I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Parallel translations
- WEB I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
- BSB I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.
- NKJV “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.
- NASB I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on the behalf of those whom You have given Me, because they are Yours;
- NLT “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong 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 prays specifically for his disciples, those the Father has given him, rather than for the world at this point. His intercession is focused on his own.
Overview
This verse does not mean Jesus has no concern for the world; elsewhere he came to save it (3:16) and later prays that the world might believe (17:21). Here, in his high-priestly prayer, his focus is intercession for those given to him. It shows Christ as the great intercessor who prays for his people, a ministry he continues at the Father's right hand (Hebrews 7:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Heb 9:24For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
- John 17:2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
- John 17:6I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
- Luke 22:32But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
- 1 Jn 5:19And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
- John 17:20Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
- 1 Jn 2:1–2My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
- John 14:16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
- John 16:26–27At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
- Rev 20:15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
- Rev 13:8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
- Heb 7:25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
- Rev 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
- Luke 8:34When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 17:9 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.