1
Μετὰ ταῦτα ἐφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν πάλιν ⸀ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς Τιβεριάδος· ἐφανέρωσεν δὲ οὕτως.
After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and he manifested himself in this way.
2
ἦσαν ὁμοῦ Σίμων Πέτρος καὶ Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος καὶ Ναθαναὴλ ὁ ἀπὸ Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ οἱ τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ ἄλλοι ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο.
Simon Peter and Thomas called the Twin and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two others of his disciples were together.
3
λέγει αὐτοῖς Σίμων Πέτρος· Ὑπάγω ἁλιεύειν· λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ἐρχόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς σὺν σοί. ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἐνέβησαν εἰς τὸ ⸀πλοῖον, καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ νυκτὶ ἐπίασαν οὐδέν.
Simon Peter says to them, “I am going fishing.” They say to him, “We also are coming with you.” They went out and got into the boat, and in that night they caught nothing.
4
Πρωΐας δὲ ἤδη ⸀γενομένης ⸀ἔστη Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν· οὐ μέντοι ᾔδεισαν οἱ μαθηταὶ ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν.
Now as morning was already breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5
λέγει οὖν αὐτοῖς ⸀ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Παιδία, μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε; ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ· Οὔ.
So Jesus says to them, “Children, do you have any fish to eat?” They answered him, “No.”
6
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Βάλετε εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ μέρη τοῦ πλοίου τὸ δίκτυον, καὶ εὑρήσετε. ἔβαλον οὖν, καὶ οὐκέτι αὐτὸ ἑλκύσαι ⸀ἴσχυον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἰχθύων.
And he said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they had no strength to haul it in because of the multitude of the fish.
7
λέγει οὖν ὁ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ Πέτρῳ· Ὁ κύριός ἐστιν. Σίμων οὖν Πέτρος, ἀκούσας ὅτι ὁ κύριός ἐστιν, τὸν ἐπενδύτην διεζώσατο, ἦν γὰρ γυμνός, καὶ ἔβαλεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν·
So that disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So Simon Peter, hearing that it is the Lord, girded on his outer garment — for he was stripped — and threw himself into the sea.
8
οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι μαθηταὶ τῷ πλοιαρίῳ ἦλθον, οὐ γὰρ ἦσαν μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀλλὰ ὡς ἀπὸ πηχῶν διακοσίων, σύροντες τὸ δίκτυον τῶν ἰχθύων.
But the other disciples came in the little boat, dragging the net of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits off.
9
Ὡς οὖν ἀπέβησαν εἰς τὴν γῆν βλέπουσιν ἀνθρακιὰν κειμένην καὶ ὀψάριον ἐπικείμενον καὶ ἄρτον.
So when they got out on the land, they see a charcoal fire laid, and fish laid on it, and bread.
Why this rendering
John.21.9 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἀνθρακιά, a charcoal fire, **occurs twice in the whole New Testament — at 18:18 and here.** Both are in John. At 18:18 it is the fire at which Peter stood warming himself while denying Jesus; at 21:9 it is the fire just before the threefold exchange (vv.15–17) that undoes the denial. The author had the common πῦρ available and chose this rare word for both places. ὀψάριον, fish, is likewise a Johannine word (6:9, 11; 21:9, 10, 13), and with ἄρτον it echoes the bread and fish of chapter 6.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted a charcoal fire
Basis Same word as 18:18, so the two fires stay one. 개역한글 has 숯불 in both; ESV and NASB charcoal fire.
a fire
Basis Uses the general word.
Rejected As fire, the link to 18:18 leaves the words. A word occurring twice in the New Testament joins the two scenes, and rendering either side with the general word, as KJV varies, breaks the pair.
Lost in translation
the pairing of the two fires The place of the denial and the place of the restoration are marked by one rare word. In versions that match the word a reader can find it, but no version marks the pair on the page.
Survives in · 개역한글 / NASB / ESV / NET / NIV2011 / ELB
10
λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐνέγκατε ἀπὸ τῶν ὀψαρίων ὧν ἐπιάσατε νῦν.
Jesus says to them, “Bring some of the fish you caught just now.”
11
ἀνέβη ⸀οὖν Σίμων Πέτρος καὶ εἵλκυσεν τὸ δίκτυον ⸂εἰς τὴν γῆν⸃ μεστὸν ἰχθύων μεγάλων ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα τριῶν· καὶ τοσούτων ὄντων οὐκ ἐσχίσθη τὸ δίκτυον.
So Simon Peter went up and hauled the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Why this rendering
John.21.11 Observation
Syntactic observation
εἵλκυσεν — **the last place of ἕλκω.** The verb stands five times in John: 6:44, the Father drawing; 12:32, I will draw all; 18:10, Peter drawing a sword; 21:6, they could not haul the net; and here at 21:11, Peter hauls the net to land. The verb by which all would be drawn at 12:32 is the verb by which Peter now hauls a full net. At v.6 they had no strength to haul it; at v.11 it is hauled. And οὐκ ἐσχίσθη, it was not torn — σχίζω, the verb of let us not tear it at 19:24, of the tunic. The number, 153, is counted. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀οὖν ⸂εἰς γῆν⸃).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted hauled the net to land
Basis Hauling is natural of a net.
drew the net — matching 12:32
Basis Matches the stem of 12:32.
