YHN 21:20 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) [ref]When Peter turned around he saw that the apprentice that Yeshua loved was following them—the one who’d leaned on Yeshua’s chest during the supper and asked who the one was who would turn Yeshua over.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, magenta:vocative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Having turned around, Peter sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, who indeed leaned back against his chest at the dinner and said, “Lord, who is the one betraying you?”

UST When Peter turned around, he saw John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, walking behind them. John was the one who had leaned close to Jesus during the dinner before Jesus died and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”

BSB Peter turned [and] saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following [them]. [He was the one] who had leaned back [against Jesus][fn] at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?”

BLB Having turned, Peter sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following, the one who also had reclined on His bosom at the supper and said, "Lord, who is it who is betraying You?"

AICNT Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved [following],[fn] the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”

21:20, following: Absent from some manuscripts.

OEB Peter turned round, and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following – the one who at the supper leant back on the Master’s shoulder, and asked him who it was who would betray him.

WEBBE Then Peter, turning around, saw a disciple following. This was the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who had also leaned on Jesus’ chest at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”

WMBB Then Peter, turning around, saw a disciple following. This was the disciple whom Yeshua loved, the one who had also leaned on Yeshua’s chest at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”

NET Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. (This was the disciple who had leaned back against Jesus’ chest at the meal and asked, “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”)

LSV And having turned, Peter sees the disciple whom Jesus was loving following (who also reclined in the dinner on His breast and said, “Lord, who is he who is delivering You up?”)

FBV As Peter turned round, he saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned over to Jesus during the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”

TCNT Then Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them (the one who had leaned back on Jesus' chest at the supper and said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray yoʋ?”)

T4T Peter turned around and saw that I was following them. I was the one who leaned close to Jesus during the Passover meal and said, “Lord, who is going to enable your enemies to seize you?”

LEB ¶ Peter turned and[fn] saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them[fn] (who also leaned back on his chest at the dinner and said, “Lord, who is the one betraying you?”)

21:20 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“turned”) has been translated as a finite verb

21:20 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

BBE Then Peter, turning round, saw the disciple who was dear to Jesus coming after them — the disciple who was resting on his breast at the last meal, and said, Lord, who is it who will be false to you?

Moff Peter turned round and saw that the favourite disciple of Jesus was following, the disciple who had leant on his breast at supper and put the question, “Lord, who is to betray you?”

Wymth Peter turned round and noticed the disciple whom Jesus loved following—the one who at the supper had leaned back on His breast and had asked, "Master, who is it that is betraying you?"

ASV Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who also leaned back on his breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee?

DRA Peter turning about, saw that disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned on his breast at supper, and said: Lord, who is he that shall betray thee?

YLT And Peter having turned about doth see the disciple whom Jesus was loving following, (who also reclined in the supper on his breast, and said, 'Sir, who is he who is delivering thee up?')

Drby Peter, turning round, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned at supper on his breast, and said, Lord, who is it that delivers thee up?

RV Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned back on his breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee?
(Peter, turning about, seeth/sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned back on his breast/chest at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee/you? )

SLT And Peter having turned back, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also reclined in the supper upon his breast, and said, Lord, who is he delivering thee up.

Wbstr Then Peter turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following; (who also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee?)

KJB-1769 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
(Then Peter, turning about, seeth/sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast/chest at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee/you? )

KJB-1611 Then Peter turning about, seeth the Disciple whom Iesus loued, following, which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is hee that betraieth thee?
(Then Peter turning about, seeth/sees the Disciple whom Yesus/Yeshua loved, following, which also leaned on his breast/chest at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betraieth thee/you?)

Bshps Peter turned about, and sawe the disciple, whom Iesus loued, folowyng, which also leaned on his brest at supper, and sayde, Lorde which is he that betrayeth thee?
(Peter turned about, and saw the disciple, whom Yesus/Yeshua loved, following, which also leaned on his breast/chest at supper, and said, Lord which is he that betrayeth thee/you?)

Gnva Then Peter turned about, and sawe the disciple whom JESUS loued, folowing, which had also leaned on his breast at supper, and had saide, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
(Then Peter turned about, and saw the disciple whom YESUS loved, following, which had also leaned on his breast/chest at supper, and had said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee/you? )

Cvdl Peter turned him aboute, and sawe the disciple folowinge, whom Iesus loued, ( which also leaned vpo his brest at the supper, and sayde: LORDE, who is it that betrayeth the)?
(Peter turned him about, and saw the disciple following, whom Yesus/Yeshua loved, ( which also leaned upon his breast/chest at the supper, and said: LORD, who is it that betrayeth the)?)

TNT Peter turned about and sawe that disciple who Iesus loved folowynge: which also lened on his brest at supper and sayde: Lorde which is he that shall betraye the?
(Peter turned about and saw that disciple who Yesus/Yeshua loved following: which also lened on his breast/chest at supper and said: Lord which is he that shall betray the? )

Wycl Petre turnede, and say thilke disciple suynge, whom Jhesus louede, which also restid in the soper on his brest, and he seide to hym, Lord, who is it, that schal bitraie thee?
(Petre turned, and say that disciple suing, whom Yhesus loved, which also restid in the supper on his breast/chest, and he said to him, Lord, who is it, that shall bitraie thee/you?)

