Limitless Word
I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
John 14:18 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
  • BSB I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
  • NKJV I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
  • NASB “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
  • NLT No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus promises not to abandon His disciples but to come to them. They will not be left helpless after His departure.

Overview

Facing His imminent death, Jesus comforts the disciples with the assurance that they will not be left as 'orphans.' His coming refers most immediately to the gift of the Spirit and His resurrection appearances, and ultimately to His ongoing presence with His people. The promise grounds Christian hope: the risen Christ remains with His own to the end of the age.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • John 14:3If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
  • Ps 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
  • Matt 18:20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
  • John 14:16I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever, —
  • John 14:27–28Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
  • Matt 28:20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
  • John 16:33I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
  • Heb 2:18For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
  • Ps 101:2I will be careful to live a blameless life. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.
  • Hos 6:3Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
  • 2 Th 2:16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
  • Isa 51:12“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?
  • Isa 43:1But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.
  • Hos 14:3Assyria can’t save us. We won’t ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’ for in you the fatherless finds mercy.”
  • 2 Cor 1:2–6Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Isa 66:11–13that you may nurse and be satisfied at the comforting breasts; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.”
  • Lam 5:3We are orphans and fatherless; Our mothers are as widows.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 14:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 14:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.