16:17a–e

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’?”: The disciples still did not understand that Jesus would be killed the next day and then rise from the dead. They talked among themselves and wondered what he meant. This verse contains a direct quotation (what Jesus just said) inside a direct quotation (what the disciples said). In some languages it is more natural to use an indirect quotation or quotations. See the General Comment at the end of 16:17a–e.

16:17a

Then some of His disciples asked one another: Jesus’ disciples discussed what Jesus had just said. They asked one another what they thought Jesus meant. Because they used questions that asked for an answer, in some languages it is natural to use the word “ask.” For example:

Some of his disciples asked among themselves (Good News Translation)
-or-
Some of the disciples asked each other (New Living Translation (2004))

16:17b

Why is He telling us: The disciples wondered about the meaning of Jesus’ words in 16:16a–b and 16:10a. Introduce the quotation of these words in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

What does he mean when he says (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
What does he mean by this (Revised English Bible)
-or-
What is the meaning of what he is saying (NET Bible)

16:17c

In a little while you will not see Me: Translate this as you did 16:16a.

16:17d

and then after a little while you will see Me: Translate this as you did 16:16b.

16:17e

Because I am going to the Father: The disciples also did not understand what Christ said to them in 16:10, that he would go back to God. Translate this clause so that the reference to 16:10 is clear.

General Comment on 16:17a–e

In some languages it may be natural to translate at least one direct quotation of Jesus’ words as an indirect quotation. For example:

Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by telling us that in a little while we will no longer see him, and then in another little while we will see him? What does he mean by saying that he is going to the Father?”
-or-
Some of his disciples said to each other, “What does he mean? He tells us that in a little while we won’t see him. Then he tells us that in a little while we will see him again and that he’s going to the Father.” (God’s Word)
-or-
Some of his disciples asked among themselves, “What does this mean? He tells us that in a little while we will not see him, and then a little while later we will see him; and he also says, ‘It is because I am going to the Father.’ ” (Good News Translation)

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