John 16: 20-22 | King James Audio Bible | Daily Verses
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.
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.
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.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, the image of a woman giving birth is often used to express great pain. It is also often used, especially by the prophets, to signify the birth of the new messianic people – see, for example, Isaiah. Jesus recalls both the pain of the Old Testament and the hope and fulfilment expressed through the prophets. The new birth is imminent. Through the sorrow and pain of the crucifixion, we are called to God.
Jesus, then, in these verses, uses both a familiar, everyday analogy to help the disciples understand what is happening, and draws on the language and understandings of the Old Testament to show how he is the fulfilment of the prophecies.
Jesus reassures his disciples, and his message of reassurance is also for us. Inevitably, there are times when we sorrow in this life. We know, however, that Christ is with us. And we will see Christ fully when we pass from this life, and that joy will have no end.
‘12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.’ St Paul’s Letter to the Romans
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
Verily Verily | The King James Version As Masterpiece In English
Jesus uses the analogy of a woman in labour to illustrate the pain that his disciples will feel at his departure, but also the joy that will come when they are reunited with him.
The English of the King James Version rises to the challenge of Jesus’ mastery of story-telling. The KJV is often praised for its poetic beauty and use of slightly for the times archaic English – drawing upon previous English translations of the Bible as well as a rich English literature tradition including William Shakespeare. Those who translated the KJV certainly intended to create a literary masterpiece as well as an accurate translation of original texts.
Many have praised the KJV Bible. Here is a selection of what has been said:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote:
‘The language of the Bible has no less impressed and stamped its character on the Saxon dialects, than the Latin has on the Southern tongues of Europe. And I am not sure, whether, taking all the circumstances together, it is not the grandest style that has ever been written,–the sublimest, perhaps, of human composition.’
C.S. Lewis wrote:
‘The English Bible, as [William] Tyndale translated it and as revised by the scholars of 1611, has nourished a language which, for beauty and richness, is probably unequalled in the world.’
John Milton wrote:
‘The King James Bible is the best English version of the best book, and its poetic and rhythmic qualities are now well known. Its language is plain, majestic, and powerful, and it has influenced our language and literature more than any other book in the world.’
Harold Bloom wrote:
‘The King James Version is our language’s high point, a culmination of sorts that we can identify as mystical. It has given us not only the language of our faith but also a language that is singular in its beauty, rhythm, and poetic force.’
George Santayana wrote:
‘The King James Version is the most beautiful of all translations of the Bible, and as literature it is simply unsurpassed. Its language is precise, yet rich and musical, and it has had a profound influence on English literature and culture.’
H.L. Mencken wrote:
‘The King James Version of the Bible is probably the most beautiful piece of writing in all the literature of the world. It has a majestic simplicity and an unearthly grace that makes it impossible to read without a sense of awe and wonder.’
T.S. Eliot wrote:
‘The King James Version of the Bible is a masterpiece of English prose, and its influence on our language and literature cannot be overstated. Its language is both simple and profound, and its rhythms and cadences have become part of our cultural DNA.’
Virginia Woolf wrote:
‘The King James Bible is, for prose writers, a great masterpiece of English prose; for it combines splendour with simplicity, elevation with directness and force. It has, above all, a noble rhythm, and one reads it aloud with a sense of something purged and chastened, something purified and strengthened.’
Ezra Pound wrote:
‘The most beautiful book in the world? It is the King James Bible. No other book has such beauty in both phrase and rhythm. The music of it is like that of a great river, and it has set a standard for the English language that has never been surpassed.’
Stephen Greenblatt wrote:
‘The King James Bible is one of the great works of world literature. It is also, in a sense, a crowning achievement of English literary genius. Its influence has been incalculable, both in the dissemination of the Christian message and in the shaping of the English language itself.’
Psalm 58 explores themes of justice, righteousness, and the repercussions of wickedness. This psalm is an impassioned plea for divine intervention or retribution, which may be perceived as a call for vengeance.
