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?
Parallel translations
- WEB Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ and, ‘Because I go to the Father’?”
- BSB Then some of His disciples asked one another, “Why is He telling us, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
- NKJV Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “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 go to the Father’?”
- NASB So some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”
- NLT 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’?
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
Some disciples question one another about Jesus' words concerning the 'little while' and His going to the Father. They are perplexed by His meaning.
Overview
The disciples, unable to understand Jesus' saying about seeing and not seeing Him, discuss it among themselves. Their confusion reflects how hard it was to grasp the necessity of His death and resurrection beforehand. Their honest puzzlement sets the stage for Jesus to address their hearts directly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- John 16:16A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
- Mark 9:32But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
- John 16:5But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
- John 16:19Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire 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?
- John 14:5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
- Luke 18:34And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
- Mark 9:10And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
- John 12:16These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
- John 14:22Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
- John 16:1These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
- Luke 9:45But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.
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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.
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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.