John 16:21 (ASV)

Passage

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world.

Nearby Context

John 16:19 Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me?

John 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

John 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world.

John 16:22 And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you.

John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "woman", "travail", "hath", "sorrow", "hour", "come", and "delivered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "woman", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Verily verily I say unto you that..." into verse 22's "And ye therefore now have sorrow but...", so "world" and "woman" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "woman" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.