John 16

Translator Notes

1. The verb skandalisthete ('be caused to stumble, fall away') is stronger than the KJV's 'offended.' It means to be tripped up in faith, to abandon one's commitment. The word skandalon originally referred to the trigger of a trap. Jesus's warnings about persecution are meant to inoculate the disciples against the shock that could destroy their faith.

Translator Notes

1. The term aposynagoogous ('expelled from the synagogue') appears only in John (9:22, 12:42, 16:2) and refers to formal exclusion from the Jewish community — a devastating social and religious penalty. The phrase latreian prospherein ('offering service/worship') is cultic language — those who kill the disciples will regard it as an act of religious worship. This reflects the historical reality of zealous persecution.

Translator Notes

1. The aorist egnosan ('they knew') points to a fundamental failure of recognition rather than a temporary misunderstanding. The persecutors' ignorance of both the Father and Jesus is presented as the root cause of religious violence — they are acting in the name of a God they do not actually know.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase hee hora auton ('their hour') parallels the language of Jesus's own 'hour' throughout John (2:4, 7:30, 12:23, 13:1). As Jesus has his hour appointed by the Father, so the persecutors have their hour permitted by God. The explanation for not telling them earlier — 'because I was with you' — implies that Jesus's physical presence provided the protection that the Spirit's presence will provide after his departure.

Translator Notes

1. This statement seems to contradict 13:36 (Peter asked 'Where are you going?') and 14:5 (Thomas's question). The point is that now, overwhelmed by grief (v. 6), the disciples have stopped asking the right question. They are consumed by sorrow over the departure rather than curiosity about the destination — which would have led to hope.

Translator Notes

1. The perfect tense pepleeroken ('has filled') describes sorrow as having completely occupied their hearts — leaving no room for the hope Jesus is trying to communicate. The Greek lypee ('grief, sorrow, pain') refers to deep emotional distress, not mere sadness.

Translator Notes

1. The verb sympherei ('it is advantageous, it is better for') is a strong claim — Jesus asserts that his physical absence is better for the disciples than his physical presence. This is because the Spirit's presence will be universal and internal rather than localized and external. The paradox is startling: the incarnate presence of God will be replaced by something even more beneficial.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The verb elenxei ('will convict, prove wrong, expose') is forensic language — the Spirit acts as a prosecutor demonstrating guilt. The three charges — sin, righteousness, and judgment — are explained in the following verses. The KJV's 'reprove' is weaker than the Greek, which implies successful conviction, not merely accusation.

Translator Notes

1. Sin is defined here not as moral failure in general but specifically as unbelief — the refusal to trust in Jesus. This is consistent with John's theology throughout the Gospel, where believing or not believing in Jesus is the fundamental human decision (3:18, 3:36, 5:24).

Translator Notes

1. The logic is compressed: Jesus's departure to the Father vindicates his righteousness (dikaiosynees). The world judged Jesus as a sinner and criminal, but his return to the Father proves the world's verdict wrong. The Spirit will expose this — the one the world condemned was in fact the Righteous One.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The perfect tense kekritai ('has been judged') indicates that the ruler of this world (ho archon tou kosmou toutou) has already been condemned — the verdict is settled even before the cross. This echoes 12:31 ('now the ruler of this world will be cast out'). The Spirit convicts the world that its ruler has lost, and therefore the world's system of values stands condemned.

Translator Notes

1. The verb bastazein ('to bear, carry, endure') suggests that the additional truths would be too heavy for the disciples in their current state of grief and incomprehension. Jesus exercises pastoral restraint — revelation is given in accordance with the disciples' capacity to receive it.

Translator Notes

1. The verb hodeegesei ('will guide') pictures the Spirit as a guide leading travelers along a path. The phrase en tee aleetheia pasee ('into all the truth') uses the article — 'the truth' — indicating the full truth about Jesus and his significance, not abstract omniscience. The Spirit's dependence on what he 'hears' parallels Jesus's own dependence on the Father (5:30, 8:28). The phrase ta erchomena ('the things coming') refers to future events and their meaning.

Translator Notes

1. The Spirit's primary work is Christocentric — he glorifies Jesus, not himself. The verb leempsetsai ('will take, receive') indicates that the Spirit's teaching content comes from Jesus. This establishes a chain of revelation: Father to Son to Spirit to disciples.

Translator Notes

1. The claim panta hosa echei ho pateer ema estin ('everything the Father has is mine') is one of the most sweeping claims of unity with the Father in the Gospel. Because the Father and Son share everything, the Spirit's drawing from Jesus is simultaneously drawing from the Father. The revelation chain is unbroken.

Translator Notes

1. The SBLGNT does not include the final clause 'because I go to the Father' (hoti hypago pros ton patera), which is present in some manuscripts and in the KJV. We follow the critical text. The word mikron ('a little while') is deliberately enigmatic, creating the confusion the disciples express in the next verses. The two different verbs for 'see' — theoreite (present, continuous observation) and opsesthe (future, experiential seeing) — may indicate different qualities of perception.

Translator Notes

1. The disciples quote Jesus back to one another, trying to understand his meaning. Their confusion is characteristic of the Johannine misunderstanding motif, where characters take Jesus's words at face value and miss the deeper meaning (cf. 3:4, 4:15, 6:52). The phrase 'because I am going to the Father' appears in the disciples' quotation even though the SBLGNT omits it from verse 16 — suggesting they are combining statements from different points in the discourse.

