John 12:16
What does John 12:16 mean?
A plain-English look at John 12:16 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What John 12:16 means
The disciples participate in the procession without understanding its full meaning. Only after Jesus is glorified—through His death, resurrection, and exaltation—do they look back and connect the dots: Scripture had spoken of these things, and they themselves had unwittingly enacted them. This highlights how divine revelation often becomes clear in hindsight, as the Spirit brings remembrance and understanding. It also underscores that Jesus’ path to glory runs through suffering. The disciples’ initial confusion is not fatal; it is part of the process by which God educates His people to see Christ in the Scriptures and in their lived experience.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
KJV
King James Version · 1611These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949(These things were not clear to his disciples at first: but when Jesus had been lifted up into his glory, then it came to their minds that these things in the Writings were about him and that they had been done to him.)
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And these things his disciples did not know at the first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were having been written about him, and these things they did to him.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752These things his disciples did not know at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him and that they had done these things to him.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890[Now] his disciples knew not these things at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him.
Context
After quoting prophecy, John pauses to comment on the disciples’ comprehension. This aside prepares readers to appreciate that the events are not random but fulfill a script written beforehand. The narrative then resumes with the crowd that witnessed Lazarus’s raising, who keep spreading their testimony. Their witness fuels the growing multitude that meets Jesus, prompting the Pharisees to lament their loss of control and foreshadow the wider reach of Jesus’ appeal.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Mark 16:19
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
- John 2:22
When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he spake this; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
- John 12:23
And Jesus answereth them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
- Luke 9:45
But they understood not this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
- John 16:4
But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you. And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you.
- Mark 9:32
But they understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
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