Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
Parallel Translations
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Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
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And ye now are in sorowe: but I will se you agayne and youre hertes shall reioyce and youre ioye shall no man take from you.
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And ye nowe therefore are in sorowe: but I will see you againe, and your hearts shall reioyce, and your ioy shall no man take from you.
Cross-references (36)
Passages linked to John 16:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Peter 1:8 whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory,
- Acts 13:52 The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
- John 16:6 But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
- Psalms 146:2 While I live, I will praise Yahweh. I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
- Isaiah 25:9 It shall be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is Yahweh! We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
- Acts 16:25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
- 1 Peter 4:13-14 But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified.
- Isaiah 12:2-4 Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.” Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation. In that day you will say, “Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name. Declare his doings among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted!
- Habakkuk 3:17-18 For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
- Acts 2:46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
- Isaiah 51:11-12 Those ransomed by Yahweh will return, and come with singing to Zion. Everlasting joy shall be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass?
- Isaiah 54:7-8 “For a small moment I have forsaken you, but I will gather you with great mercies. In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you,” says Yahweh your Redeemer.
- Isaiah 65:13-14 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed; Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
- Isaiah 65:18-19 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying will be heard in her no more.
- Isaiah 66:9-14 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to be delivered?” says Yahweh. “Shall I who cause to give birth shut the womb?” says your God. “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her; that you may nurse and be satisfied at the comforting breasts; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.” For Yahweh says, “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will nurse. You will be carried on her side, and will be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem.” You will see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones will flourish like the tender grass. Yahweh’s hand will be known among his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.
- Matthew 28:8 They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.
- Luke 10:42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
- Luke 16:25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish.
- Luke 24:41 While they still didn’t believe for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
- Luke 24:51-53 While he blessed them, he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven. They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
- John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
- John 14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.
- John 14:27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
- John 20:19-20 When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle, and said to them, “Peace be to you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord.
- John 21:7 That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked), and threw himself into the sea.
- Acts 5:41 They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name.
- Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:7-9 for this cause, brothers, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we render again to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sakes before our God,
- Hebrews 6:18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.
- Hebrews 10:34 For you both had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an enduring one in the heavens.
- Job 34:29 When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? When he hides his face, who then can see him? He is over a nation or a man alike,
- Luke 19:26 ‘For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.
- John 16:20 Most certainly I tell you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
- Acts 20:23-24 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me. But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
- John 16:16 A little while, and you will not see me. Again a little while, and you will see me.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 22. Your joy no man shall take from you.…
22. Your joy no man shall take from you. The value of the joy is greatly enhanced by its perpetuity; for it follows that the afflictions are light, and ought to be patiently endured, because they are of short duration. By these words Christ reminds us what is the nature of true joy The world must unavoidably be soon deprived of its joys, which it seeks only in fading things; and, therefore, we must come to the resurrection of Christ, in which there is eternal solidity.
But I will see you again. When he says that he will see his disciples, he means that he will visit them again by the grace of his Spirit, that they may continually enjoy his presence.
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 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I…
22 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.
Ver. 22. And ye now therefore have sorrow] No sorrow like to that, when we see not Christ in his favour. He hides his love often, as Joseph did, out of increasement of love; and then we cannot see him for crying; as Mary Magdalene could not, she was so bleared. But when he seemeth farthest from us, his heart is with us; and he must needs look through the chinks, as in the Canticles, to see how we do, as that martyr expresseth it. (Saunders, in a letter to his wife and friends.) There is a presence of Christ that is secret, when he seems to draw us one way, and to drive us another, Son 5:6.
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 The whole church, Rev 12:1,2, is compared to a…
The whole church, Rev 12:1,2, is compared to a woman with child, crying, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. During this time of your travail you must have sorrow. All those
that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution, 2Ti 3:12. It is appointed for all men once to die, Heb 9:27. It is appointed for God’s people (especially under some periods of time) to be dying daily, killed all the day long, as the apostle expresses the state of Christians in his time, Rom 8:36, quoting Psa 44:22, which showeth the state of the church in the Old Testament to have been the same. But (saith our Saviour) it is but as the hour of the woman’s travail; it will be sharp, very sharp, but it shall be short; for I will see you again, and then your heart shall rejoice; which cannot be understood of Christ’s seeing them again after his resurrection; for before that time we read of few or no sufferings of the apostles or other disciples. It must therefore be understood, either of the visitation of his Spirit, filling their hearts with joy and peace, or the visitation of his providence: or rather, of Christ’s coming to the last judgment, when all that have believed in Christ shall see him with joy unspeakable; and then all tears shall be wiped away from their eyes, and they shall enter into the joy of their Lord, and sigh and sorrow no more, nor shall it be in the power of all their enemies to deprive them of their joy.
