_30:6; Hos_13:13-14; Mic_4:9-10.)
That a man is born into the world.—The word is the wider word for “human being.” (Comp. Note on Joh_1:51.) The thought is of the joy of maternity swallowing up the pangs of child-birth. These cease to exist, but that continues. She forgets the one in the fulness of the other.
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For the phrase “into the world” comp. Joh_1:9; Joh_18:37.
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 The next illustration is very remarkable, and surely cannot…
The next illustration is very remarkable, and surely cannot be a simple analogy of the supervening of joy on sorrow. The woman (the article does not point to any special gunh , but refers to a universal fact and law of womanhood, cf. o doulov , Joh_15:15) when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come. So now there are the travail-pangs of the new humanity, the new theocracy, bitter and terrible, But as soon as she has brought forth the child, she remembereth no longer the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. The old prophets often compared the grief of Israel or her peril to the pangs of a travailing woman preluding deliverance (Isa_21:3 Isa_26:17 Isa_66:6, 7 Hos_13:13) and even joy the joy of bringing manhood into the world and the new consciousness of maternity. Meyer and others rebel against any meaning beyond that of the following of joy upon sorrow; but Tholuck, De Wette, Ebrard, and Moulton see here the obvious reference to those "travail-pangs of death" with which St. Peter (Act_3:24) said that the Holy One could not be restrained, agonies in which for a while every apostle must have wept and lamented, dying and being crucified with him, and to the glorious deliverance of all who suffered with him, when they live again in newness of life by the power of his resurrection.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Greek, "kosmos", means "mankind".
world
Greek, "kosmos", means "mankind".
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(See Scofield Mat 4:8).
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 16:21 the pains of labor: This metaphor symbolizes anguish…
16:21 the pains of labor: This metaphor symbolizes anguish that is followed by God’s blessing and wonder (cp. Isa 21:2-3; 26:16-21; 66:7-10; Jer 13:21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.