John 16:20 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

John 16:18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

John 16:19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: 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: and 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 as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

John 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh 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 "Now Jesus knew that they were desirous..." into verse 21's "A woman when she is in travail...", 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.