^16:17Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying,⁴⁷ ‘In a little while you⁴⁸ will not see me; again after a little while, you⁴⁹ will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”⁵⁰^16:18So they kept on repeating,⁵¹ “What is the meaning of what he says,⁵² ‘In a little while’?⁵³ We do not understand⁵⁴ what he is talking about.”⁵⁵

^16:19Jesus could see⁵⁶ that they wanted to ask him about these things,⁵⁷ so⁵⁸ he said to them, “Are you asking⁵⁹ each other about this—that I said, ‘In a little while you⁶⁰ will not see me; again after a little while, you⁶¹ will see me’? ^16:20I tell you the solemn truth,⁶² you will weep⁶³ and wail,⁶⁴ but the world will rejoice; you will be sad,⁶⁵ but your sadness will turn into⁶⁶ joy.

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Footnotes

44 Grk “A little while, and you.”
45 Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
46 The phrase after a little while, you will see me is sometimes taken to refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus departs, but (as at 14:19) it is much more probable that it refers to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. There is no indication in the context that the disciples will see Jesus only with “spiritual” sight, as would be the case if the coming of the Spirit is in view.
47 Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”
48 Grk “A little while, and you.”
49 Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
50 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.
51 Grk “they kept on saying.”
52 Grk “What is this that he says.”
53 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.
54 Or “we do not know.”
55 Grk “what he is speaking.”
56 Grk “knew.” 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.
57 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.
58 καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.
59 Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”
60 Grk “A little while, and you.”
61 Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
62 Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
63 Or “wail,” “cry.”
64 Or “lament.”
65 Or “sorrowful.”
66 Grk “will become.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“In a little while, you will no longer see me; again in a little while, you will see me.”

Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this he’s telling us: ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again a little while, you will see me,’ and, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They said, “What is this he is saying, ‘In a little while’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me’? Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

NLTNew Living Translation

“In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.”

Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”

Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“A little while and you will see me no more, and again a little while and you will see me. So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going away to the Father’?” So they kept on saying, “What is this that he is saying, ‘A little while’? We do not understand what he is speaking about!”

Jesus knew that they were wanting to ask him, and he said to them, “Are you deliberating with one another about this—that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will change to joy.

KJV 1900King James Version

A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

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? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

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