John 12 · Verse 27

John 12:27

Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

John 12:27, King James Version

John 12:27 in other translations

BSB	Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
WEB	“Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? But I came to this time for this cause.
ASV	Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour.
YLT	‘Now hath my soul been troubled, and what? shall I say--Father, save me from this hour? --but because of this I came to this hour;
DARBY	Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But on account of this have I come to this hour.
BBE	Now is my soul troubled; and what am I to say? Father, keep me from this hour. No: for this purpose have I come to this hour.
Webster	Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause I came to this hour.

What does John 12:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:27-28

27-28. Now is my soul troubled--He means at the prospect of His death, just alluded to. Strange view of the Cross this, immediately after representing it as the hour of His glory! (Joh 12:23). But the two views naturally meet, and blend into one. It was the Greeks, one might say, that troubled Him. Ah! they shall see Jesus, but to Him it shall be a costly sight. and what shall I say?--He is in a strait betwixt two. The death of the cross was, and could not but be, appalling to His spirit. But to shrink from absolute subjection to the Father, was worse still. In asking Himself, "What shall I say?" He seems as if thinking aloud, feeling His way between two dread alternatives, looking both of them sternly in the face, measuring, weighing them, in order that the choice actually made might be seen, and even by himself the more vividly felt, to be a profound, deliberate, spontaneous election. Father, save me from this hour--To take this as a question--"Shall I say, Father, save me," &c.--as some eminent editors and interpreters do, is unnatural and jejune. It is a real petition, like that in Gethsemane, "Let this cup pass from Me"; only whereas there He prefaces the prayer with an "If it be possible," here He follows it up with what is tantamount to that--"Nevertheless for this cause came I unto this hour." The sentiment conveyed, then, by the prayer, in both cases, is twofold: (1) that only one thing could reconcile Him to the death of the cross--its being His Father's will He should endure it--and (2) that in this view of it He yielded Himself freely to it. What He recoils from is not subjection to His Father's will: but to show how tremendous a self-sacrifice that obedience involved, He first asks the Father to save Him from it, and then signifies how perfectly He knows that He is there for the very purpose of enduring it. Only by letting these mysterious words speak their full meaning do they become intelligible and consistent. As for those who see no bitter elements in the death of Christ--nothing beyond mere dying--what can they make of such a scene? and when they place it over against the feelings with which thousands of His adoring followers have welcomed death for His sake, how can they hold Him up to the admiration of men?

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 27. Now is my soul troubled. The mention of his death brought before him its approaching horrors, its pains, its darkness, its unparalleled woes. Jesus was full of acute sensibility, and his human nature shrunk from the scenes through which he was to pass. See Lk 23:41-44.

What shall I say? This is an expression denoting intense anxiety and perplexity. As if it were a subject of debate whether he could bear those sufferings; or whether the work of man's redemption should be abandoned, and he should call upon God to save him. Blessed be his name that he was willing to endure these sorrows, and did not forsake man when he was so near being redeemed! On the decision of that moment--the fixed and unwavering purpose of the Son of God -- depended man's salvation. If Jesus had forsaken his purpose then, all would have been lost.

Father, save me. This ought undoubtedly to have been read as a question--"Shall I say, Father, save me?" Shall I apply to God to rescue me? or shall I go forward to bear these trials ? As it is in our translation, it represents him as actually offering the prayer, and then checking himself. The Greek will bear either interpretation. The whole verse is full of deep feeling and anxiety. Comp. Mt 26:38 Lk 12:50.

This hour. These calamities. The word hour, here, doubtless has reference to his approaching sufferings--the appointed hour for him to suffer. Shall I ask my Father to save me from this hour --that is, from these approaching sufferings? That it might have been done, see Mt 26:53.

But for this cause. That is, to suffer and die. As this was the design of his coming--as he did it deliberately--as the salvation of the world depended on it, he felt that it would not be proper to pray to be delivered from it. He came to suffer, and he submitted to it. See Lk 23:42.

