John 16:20 (DBY)

Passage

Verily, verily, I say to you, that ye shall weep and lament, ye, but the world shall rejoice; and ye will be grieved, but your grief shall be turned to joy.

Nearby Context

John 16:18 They said therefore, What is this which he says [of] the little while? We do not know [of] what he speaks.

John 16:19 Jesus knew therefore that they desired to demand of him, and said to them, Do ye inquire of this among yourselves that I said, A little while and ye do not behold me; and again a little while and ye shall see me?

John 16:20 Verily, verily, I say to you, that ye shall weep and lament, ye, but the world shall rejoice; and ye will be grieved, but your grief shall be turned to joy.

John 16:21 A woman, when she gives birth to a child, has grief because her hour has come; but when the child is born, she no longer remembers the trouble, on account of the joy that a man has been born into the world.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "verily", "shall", "weep", "lament", and "rejoice". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "verily", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Jesus knew therefore that they desired to..." into verse 21's "A woman when she gives birth to...", so "world" and "verily" 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 "verily" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.