Luth Petrus aber wandte sich um und sah den Jünger folgen welchen JEsus liebhatte, der auch an seiner Brust am Abendessen gelegen war und gesagt hatte: HErr, wer ist‘s, der dich verrät?
(Peter but turned itself/yourself/themselves around/by/for and saw the disciple follow/obey which_(ones) Yesus loved, the/of_the also at/to his Brust in/at/on_the evening/nightessen located/situated what/which and said had: LORD, who it_is, the/of_the you/yourself reveals?)

ClVg Conversus Petrus vidit illum discipulum, quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem, qui et recubuit in cœna super pectus ejus, et dixit: Domine, quis est qui tradet te?[fn]
(Conversus Peter he_saw him disciple, which diligebat Yesus, sequentem, who/which and he_lay_down in/into/on dinner over chest his, and he/she_said: Master, who/any it_is who/which will_deliver you(sg)? )

21.20 Quem diligebat Jesus. Diligebat et alios, sed familiarius istum donavit potiore dulcedine sui amoris, quia virgo electus ab ipso virgo permansit, unde et matrem ei commendavit. AUG. Tacito nomine discernitur Joannes a cæteris, etc., usque ad qui virgo est Joannes convenit futuræ vitæ, ubi neque nubent neque nubentur. Super pectus. In pectore Jesu sunt omnes thesauri sapientiæ et scientiæ absconditi, super quod recubuit quem majori cæteris sapientiæ et scientiæ singularis munere donat, in quo figurabatur quanta arcana divinitate præ cæteris esset scripturus.

21.20 Which diligebat Yesus. Diligebat and others, but familiarius that donated potiore sweetness self of_love, because virgin elected away himself virgin permansit, from_where/who and mother to_him commendavit. AUG. Tacito by_name distinguishesur Yoannes from the_rests, etc., until to who/which virgin it_is Yoannes agreed future of_life, where nor cloudnt nor cloudntur. Above/Over chest. In pectore Yesu are everyone thesauri of_wisdom and of_knowledge hidden, over that he_lay_down which older the_rests of_wisdom and of_knowledge unique/peculiar gift donat, in/into/on where figure/formbatur how_much secrets divinity before the_rests was scripturus.

UGNT 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?
(epistrafeis, ho Petros blepei ton mathaʸtaʸn hon aʸgapa ho Yaʸsous akolouthounta, hos kai anepesen en tōi deipnōi epi to staʸthos autou kai eipen, Kurie, tis estin, ho paradidous se?)

SBL-GNT ⸀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;
(⸀Epistrafeis ho Petros blepei ton mathaʸtaʸn hon aʸgapa ho Yaʸsous akolouthounta, hos kai anepesen en tōi deipnōi epi to staʸthos autou kai eipen; Kurie, tis estin ho paradidous se;)

RP-GNT Ἐπιστραφεὶς δὲ 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;
(Epistrafeis de ho Petros blepei ton mathaʸtaʸn hon aʸgapa ho Yaʸsous akolouthounta, hos kai anepesen en tōi deipnōi epi to staʸthos autou kai eipen, Kurie, tis estin ho paradidous se;)

TC-GNT Ἐπιστραφεὶς [fn]δὲ ὁ Πέτρος βλέπει τὸν μαθητὴν ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀκολουθοῦντα, ὃς καὶ ἀνέπεσεν ἐν τῷ δείπνῳ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπε, Κύριε, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδιδούς σε;
(Epistrafeis de ho Petros blepei ton mathaʸtaʸn hon aʸgapa ho Yaʸsous akolouthounta, hos kai anepesen en tōi deipnōi epi to staʸthos autou kai eipe, Kurie, tis estin ho paradidous se; )

21:20 δε ¦ — CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 21:20–25: Peter asked about the disciple that Jesus loved

Peter wanted to know what would happen to another of the disciples, the one that Jesus loved. However, Jesus told him that he did not have the right to know. The author then said that he was the disciple that Jesus loved. The Gospel closes with the statement that Jesus did too many miracles to record them all in this book.

Here are other possible section headings:

Peter and Jesus talked about the disciple whom Jesus loved

Peter did not need to know about what would happen to the disciple that Jesus loved

Jesus did not answer Peter about the disciple whom he loved

Paragraph 21:20–23

Peter asked Jesus what would happen to the disciple whom Jesus loved. Jesus did not answer Peter’s question, but just encouraged Peter to follow him.

21:20a

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them.

¶ Peter looked behind him and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.
¶ Peter turned and saw that the disciple who was dear to Jesus was following them.

