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’?”
Parallel translations
- KJV 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?
- 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 you will not see me. Again a little while, and you will see me.”
- Mark 9:32But they didn’t understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
- John 16:5But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
- John 16:19Therefore Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, “Do you inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me?’
- John 14:5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
- Luke 18:34They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn’t understand the things that were said.
- Mark 9:10They kept this saying to themselves, questioning what the “rising from the dead” meant.
- John 12:16His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
- John 14:22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
- John 16:1“I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble.
- Luke 9:45But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this 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.
How John 16:17 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.