Translator Notes

1. The imperfect elegon ('they kept saying') indicates repeated, ongoing discussion — the disciples are turning the phrase over among themselves without resolution. Their honest confession ouk oidamen ('we do not know/understand') echoes a persistent theme in John where the disciples struggle to comprehend Jesus's teaching until after the resurrection (cf. 2:22, 12:16).

Translator Notes

1. The verb egnoo ('knew') indicates Jesus's supernatural awareness of their thoughts, a recurring feature in John (1:48, 2:24-25, 6:64). The verb eethelohn ('they wanted') suggests they desired to ask but were too confused or intimidated to voice the question directly.

Translator Notes

1. The double ameen ('truly, truly') signals a solemn and authoritative declaration. The three pairs — weeping/mourning, world rejoicing/disciples sorrowing, sorrow/joy — create a carefully structured prophecy of the crucifixion-to-resurrection reversal. The phrase eis charan geneesetai ('will become into joy') means not that sorrow will be replaced by joy but that the very sorrow itself will be transformed into joy — the same event (the cross) that causes grief will become the source of joy.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase 'her hour has come' (eelthen hee hora autees) deliberately echoes the language of Jesus's own 'hour' (12:23, 13:1, 17:1), connecting the woman's suffering to Jesus's passion. The Greek anthropos ('a person, a human being') rather than a more specific term gives the birth a universal quality. The prophetic tradition uses labor imagery for the suffering that precedes divine deliverance (Isaiah 26:17-18, 66:7-8, Micah 4:9-10).
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Isaiah 26:17-18. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.
3. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Micah 4:9-10. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

Translator Notes

1. The application of the labor metaphor is direct: the disciples' current sorrow corresponds to labor pains, and Jesus's return (the resurrection) corresponds to the birth that transforms pain into joy. The promise 'no one will take your joy from you' (teen charan hymoon oudeis airei aph hymoon) uses the present tense airei, suggesting that this joy, once given, is permanently beyond anyone's power to remove.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek uses two different verbs for 'ask': erooteesete ('ask a question, inquire') and aiteesete ('ask for, request, petition'). In that day — the post-resurrection era — the disciples will no longer need to question Jesus for understanding (the Spirit will guide them), and their prayers to the Father in Jesus's name will be answered. 'In my name' (en to onomati mou) means by his authority and in alignment with his character, not as a magic formula.

Translator Notes

1. The adverb heos arti ('until now') marks a turning point — a new era of prayer in Jesus's name is about to begin. The connection between prayer, answered requests, and complete joy (pepleeromenee, 'having been made full') echoes 15:11. The imperative aiteite ('ask!') is a present tense command implying ongoing, habitual practice.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek paroimiais ('proverbs, figures of speech, riddles') is broader than 'proverbs' — it includes any indirect or veiled speech. The contrast with parreesia ('plainly, openly, with boldness') promises a shift from enigmatic teaching to direct revelation. This shift is associated with the coming of the Spirit (v. 13) who will make plain what Jesus taught in veiled terms.

Translator Notes

1. This verse has been misread as Jesus saying he will not intercede (contradicting Romans 8:34 and 1 John 2:1). The point is rather that direct intercession will not be the primary dynamic — the disciples will have their own direct access to the Father. Jesus is not denying his intercessory role but emphasizing the Father's direct love for the disciples.

Translator Notes

1. The verb philei ('loves') here is the word for personal, affectionate love rather than agapao. The Father's love for the disciples is warm and intimate. The perfect tenses pephileekate ('you have loved') and pepisteukate ('you have believed') indicate ongoing states that began in the past. The phrase para tou theou ('from God, from the presence of God') asserts Jesus's divine origin.

Translator Notes

1. This verse summarizes the entire Johannine Christology in four movements: origin (from the Father), incarnation (into the world), departure (leaving the world), and return (to the Father). The chiastic structure (Father → world → world → Father) frames Jesus's earthly ministry as a round trip from and back to the Father's presence.

Translator Notes

1. The disciples' enthusiasm is somewhat premature — they think they have achieved the understanding Jesus promised for 'that day' (v. 25), but Jesus will immediately challenge this confidence (v. 31). The irony is characteristic of John: the disciples claim clarity at the very moment they are about to demonstrate their confusion by abandoning Jesus.

Translator Notes

1. The disciples' confession oidamen ('we know') and pisteuomen ('we believe') represents genuine but still immature faith. Jesus's knowledge of their unspoken questions (v. 19) has convinced them of his omniscience and divine origin. Yet the faith expressed here will be severely tested within hours.

Translator Notes

1. The question arti pisteuete could be read as a statement ('Now you believe') or a question ('Do you now believe?'). The interrogative reading fits better with the following prediction of their scattering. The adverb arti ('now, at this moment') carries a note of irony — their belief is real but about to be tested by catastrophic events.

Translator Notes

1. The verb skorpisthete ('be scattered') echoes Zechariah 13:7 ('Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered'), which Jesus quotes in the Synoptic accounts (Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:27). The phrase eis ta idia ('to his own things/home') is the same expression used in the Prologue (1:11, 'his own'). The juxtaposition of abandonment by the disciples and the Father's continued presence demonstrates that Jesus faces the cross in conscious reliance on the Father.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Zechariah 13:7. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The contrast is spatial: 'in me' (en emoi) peace; 'in the world' (en to kosmo) tribulation. The imperative tharseite ('take courage, be of good cheer') is a command, not a suggestion. The perfect tense nenikeeka ('I have overcome') is extraordinary — Jesus speaks of his victory as already accomplished before the cross. This is not future hope but present reality declared in advance. The verb nikao ('to conquer, overcome') becomes a key term in Revelation for the victory of Christ and his followers.