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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 13 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35 V36 V37 V38
OET (OET-LV) And before the feast of_the passover_feast, the Yaʸsous having_known that the hour of_him came, that he_may_depart out_of the this world to the father, having_loved his own who were in the world, he_loved them to the_end.
OET (OET-RV) Even before the actual feast part of the Passover celebrations, Yeshua knew that his time had come—the time when he would leave this world and return to the father. He loved his followers who were in the world right through to the end.
Beginning in this section, Jesus ate supper with the disciples for the last time. First he washed their feet as an example of loving service.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the last supper
Jesus set an example by washing feet
Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet
This paragraph gives background information for the next event in the story. It tells the time of the event and describes Jesus’ thoughts.
It was now just before the Passover Feast,
¶ When it was almost time for the Passover Feast.
¶ The Jews/people would soon celebrate the feast called Death-Passed-Over-Us.
It was now just before the Passover Feast: This phrase introduces the next event in the story by indicating that it happened immediately before the Passover Feast.
Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast (NCV)
The Jewish people would soon celebrate Passover.
The Passover feast/celebration would begin very soon.
It was now: The Greek word that the BSB has translated as now often introduces a new event. Introduce this next event in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Then
just before the Passover Feast: This phrase indicates that Jesus knew that his hour had come before Passover began. The Passover would begin at sunset and the meal that is mentioned beginning in 13:2 is a Passover meal. So this verse begins just before the Passover began.Some scholars think that Passover did not begin until the following day and the GNT follows that interpretation (“It was now the day before the Passover Festival.”). However, Mark 14:12 and Luke 22:15 make it clear that Jesus and the disciples ate the Passover meal this night. It is strongly recommended that you do not follow the GNT for this phrase. For example:
It was just before the Passover Festival. (NIV)
It was almost time for the Passover Feast. (NCV)
the Passover Feast: This phrase refers to a feast that the Jewish people celebrated each year. They remembered how God rescued their ancestors from being slaves in Egypt. God went to kill the first-born sons of the Egyptians so that they would allow the Jews to leave Egypt. The term Passover refers to the fact that God passed over (did not enter) the houses of the Jews. That means that he did not harm their sons.
See the story in Exodus 12. Translate this phrase as you did in 2:13 and 12:1. For example:
the Passover celebration (NLT)
the Death did not Harm Us Festival
the Rescue Feast
and Jesus knew that His hour had come
Jesus knew that it was his time
Jesus was aware that this/now was the time for him
and Jesus knew that His hour had come: Jesus knew that it was now the time he had been waiting for. It was the time for him to die for his people, as he had come into the world to do. See the notes on 2:4b. It may not be natural to translate the verb come literally. For example:
Jesus knew that it was time for him (NCV)
Jesus understood that this was the time for him
knew: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as knew is more literally “having known,” meaning that Jesus already knew. He did not just realize that his hour had come (see 12:23, 27). If your readers wrongly understand that Jesus just realized this, you may need to make it clear that he knew before. For example:
already knew
His hour had come: This clause here indicates that the time for Jesus to die had come. The next day, Jesus would be killed. He would not die in the next 60 minutes, as the word hour might imply. So in some languages it may be natural to use a more general word. For example:
his time had come (NET)
to leave this world and return to the Father.
to leave this earth and return to his Father.
to leave this earth and go back to his Father in heaven.
to leave this world: This phrase indicates that Jesus would no longer live on earth with his disciples. Jesus would soon die and return to his Father. The BSB translates the Greek word literally as leave. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
to depart from this world (NRSV)
and return to the Father: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as and return to the Father is more literally “to the Father.” The BSB has supplied the verb return. In some languages it may not be natural or necessary to supply a verb here. For example:
to depart from this world to the Father (NET)
This is where Jesus had been before. So in some languages it may be natural to say:
return to his Father
go back to the Father (GW)
the Father: This phrase refers to God, Jesus’ Father. See the notes on “The Father loves the Son” in 3:35a. In some languages it may be natural to make it clearer whom this phrase refers to. For example:
his Father (NLT)
his Father God
The “hour” mentioned in 13:1b refers to the time when Jesus was to leave the world (13:1c). Make this connection clear in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Jesus knew that his hour had come and that he must leave this world and go the Father (REB)
Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father (NET)
Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. (GW)
Having loved His own who were in the world,
He had always loved those who were his own, his disciples who were with him on earth.
He had always loved his earthly followers.
Having loved His own who were in the world: Jesus had loved his disciples during his ministry and he still loved them. The phrase Having loved implies that Jesus had always loved his own and that he continued to do so. For example:
He had always loved his own who were in the world… (REB)
loved: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as loved here refers both to having a strong affection and to showing love in action. Jesus cared deeply for his disciples and he continued to act for their welfare and blessing.
His own who were in the world: This phrase refers to Jesus’ disciples, those who followed him on earth. They were His own in the sense that God had given them to him, and they loved and obeyed and followed him. Avoid translating this in a way that suggests they belonged to Jesus as his slaves. For example:
his followers in this world (CEV)
He loved them to the very end.
And he still loved them to the end of his life.
And he continued loving them, even until he died.
He loved them to the very end: There are two ways to interpret the phrase to the very end here:
It means to the end of his life. (BSB, GNT, ESV, NJB, REB, NET, GW, CEV, NCV, NJB, NET, NIV2011, NLT2004)
It means “completely,” to the full extent. For example: he now showed them the full extent of his love (NIV84) (NIV84, NLT96)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This is the interpretation followed by the great majority of English translations, and it suits the context well. Jesus understood that he had come to the end of his life on earth. Knowing this, he continued to love and show love to his followers. His death for them showed that.
In the Greek text John 13:1 forms one long sentence. Here is one translation that does the same:
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (ESV)
In many languages it will be natural to break this sentence into two or three shorter sentences. For example:
Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from the world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end. (NET)
It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end. (NCV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ἡ ὥρα
came ˱of˲_him the hour
Here, the word hour is used to refer to the time God had planned for Jesus to be arrested and killed. See how you translated this word in [7:30](../07/30.md). Alternate translation: [the right time to arrest him had come]
Note 2 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples
Πατέρα
Father
Father is an important title for God.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τοὺς ἰδίους τοὺς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πρό Δέ τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ Πάσχα εἰδώς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ἡ ὥρα ἵνα μεταβῇ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου πρός τόν Πατέρα ἀγαπήσας τούς ἰδίους τούς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἰς τέλος ἠγάπησεν αὐτούς)
This phrase refers to Jesus’ disciples. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [his own disciples who were with him in the world]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
εἰς τέλος ἠγάπησεν αὐτούς
to ˓the˒_end ˱he˲_loved them
Here, to the end could mean: (1) to the end of Jesus’ life. If you use this meaning, make sure that you do not translate this phrase in a way that could imply that Jesus did not continue to love them after his death. Alternate translation: [he loved them to the time of his death] (2) utterly or completely. Alternate translation: [he loved them to the uttermost]
OET (OET-LV) And before the feast of_the passover_feast, the Yaʸsous having_known that the hour of_him came, that he_may_depart out_of the this world to the father, having_loved his own who were in the world, he_loved them to the_end.
OET (OET-RV) Even before the actual feast part of the Passover celebrations, Yeshua knew that his time had come—the time when he would leave this world and return to the father. He loved his followers who were in the world right through to the end.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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