John 17

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

1Jesus said these things. Then he looked up and prayed. "Father, the time has come. Show everyone how great your Son is. Then your Son can show everyone how great you are."

2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

2"You gave your Son power over all people. So he can give life forever to everyone you gave him."

3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

3"Life forever means knowing you, the only true God. It also means knowing Jesus Christ, the one you sent."

4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

4"Here on earth, I showed people how great you are. I finished the work you gave me to do."

5And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

5"Now, Father, give me honor at your side again. Give me back the greatness I had with you before the world was made."

6I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

6"You picked some people out of the world and gave them to me. I showed them who you are. They were yours, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed what you said."

7Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

7"Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you."

8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

8"I gave them the words you gave me, and they took those words. They know for sure that I came from you. They believe that you sent me."

9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

9"I am asking you for them. I am not asking for the world, but for the people you gave me. They belong to you."

10And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

10"Everything I have is yours. Everything you have is mine. People can see how great I am by looking at them."

11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

11"I will not be in the world much longer. But they are still here, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, use your own name to keep them safe. Then they can be one together, the way you and I are one."

12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

12"While I was with them, I kept them safe by your name. I watched over the ones you gave me. Not one of them was lost. Only the one headed for ruin was lost. That happened so the words in the Scriptures would come true."

NoteThe KJV says "son of perdition." "Perdition" is an old word for ruin or being lost for good.

13And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

13"Now I am coming to you. I say these things while I am still in the world. I say them so my joy can fill them up."

14I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

14"I gave them your word, and the world has hated them. That is because they do not belong to the world. I do not belong to the world either."

15I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

15"I am not asking you to take them out of the world. I am asking you to keep them safe from the evil one."

16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

16"They do not belong to the world. I do not belong to the world either."

17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

17"Set them apart for yourself by your truth. Your word is truth."

NoteThe KJV word is "sanctify." It means to set someone apart to belong to God and to be used by him.

18As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

18"You sent me into the world. In the same way, I have sent them into the world."

19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

19"For their sake, I set myself apart for you. Then they can be set apart by the truth too."

20Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

20"I am not asking only for these friends. I am also asking for people who will believe in me later. They will believe when they hear what my friends tell them."

21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

21"I ask that all of them may be one together. Father, you are in me, and I am in you. I ask that they may be in us too. Then the world will believe that you sent me."

22And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

22"You gave me greatness, and I have given that greatness to them. Then they can be one, just as you and I are one."

23I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

23"I am in them, and you are in me. So they can be joined together perfectly. Then the world will know that you sent me. The world will know you love them, just as you love me."

24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

24"Father, you gave these people to me. I want them to be with me where I am. I want them to see my greatness, the greatness you gave me. You loved me before the world was made."

NoteIn verse 24 the KJV says "I will." In 1611 that meant "I want," not "I am going to."

25O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

25"Father, you always do what is right. The world has not known you, but I know you. And these friends know that you sent me."

26And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

26"I showed them who you are, and I will keep on showing them. Then the love you have for me can be in them. And I will be in them."