Office Of Readings | Tuesday, Lent Week 5 | A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great ‘The cross of Christ is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces.’ Context And Authority Of The Preacher Pope Saint Leo the Great served as Bishop of Rome from 440 to 461, during a time of both doctrinal dispute and political upheaval in the Western Roman Empire. A formidable theologian and administrator, Leo is perhaps best known for his Tome to Flavian, which played a decisive role at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in defining the doctrine of Christ’s two natures, divine and human, in one person. In his sermons, Leo combined robust doctrinal teaching with pastoral urgency. His Lenten and Paschal homilies frequently dwell on the mystery of the Passion of Christ—not as an occasion for pity, but as the moment of divine triumph. This sermon reflects that theme with particular clarity, inviting believers to see the cross not as a defeat, but as the very axis around which salvation and history turn. The Hour Of The Cross As The Hour Of Glory Leo begins with the Johannine declaration: ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ (John 12:23) This ‘hour’ is the Passion—Jesus’ betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and death. But for Leo, as for John, this hour is not one of defeat but of exaltation. The cross is the throne from which Christ reigns, the place where he exercises judgment, mercy, and kingship. ‘Now is the judgment of the world,’ Christ says. ‘Now will the prince of this world be cast out.’ (John 12:31) The cross, Leo teaches, is the instrument by which the dominion of sin and the devil is overthrown. It is not merely a historical event, but an ongoing act of cosmic redemption. When Christ is ‘lifted up’, he draws all people to himself—not just by example, but by the objective power of his redemptive act. The Cross As The Fulfilment Of All Sacrifices Leo then turns to the sacrificial character of the cross. In doing so, he places Christ’s Passion in continuity with the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant. The temple rites, the offerings of animals, the ministry of the Levitical priesthood—all of these are fulfilled and transcended in the one perfect sacrifice of Christ. ‘The different sacrifices of animals are no more: the one offering of your body and blood is the fulfilment of all the different sacrificial offerings.’ Here Leo anticipates later Eucharistic theology by linking Christ’s self-offering on the cross with the offering of the Church in the Mass. He draws a typological line from the foreshadowings in the Law of Moses to their perfection in the Paschal mystery. Importantly, Leo emphasizes that the cross did not simply end the old order; it transformed it. There is now a ‘more distinguished order of Levites’, referring to the Christian priesthood, and a ‘greater dignity for the rank of elders’. The Christian sacramental economy flows directly from the cross. The Cross And The Unity Of The Church One of the most profound claims in this sermon is that the cross is not only redemptive but unitive: ‘There is also one kingdom gathered from all peoples.’ This is a subtle but powerful statement of ecclesiology. The cross unites the scattered children of God into one body—the Church. It is through the cross that division, especially between Jew and Gentile, is overcome (cf. Ephesians 2:14–16). Christ’s Passion creates a universal communion, not merely by calling all nations, but by reconciling them through his blood. For Leo, the Church is not an afterthought to the cross but its very fruit and fulfilment. Christ Died For Sinners | The Unmerited Nature Of Grace Leo next turns to the soteriological core of the Christian message: ‘Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful.’ This line echoes Romans 5:8 and stresses the unmerited nature of divine mercy. There is no room for self-righteousness or spiritual pride in Leo’s theology. Salvation is the free initiative of God, who meets humanity in its need, not in its strength. Leo uses the language of substitution: though the divine nature cannot suffer, Christ assumed a human nature ‘so that he could offer something on our behalf.’ The idea is not that God required suffering, but that only by taking on our condition could Christ redeem it. His death is a confrontation with death itself—a defeat of death by means of death. The quotation from Hosea 13:14—’O death, I will be your death’—highlights the dramatic reversal: death, once the master of humanity, has been overcome by the dying and rising of Christ. The Cross As The Pattern Of Christian Life While the sermon focuses on the objective power of the cross, its pastoral implication is never far from view. For Leo, the believer is not merely a recipient of the benefits of the cross but is called to share in its pattern. Although Leo does not explore this in detail in this passage, his broader corpus makes clear that the Christian must imitate Christ’s humility, obedience, and love. The cross is not only a source of grace but a template for discipleship. This is particularly relevant during Lent, when the Church contemplates the Passion in preparation for the renewal of baptismal vows at Easter. A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great Our understanding, which is enlightened by the Spirit of truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the cross as it shines in heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision the meaning of the Lord’s words when he spoke of the imminence of his passion: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterwards he said: Now my soul is troubled, and what am I to say? Father, save me from this hour. But it was for this that I came to this hour. […]
While God ‘can be known with certainty from created reality by the light of human reason'[1], He additionally chooses, ‘out of the abundance of His love’ (DV2), to reveal Himself to humanity. From the start God revealed himself to Adam and Eve, ‘[p]lanning to make known the way of heavenly salvation’ (DV3). After the fall, God has continued to reveal himself in history. He called Abraham, then taught the people of Israel through the patriarchs and through Moses and the prophets, that He is the one true God and to await the Saviour. Divine revelation was progressive through time, the Old Testament presenting ‘incomplete and temporary’ (DV15) understandings of God. The Old Testament prepares the way [ … ]