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 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name,.... Not…
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name,.... Not that they had never prayed as yet; for they had desired him to teach them to pray, which he did: they had prayed to him particularly for an increase of faith, and for many other things; but either they had only asked him, he being present with them, and not the Father; or if they had asked the Father anything, yet not in the name of Christ: they had made no mention of his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, nor any use of his mediation; things they had not as yet such clear knowledge of; or they had not asked as yet any extraordinary thing, as they afterwards did; see Act 4:29;
ask, and ye shall receive; that is, in my name, and whatever ye ask for, ye shall have it, to fit you for your work, to carry you through it, and to give you success in it: see Mat 7:7;
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that your joy may be full; go cheerfully through your work, find much pleasure in it, and with great satisfaction see the Gospel spread, souls converted, Satan's kingdom weakened, and the interest of your Redeemer thrive and flourish; than which nothing can more contribute to complete the joy of the ministers of Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Ye now therefore have sorrow - This gives us…
Ye now therefore have sorrow - This gives us no manner of authority to assert all believers must come into a state of darkness. They never need lose either their peace, or love, or the witness that they are the children of God. They never can lose these, but either through sin, or ignorance, or vehement temptation, or bodily disorder.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 22. Your joy no man taketh from you.]…
Verse 22. Your joy no man taketh from you.] Or, shall take away. Some excellent MSS. and versions read the verb in the future tense. Our Lord's meaning appears to have been this: that his resurrection should be so completely demonstrated to them, that they should never have a doubt concerning it; and consequently that their joy should be great and permanent, knowing that the atonement was made, the victory gained, and the kingdom of heaven opened to all believers. Therefore it is said, Ac 4:33, that with great power did the apostles give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I will see you again - After my resurrection.
I will see you again - After my resurrection.
Your joy no man taketh from you - You shall be so firmly persuaded that I have risen and that I am the Messiah, that neither the threats nor persecutions of men shall ever be able to shake your faith and produce doubt or unbelief, and thus take away your joy. This prediction was remarkably fulfilled. It is evident that after his ascension not one of the apostles ever doubted for a moment that he had risen from the dead. No persecution or trial was able to shake their faith; and thus, amid all their afflictions, they had an unshaken source of joy.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The joy you will feel at my resurrection, shall…
The joy you will feel at my resurrection, shall ever be unalterable, and unremitting, because there I shall give you assurances and proofs of you future resurrection, and immortality. As you have been partakers in my labours, in my ignominies, and in my sorrows, so also shall you have a share in my glory, in my resurrection, and immortal bliss. Behold, these will rise to your ever unalterable and permanent joy. This is the opinion of St. John Chrysostom, St. Cyril, Theophylactus, and others.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 22. Your joy no man taketh—Your sorrow shall depart,…
22. Your joy no man taketh—Your sorrow shall depart, but never your joy. Hostile as is the world, no man can wrest it from you.
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 22. And ye now therefore] Or, Ye also therefore…
22. And ye now therefore] Or, Ye also therefore now. As in the case of childbirth, the suffering of the disciples was the necessary condition of the joy. This suffering was to repeat itself in a new form in the work of converting souls (Gal_4:19).
I will see you] In Joh_16:16-17; Joh_16:19 we had ‘ye shall see Me:’ here we have the other side of the same truth; and the same verb for ‘see’ is used in all four cases. In Gal_4:9 we have both sides of the truth stated (see on 1Co_8:3).
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no man taketh] Or, according to some good authorities, no one shall take. Their sorrow shall depart, their joy shall remain.
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 (22) And ye now therefore have sorrow.—The same word…
(22) And ye now therefore have sorrow.—The same word is used. The hour of their travail-pangs was at hand; but it would pass away, and the fulness of joy would come in the constant presence of their Lord. Their sorrow would be but temporary; their joy would be abiding. The point of comparison between their state, and the familiar illustration of a woman in travail, is the passage from extreme suffering to extreme joy. We are not justified in taking the illustration as a parable, and interpreting it of the death of Christ as the birth-pang of a perfect humanity. This is the general interpretation of the more mystical expositors, and has been unfolded with great truth and beauty; but it is not an exposition of the present text.
But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice.—In Joh_16:19 He had said “Ye shall see.” This is the obverse of the same truth. He will again. be with them, and see them as they will see Him. The words include too the thought of His deep sympathy with them. He sees them now in the depth of their sorrow, and feels with them in that. He will see them again in the time of their joy, and will rejoice with them in that.
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And your joy no man taketh from you.—The reading is doubtful. Some of the better MSS. have the future “. . . shall take from you.” “No man” is better rendered indefinitely, no one, as, e.g., in Joh_10:18; Joh_10:29. (Comp. Mat_28:20, and Rom_8:38-39, and Notes there.)
