“I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.
Parallel translations
- KJV I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
- BSB I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.
- NKJV “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
- NASB “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present time.
- NLT “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.
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 has more to say but the disciples cannot bear it yet. Their understanding will mature through the Spirit's later teaching.
Overview
Jesus acknowledges the disciples' present limits; there is more truth than they can grasp before His death, resurrection, and the Spirit's coming. This shows His patient, gracious wisdom in teaching. It also prepares for the promise that the Spirit will lead them into the fuller understanding they are not yet ready to receive.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 4:33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
- John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.
- 1 Cor 3:1–2Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.
- Acts 1:3To these he also showed himself alive after he suffered, by many proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking about God’s Kingdom.
- Heb 5:11–14About him we have many words to say, and hard to interpret, seeing you have become dull of hearing.
- John 14:30I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 16:12 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.