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them: While he was walking and talking with Jesus, Peter looked behind him. He saw that another disciple was walking behind them. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved. That disciple was following them. (GW)

Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved. (NLT)

Then Peter turned round and noticed the disciple whom Jesus loved following behind them. (JBP)

the disciple whom Jesus loved: This phrase means “Jesus’ dear friend” and probably refers to the disciple John, the author of this Gospel. See how you translated this idea in 21:7, 13:23, 19:26, and 20:2. For example:

the disciple who was dear to Jesus

Jesus’ good friend

the disciple who knew that Jesus loved him

following them: This other disciple was walking behind Peter and Jesus. Perhaps he wanted to stay close to Jesus and hear what he said, or perhaps he wanted to talk to Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this phrase;

walking behind them (NCV)

coming after them

21:20b

He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper

He was the one who had leaned toward Jesus during the supper
(This was the disciple who had leaned back on Jesus at the supper

This clause refers back to the story in John 13:22–25, during Jesus’ last supper before his death. Jesus and his 12 disciples were reclining (half-lying) around the table. Each person was lying on their left side, holding their upper bodies up on their left elbow. The disciple whom Jesus loved was at Jesus’ right side. So if the disciple leaned back, he could speak quietly and privately to Jesus.

He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper: There are two ways to interpret this clause:

It refers to the way that this disciple had leaned back during the meal to ask a question. For example:
This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper (NIV) (BSB, NIV, NJB, NASB, REB, NJB, NET, GW, GNT, NLT, NCV)
It refers to the way that this disciple was reclining during the whole meal. For example:
the one who had been reclining at table close to him (ESV) (RSV, NRSV, KJV, ESV, CEV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). In 13:25, the same verb is used to describe the disciple’s action of leaning back to speak to Jesus privately. See the notes there. The author is referring to this same action. It is good to use the same verb that you used in 13:25. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

He/This was the disciple who had leaned over to talk to Jesus during the supper.

the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper (NJB)

at the supper: The Greek word that the BSB translates as supper here refers to the evening meal. The definite article the here indicates that the author is referring to a specific supper. He is referring back to Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, described in chapter 13. In some languages it may be necessary to include a footnote referring the reader back to 13:25. Or you may make it clear in the translation. For example:

while they were eating their last evening meal together

21:20c

to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?”

and asked him, “Lord, who are you talking about? Who will betray you^(sing)?”
to ask him which disciple would betray him.)

to ask: Although the Greek says literally “and he said,” this phrase introduces a question in direct speech. In some languages it is more natural to use a verb meaning “asked,” like in the BSB.

Lord: This word is a title of respect meaning “master, one with authority.” See how you translated this word in 13:25 and 21:17.

who is going to betray You?: At the last supper, Jesus had just said someone would betray him. Then John asked privately who that was. This is not the exact words of the original question as recorded in 13:25, but the meaning is the same. Here are other ways to translate this question:

who will betray you?

which of us^(excl) will betray you?

who will turn against you? (NCV)

In some languages it may be more natural to translate this question as indirect speech. For example:

and asked Jesus who would betray him

and asked Jesus who would help his enemies arrest/capture him

betray: The Greek word that the BSB translates as betray often means to give someone to the authorities to arrest. Here it refers to doing that to someone to whom you owe loyalty. Judas helped Jesus’ enemies by identifying him for the soldiers to arrest. See how you translated this idea in 13:21.

You: This pronoun is singular and refers to Jesus.

General Comment on 21:20b–c

John 21:20b–c gives parenthetical background information. Some translations indicate that it is not part of the main story by putting this information in parentheses. For example:

(This was the disciple who had leaned back against Jesus’ chest at the meal and asked, “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”) (NET)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / pastforfuture

βλέπει

˓is˒_seeing

Here John uses the present tense in past narration in order to call attention to a development in the story.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὸν μαθητὴν ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐπιστραφείς ὁ Πέτρος βλέπει τόν μαθητήν ὅν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀκολουθοῦντα ὅς καί ἀνέπεσεν ἐν τῷ δείπνῳ ἐπί τό στῆθος αὐτοῦ καί εἶπεν Κύριε τίς ἐστίν ὁ παραδιδούς σέ)

This phrase refers to the apostle John, who wrote this Gospel. See the discussion of this phrase in Part 1 of the Introduction to the Gospel of John and the General Notes for this chapter. See also how you translated similar phrases in [13:23](../13/23.md), [18:15](../18/15.md), [20:2](../20/02.md), and [21:7](../21/07.md).

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

ἀκολουθοῦντα

following

If your language marks the dual form, then the pronoun them here would be in the dual form.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐν τῷ δείπνῳ

at the supper

John here refers to the dinner Jesus had with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [at the last dinner they had together before Jesus died]

Κύριε, τίς ἐστιν, ὁ παραδιδούς σε

Lord who (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐπιστραφείς ὁ Πέτρος βλέπει τόν μαθητήν ὅν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀκολουθοῦντα ὅς καί ἀνέπεσεν ἐν τῷ δείπνῳ ἐπί τό στῆθος αὐτοῦ καί εἶπεν Κύριε τίς ἐστίν ὁ παραδιδούς σέ)