Rejected As established at 18:10, Korean cannot 이끌다 an object. Joining the five places with one word is impossible, and the impossibility is this verb's recorded loss.
Lost in translation
the closing of the ἕλκω series The Father draws (6:44), Jesus promises to draw all (12:32), Peter draws a sword (18:10), and at the end a full net is hauled in (21:6, 11). That the promise of 12:32 and the net of 21:11 share a verb — **six of the nine locales cannot render the five with one word.** Only German (ziehen), French (tirer) and Spanish (tirar) can. In English it is invisible even with the versions side by side; only the original shows it.
12
λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Δεῦτε ἀριστήσατε. οὐδεὶς ⸀δὲ ἐτόλμα τῶν μαθητῶν ἐξετάσαι αὐτόν· Σὺ τίς εἶ; εἰδότες ὅτι ὁ κύριός ἐστιν.
Jesus says to them, “Come, have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared to inquire of him, “Who are you?” — knowing that it is the Lord.
13
⸀ἔρχεται ⸀ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ λαμβάνει τὸν ἄρτον καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὸ ὀψάριον ὁμοίως.
Jesus comes and takes the bread and gives it to them, and the fish likewise.
14
τοῦτο ἤδη τρίτον ἐφανερώθη ⸀ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς ⸀μαθηταῖς ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν.
This was now the third time Jesus was manifested to the disciples after being raised from the dead.
15
Ὅτε οὖν ἠρίστησαν λέγει τῷ Σίμωνι Πέτρῳ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Σίμων ⸀Ἰωάννου, ἀγαπᾷς με πλέον τούτων; λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναί, κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ· Βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου.
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He says to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I hold you dear.” He says to him, “Feed my lambs.”
Why this rendering
John.21.15 Hypothesis
Syntactic observation
The three exchanges carry **a threefold variation of words.** First, the love verbs: Jesus asks with ἀγαπᾷς at vv.15 and 16, Peter answers all three times with φιλῶ, **and at v.17 Jesus switches to Peter's word, φιλεῖς.** Second, the feeding verbs: βόσκε (15), ποίμαινε (16, shepherd), βόσκε (17). Third, the sheep words: ἀρνία (15, lambs), πρόβατα (16, 17, sheep). The narrator writes that Peter grieved because he asked the third time — locating the grief in the count, not in the changed verb. It is also observed that the two love verbs interchange elsewhere in John (3:35 ἀγαπᾷ and 5:20 φιλεῖ, both of the Father loving the Son). SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀Ἰωάννου,).
Rendering options · 2
love throughout
Basis Treats the two as synonyms, appealing to their interchange at 3:35 and 5:20.
Rejected That they are synonyms is itself an interpretation, and one rendering **removes from the reader the fact that there was variation at all.** Whether it is synonymy is the reader's question, and the question requires the variation to be visible. The feeding verbs and the sheep words vary alongside, so that the author is rotating words is a fact of the text.
Adopted Jesus: do you love me (15, 16), then: are you my friend (17); Peter, all three times: you know that I hold you dear
Basis Keeps the two apart so that Jesus' descent to Peter's word at v.17 stands. The possibility of synonymy is recorded in the observation, leaving the judgement to the reader.
Lost in translation
the variation of the love verbs Of the twenty-nine versions only NET keeps the two apart. The rest flatten them, and both Jesus' switch at v.17 and the layer beneath Peter's grief at the third question vanish in translation.
Survives in · NET
the feeding and sheep variations The feed/shepherd and lambs/sheep variations survive only partially in most versions. 개역한글 keeps the verb rotation with 먹이라, 치라, 먹이라.
Survives in · 개역한글 / KJV / NASB / ESV / VULG / ELB
16
λέγει αὐτῷ πάλιν δεύτερον· Σίμων ⸀Ἰωάννου, ἀγαπᾷς με; λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναί, κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ· Ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου.
He says to him again a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He says to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I hold you dear.” He says to him, “Shepherd my sheep.”
17
λέγει αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Σίμων ⸀Ἰωάννου, φιλεῖς με; ἐλυπήθη ὁ Πέτρος ὅτι εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Φιλεῖς με; καὶ ⸀εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Κύριε, ⸂πάντα σὺ⸃ οἶδας, σὺ γινώσκεις ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ ⸀ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Βόσκε τὰ ⸀πρόβατά μου.
He says to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you hold me dear?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you hold me dear?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I hold you dear.” Jesus says to him, “Feed my sheep.
