“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.
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.
- KJV I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
- 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;
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 hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
- John 17:2even as you gave him authority over all flesh, he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
- John 17:6I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.
- Luke 22:32but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”
- 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
- John 17:20Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word,
- 1 Jn 2:1–2My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
- John 14:16I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever, —
- John 16:26–27In that day you will ask in my name; and I don’t say to you, that I will pray to the Father for you,
- Rev 20:15If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
- Rev 13:8All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed.
- Heb 7:25Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
- Rev 12:9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
- Luke 8:34When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled, 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.