Discovery BoxJohn 16:17-20 
Context16:17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, 1 ‘In a little while you 2 will not see me; again after a little while, you 3 will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 4 16:18 So they kept on repeating, 5 “What is the meaning of what he says, 6 ‘In a little while’? 7 We do not understand 8 what he is talking about.” 9
16:19 Jesus could see 10 that they wanted to ask him about these things, 11 so 12 he said to them, “Are you asking 13 each other about this – that I said, ‘In a little while you 14 will not see me; again after a little while, you 15 will see me’? 16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, 16 you will weep 17 and wail, 18 but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, 19 but your sadness will turn into 20 joy.
1 tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”
2 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
3 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
4 sn These fragmentary quotations of Jesus’ statements are from 16:16 and 16:10, and indicate that the disciples heard only part of what Jesus had to say to them on this occasion.
5 tn Grk “they kept on saying.”
6 tn Grk “What is this that he says.”
7 tn Grk “A little while.” Although the phrase τὸ μικρόν (to mikron) in John 16:18 could be translated simply “a little while,” it was translated “in a little while” to maintain the connection to John 16:16, where it has the latter meaning in context.
8 tn Or “we do not know.”
9 tn Grk “what he is speaking.”
10 tn Grk “knew.”
sn Jesus could see. Supernatural knowledge of what the disciples were thinking is not necessarily in view here. Given the disciples’ confused statements in the preceding verses, it was probably obvious to Jesus that they wanted to ask what he meant.
11 tn The words “about these things” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
12 tn Καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.
13 tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”
14 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
15 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
16 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
17 tn Or “wail,” “cry.”
18 tn Or “lament.”
19 tn Or “sorrowful.”
20 tn Grk “will become.”