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 And, so he continues, ye therefore indeed now have…
And, so he continues, ye therefore indeed now have sorrow your hearts are troubled, you weep and lament to-night, your desolation for "a little while" will be utter collapse and dismaybut I shall see you again. He does not repeat, "Ye shall behold me", (yewreite me , cf. Joh_14:19) but "I shall see you (uqomai umav)." The same word, however, is used repeatedly in the record of the resurrection, and in Ver. 19 he had said oqesye me . The point of the vision is his own consciousness of their human need filling all the forty days with its glory. The occasional manifestations of his Person during that interval helped them in a wonderful way to recognize the fact that he was ever watching them, and was at their side under all the circumstances of human life. And your heart shall rejoice, and this joy of yours no one taketh (present in the full sense of a realized future) from you. The oqomai umav lends itself to the larger conception which, by the gift of the Holy Ghost, they at length fully apprehended, that he was with them always, even to the end of the world. That conviction was forced upon them before Pentecost, (see Mat_28:19, Mat_28:20, and the account in this Gospel of the inspiration and communication of the Holy Ghost, Joh_20:22) before he came as the sound of a rushing mighty wind, or sat in tongues of flame on their heads. Your joy in the sense of my constant presence no one, neither man nor devil, taketh away from you. That presence will not be any further exposed to Jewish malice or treachery, nor darkened by persecution, nor destroyed by death; though with bodily eyes ye see me not, yet, fully realizing that my eye is on you, "you will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory". (1Pe_1:8)
"I will see you again.
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The sympathy and the wisdom alike of our Lord"s declarations and promises to his disciples upon the eve of his departure, command our warmest admiration. He both felt for those who were about to pass through a trial so severe, and he knew how to minister to their heart"s necessities. What a knowledge of human nature is apparent in this simple bat most significant promise!
I THE OCCASIONS UPON WHICH THIS PROMISE WAS FULFILLED.
1. Upon our Lord"s resurrection. Had he not taken this very early opportunity of again seeing his own, it is not obvious how their faith and courage could have been sustained. They were depressed almost to despondency by their Lord"s Passion and burial. Had he not appeared when he did, it would seem that their confidence in him must have been shaken, and their mutual unity must have been dissolved. But when he saw them, gladness took the place of sorrow, attachment was strengthened, and hope banished despair.
2. The descent of the Spirit was a richer and fuller accomplishment of our Lord"s designs of grace towards his Church. He had promised the Comforter, whose coming should keep them from being orphans, abandoned, and friendless in the world. And in the Spirit he himself came again to his own, visiting them in showers of spiritual blessing.
3. The return at the second advent must also have been in the Master"s mind when he uttered these gracious words of friendly assurance. His parables and his direct discourses alike animated the breasts of the disciples with this blessed hope. All the more did they rejoice in this prospect, because they were taught that he who had come the first time in humiliation and obedience would come the second time to judge and to reign.
II THE FULLNESS OF IMPORT AND BLESSING WHICH THIS PROMISE CONTAINS.
1. The assurance that Christ will see his people is even more precious and welcome than the assurance given (in previous verses) that they shall see him. Our religion teaches us to look away from ourselves to God, to rest on his declarations, his faithfulness, his love. Unless we are in a morbid, self-conscious state, it will give us strength and comfort to forget ourselves in order to concentrate our thoughts and desires upon him who holds us dear, and who will never forget and never forsake his own.
2. That Christ will see his people, involves an accession to their happiness. To know that the eye of our dearest friend is resting upon us, and that with interest and approbation, what so fitted as this to send a thrill of joy through all our nature? We are encouraged by the language of the text to think of Christ thus affectionately and (so to speak) in a manner so truly human.
3. That Christ will see his people, assures them of the supply of all their wants. Can our dearest and mightiest Friend see us in danger, and not deliver us? in temptation, and not succor us? in sorrow, and not console us? in need, and not minister to us? For a Being so sympathizing, to see is to pity; for a Being so mighty, to pity is to aid. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 22. Ye now therefore have sorrow. Are in travail,…
22. Ye now therefore have sorrow. Are in travail, but soon there shall be a birth, “the First Born of the new creation” from the tomb.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 your heart will be glad
your heart will be glad
Here "heart" is a metonym for a person's inner being. AT: "you will be very happy" or "you will be very joyful" (See: Metonymy)
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Truly, truly, I say to you
Translate this the way your language emphasizes that what follows is important and true. See how you translated this in John 1:51.
if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you
Here the word "name" is a metonym that refers to the person and authority of Jesus. AT: "if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you because you belong to me" (See: Metonymy)
Father
This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
in my name
Here "name" is a metonym that refers to the person and authority of Jesus. The Father will honor the requests of the believers because of their relationship with Jesus. AT: "because you are my followers" or "on my authority" (See: Metonymy)
your joy will be fulfilled
You can translate this in an active form. AT: "God will give you great joy" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
joy
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.