20
Truly,ἀμὴνtruly,ἀμὴνI tellλέγωyou,ὑμῖνyouὑμεῖςwill weepκλαύσετεandκαὶlament,θρηνήσετεbutδὲthe worldὁ κόσμοςwill rejoice;χαρήσεταιyouὑμεῖςwill be sorrowful,λυπηθήσεσθεbutἀλλ’your sorrowἡ λύπη ὑμῶνwill turnγενήσεταιintoεἰςjoy.χαρὰν
John 16:20
Study it in the app“Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”
Jesus compares the disciples' sorrow to a woman giving birthJoy and thanks
With the Greek beneath
John 16:20, word by word
- Trulyἀμὴνamēn
truly
"I assure you": Jesus says it to affirm something.
Where else “amēn” appears- I tellλέγωlegō
say
To express something in words to others.
Where else “legō” appears- will weepκλαύσετεklausete
weep
Weep, cry.
Where else “klausete” appears- lamentθρηνήσετεthrēnēsete
lament, mourn
Sing laments, mourn the dead.
Where else “thrēnēsete” appears- the worldκόσμοςkosmos
world against God
People who live with their backs to God.
Where else “kosmos” appears- will rejoiceχαρήσεταιcharēsetai
rejoice
To feel joy and gladness about something.
Where else “charēsetai” appears- will be sorrowfulλυπηθήσεσθεlypēthēsesthe
grieve
Make sad; be sad, grieve.
Where else “lypēthēsesthe” appears- your sorrowλύπηlypē
grief, sorrow
Sorrow, grief.
Where else “lypē” appears- will turnγενήσεταιgenēsetai
become
To turn into something new, different from before.
Where else “genēsetai” appears- joyχαρὰνcharan
joy
Joy, gladness.
Where else “charan” appears
The context
19Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see me; and again a little while, and you will see me’?
20 · This verse (above)
21A woman, when she is giving birth, has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she has borne the child, she no longer remembers the affliction because of the joy that a human being has been born into the world.
To study John 16 in a group
1. What it says
Jesus says it is to their advantage that he goes away. What does he say the Spirit of truth will do when he comes? (vv. 7-15)
2. What it means
Jesus uses the picture of a woman giving birth to speak of sorrow and joy (vv. 20-22). What does he want his disciples to understand?
3. How I live it
Jesus says, “In the world you have affliction, but take courage” (v. 33). What difficulty today can you face with that peace?