Paragraph 16:19–22

Jesus answered his disciples that the sorrow they had would become joy when they saw him again. He compared it to a woman’s pain while she gives birth becoming joy when her baby is born.

16:19a

Aware that they wanted to question Him: This clause indicates that Jesus understood that the disciples wanted to ask him about what he meant. They wanted to know the meaning of what he had said in 16:16 and 16:10. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Jesus realized that they wanted to ask him about it (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jesus knew that they had some questions (Contemporary English Version)

16:19b–d

Jesus said to them, “Are you asking one another why I said, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’?: This is a rhetorical question which expects a “yes” answer. The disciples apparently did not want to ask their questions, but Jesus wanted to talk about them. He realized that his disciples still did not understand that he would die and then rise from the dead. There are at least two ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• Use a rhetorical question. For example:

so he said to them, “I said, ‘In a little while you will not see me, and then a little while later you will see me.’ Is this what you are asking about among yourselves?” (Good News Translation)

• Use a statement. For example:

so he said, “You are asking one another what I meant by saying, “In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
so he said: You are wondering what I meant when I said that for a little while you won’t see me, but after a while you will see me. (Contemporary English Version)

Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language for introducing a topic.

16:19b

The Greek begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Here it introduces a result, which is why most English translations translate the conjunction as “so.” Here are other ways to translate this conjunction:

therefore
-or-
and
-or-
that is why

Jesus said to them: Jesus spoke to the disciples. He used a question, so in some languages it may be natural to use the word “ask.” For example:

Jesus asked his disciples

Are you asking one another why: Jesus asked his disciples to confirm what they were talking about. He knew that they had been wondering what he meant, and he asked them to confirm that. The expected answer is “yes.” In some languages there may be a specific way to ask a question that expects the answer “yes.” For example:

You are discussing what I meant, aren’t you?

16:19c–d

I said, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’: Jesus was quoting something he himself had said earlier. Translate his words as you did in 16:16. Here there is a quotation inside another quotation. In some languages it may be natural to use an indirect quotation for the inner quotation. For example:

I said that in a little while you will no longer see me, and in a little while more you will see me

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