John 16:22 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "sorrow", "again", "heart", "shall", "rejoice", "taketh", and "away". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "sorrow", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "A woman when she is in travail..." into verse 23's "And in that day ye shall ask...", so "therefore" and "sorrow" 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 "therefore" and "sorrow" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.