18
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ὅτε ἦς νεώτερος, ἐζώννυες σεαυτὸν καὶ περιεπάτεις ὅπου ἤθελες· ὅταν δὲ γηράσῃς, ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖράς σου, καὶ ἄλλος ⸂σε ζώσει⸃ καὶ οἴσει ὅπου οὐ θέλεις.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not want.”
Why this rendering
John.21.18 Observation
Syntactic observation
νεώτερος is the comparative of νέος. **νέος occurs only here in John** — standing over against καινός, which occurs twice (the new commandment at 13:34, the new tomb at 19:41). The distinction of two newnesses observed in chapter 13 completes here: newness of kind (καινός) and youngness of age (νέος) are kept apart. ζώννυμι, to gird, stands twice — young, he girded himself; old, another will gird him. Active against passive, laid out by repetition. At v.19 the narrator states that he said this signifying by what death he would glorify God — the formula of 12:33 and 18:32. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸂σε ζώσει⸃).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted when you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not want
Basis Keeps ζώννυμι the same word twice so the active-passive contrast stands.
you dressed yourself … another will bind you
Basis Unpacks the second as binding, hinting at martyrdom.
Rejected Splitting one verb into dress and bind removes the repetition. Verse 19 already names the death, so the translation need not anticipate. NET and NIV split along dress and bind.
Lost in translation
the νέος / καινός distinction That John's newness splits into two words shows only with the three places side by side (13:34, 19:41, 21:18). Korean 새/젊은 and English new/young happen to split them, but nothing marks that the split is the original's.
Survives in · 개역한글 / KJV / NASB / ESV / NET / VULG / ELB / SYNOD / JPNICT
19
τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ δοξάσει τὸν θεόν. καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀκολούθει μοι.
He said this signifying by what death he would glorify God. And having said this, he says to him, “Follow me.”
20
⸀Ἐπιστραφεὶς ὁ Πέτρος βλέπει τὸν μαθητὴν ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀκολουθοῦντα, ὃς καὶ ἀνέπεσεν ἐν τῷ δείπνῳ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν· Κύριε, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδιδούς σε;
Peter, turning around, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following — the one who also leaned back on his breast at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one handing you over?”
21
τοῦτον ⸀οὖν ἰδὼν ὁ Πέτρος λέγει τῷ Ἰησοῦ· Κύριε, οὗτος δὲ τί;
So seeing him, Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
22
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐὰν αὐτὸν θέλω μένειν ἕως ἔρχομαι, τί πρὸς σέ; σύ ⸂μοι ἀκολούθει⸃.
Jesus says to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”
Why this rendering
John.21.22 Observation
Syntactic observation
μένειν — **the last place of μένω** (21:22, 23). The verb that began with the Spirit remaining at 1:32–33 ends with if I want him to remain until I come. And at v.23 the narrator corrects a misunderstanding: the word went out to the brothers that that disciple would not die — but Jesus did not say he would not die; he said, if I want him to remain. **The text quotes its own sentence back and marks the misreading** — the device by which characters misheard at 3:4, 4:11 and 11:12 turns at the last toward the readers' own community. The σύ of σύ μοι ἀκολούθει is emphatic: you follow me. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸂μοι ἀκολούθει⸃.).
Rendering options · 2
if I want him to live until I come
Basis Renders by the issue at stake — living.
Rejected Verse 23 stops working: the misunderstanding arose from hearing remain as will not die, and rendering it live makes the misreading the correct translation. And the last place of μένω, carried from 1:32, would end in another word.
Adopted Jesus says to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”
Basis Keeps μένω as remain to the end. From the Spirit at 1:32 to the disciple at 21:22, one word runs the Gospel out.
Lost in translation
the first and last of μένω It begins with the Spirit remaining (1:32–33) and ends with the disciple remaining (21:22–23). In consistent versions the word carries through, but nothing marks that the Gospel's first μένω and its last are a pair.
Survives in · 개역한글 / KJV / NASB / ESV / NET / VULG / ELB / SYNOD
23
ἐξῆλθεν οὖν ⸂οὗτος ὁ λόγος⸃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὅτι ὁ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἀποθνῄσκει. ⸂οὐκ εἶπεν δὲ⸃ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι οὐκ ἀποθνῄσκει ἀλλ’· Ἐὰν αὐτὸν θέλω μένειν ἕως ἔρχομαι, τί πρὸς σέ;
So this word went out to the brothers, that that disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
24
Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ τούτων καὶ ⸀ὁ γράψας ταῦτα, καὶ οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθὴς ⸂αὐτοῦ ἡ μαρτυρία ἐστίν⸃.
This is the disciple who bears witness about these things and who wrote these things, and we know that his witness is true.
25
ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ⸀ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἅτινα ἐὰν γράφηται καθ’ ἕν, οὐδ’ αὐτὸν οἶμαι τὸν κόσμον ⸀χωρήσειν τὰ γραφόμενα ⸀βιβλία.
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose the world itself would not contain the books being written.