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UTN uW Translation Notes:

John 21 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

1. Jesus eats breakfast with his disciples (21:1–14)2. Jesus restores Peter as his disciple (21:15–19)3. Jesus and Peter speak about John (21:20–23)4. John concludes his Gospel (21:24–25)

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

The metaphor of sheep

Before Jesus died, he spoke of himself taking care of his people as if he were a good shepherd taking care of sheep (10:11). After he became alive again, Jesus commanded Peter to take care of other believers in the same way. (See: figs-metaphor)

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter

“The disciple whom Jesus loved”

The apostle John referred to himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved” twice in this chapter (21:7, 20). Your language may not allow people to speak of themselves as if they were speaking about someone else. If this is the case, then you will need to use a first person pronoun for these references and the other references to John throughout this chapter. You would also need to use first person plural pronouns in this chapter for all references to the disciples as a group, since John was one of them. If your language can retain the third person references, then you may want to make these references to John explicit by adding “John” next to them. See the discussion of this in Part 1 of the General Introduction to the Gospel of John. (See: johntheapostle and figs-123person)

Different words for “love”

In 21:15–17, Jesus and Peter speak to each other using two different words in the original language that could both be translated as “love.” These words are often used interchangeably. However, when they are used together, as in 21:15–17, they can have slightly different meanings. One word can refer to a type of love that is based on affection and friendship, but the other word can refer to a type of love that is based on sincere devotion and high esteem for the person being loved. Although the UST translates both of these words as “love,” the notes will provide more specific alternatives.