John 16:21 (WEB)
A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
John 16:21 (KJV)
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.
Key words
- ἡ γυνήhē gynē · Greek
- 'a woman' — literally 'the woman,' the same word Jesus uses for his mother at Cana and the cross.
- ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα αὐτῆςēlthen hē hōra autēs · Greek
- 'her hour is come' — 'hour' is John's word for the passion (2:4; 12:23; 13:1).
- θλῖψιςthlipsis · Greek
- 'anguish' — tribulation, the word for the messianic woes.
- ἐγεννήθη ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸν κόσμονegennēthē anthrōpos eis ton kosmon · Greek
- 'a man is born into the world' — new life comes out of the pain.
Why it matters
The woman in labour has sorrow because 'her hour' has come, but forgets the anguish for joy once the child is born. Pitre notes that John's words — 'the woman,' 'her hour,' 'anguish' — are the vocabulary of Mary at the cross and of the Jewish 'birth pangs of the Messiah.' Mary's real travail is at Calvary, and what is born is the new people of God.