(c) "but for this reason" Jn 18:37

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 27 Now is my soul troubled - Our blessed Lord took upon him our weaknesses, that he might sanctify them to us. As a man he was troubled at the prospect of a violent death. Nature abhors death: God has implanted that abhorrence in nature, that it might become a principle of self preservation; and it is to this that we owe all that prudence and caution by which we avoid danger. When we see Jesus working miracles which demonstrate his omnipotence, we should be led to conclude that he was not man were it not for such passages as these. The reader must ever remember that it was essentially necessary that he should be man; for, without being such, he could hot have died for the sin of the world. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour - Και τι ειπω; πατερ, σωσον με εκ της ὡρας ταυτης· which may be paraphrased thus: And why should I say, Father, save me from this hour? when for this cause I am come to this hour. The common version makes our blessed Lord contradict himself here, by not attending to the proper punctuation of the passage, and by translating the particle τι what, instead of why or how. The sense of our Lord's words is this: "When a man feels a fear of a sudden or violent death, it is natural to him to cry out, Father, save me from this death! for he hopes that the glory of God and his welfare may be accomplished some other way, less dreadful to his nature: but why should I say so, seeing for this very purpose, that I might die this violent death for the sins of mankind, I am come into the world, and have almost arrived at the hour of my crucifixion."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 12:27-33

The sin of our souls was the troubled of Christ's soul, when he undertook to redeem and save us, and to make his soul an offering for our sin. Christ was willing to suffer, yet prayed to be saved from suffering. Prayer against trouble may well agree with patience under it, and submission to the will of God in it. Our Lord Jesus undertook to satisfy God's injured honour, and he did it by humbling himself. The voice of the Father from heaven, which had declared him to be his beloved Son, at his baptism, and when he was transfigured, was heard proclaiming that He had both glorified his name, and would glorify it. Christ, reconciling the world to God by the merit of his death, broke the power of death, and cast out Satan as a destroyer. Christ, bringing the world to God by the doctrine of his cross, broke the power of sin, and cast out Satan as a deceiver. The soul that was at a distance from Christ, is brought to love him and trust him. Jesus was now going to heaven, and he would draw men's hearts to him thither. There is power in the death of Christ to draw souls to him. We have heard from the gospel that which exalts free grace, and we have heard also that which enjoins duty; we must from the heart embrace both, and not separate them.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

John 12:27 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΝῦνNunNowG3568

ἡhētheG3588

ψυχήpsuchēsoulG5590

μουmouof MineG3165

τετάρακται,tetaraktaihas been troubled,G5015

καὶkaiandG2532

τίtiwhatG5101

εἴπω;eipōshall I say?G2036

πάτερ,paterFather,G3962

σῶσόνsōsondo saveG4982

μεmeMeG3165

ἐκekfromG1537

τῆςtēs<the>G3588

ὥραςhōrashourG5610

ταύτης;tautēsthis.’?G3778

ἀλλὰallaButG235

διὰdiaon account ofG1223

τοῦτοtoutothisG3778

ἦλθονēlthonI cameG2064

εἰςeistoG1519

τὴνtēn<the>G3588

ὥρανhōranhourG5610

ταύτην.tautēnthis.G3778

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 12:27

John 12:23
And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Isaiah 38:15
What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
Hebrews 5:7
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Mark 14:33-36
And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Matthew 26:42
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
John 13:21
When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Psalms 88:3
For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
Matthew 26:38-39
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Luke 22:44
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Hebrews 2:14
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Psalms 69:1-3
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

is.
11:33-35; 13:21; Ps 69:1-3; 88:3; Isa 53:3; Mt 26:38,39,42
Mr 14:33-36; Lu 22:44,53; Heb 5:7
what.
Isa 38:15; Lu 12:49,50
Father.
11:41; Mt 26:53,54
but.
18:37; Lu 22:53; 1Ti 1:15; Heb 2:14; 10:5-9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

John 12:26
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
John 12:27
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
John 12:28
Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

Read all of John 12

John 12:27 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Ahora está turbada mi alma; ¿y qué diré? Padre, sálvame de esta hora. Mas por esto he venido en esta hora.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Maintenant mon âme est troublée; et que dirai-je? Père, délivre-moi de cette heure; mais c’est pour cela que je suis venu à cette heure.
German Elberfelder 1871	Jetzt ist meine Seele bestürzt, und was soll ich sagen? Vater, rette mich aus dieser Stunde! Doch darum bin ich in diese Stunde gekommen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Nunc anima mea turbata est. Et quid dicam? Pater, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed propterea veni in horam hanc: