John 21
King James Version
21 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
20 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?
21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
John 21
Contemporary English Version
Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
21 Jesus later appeared to his disciples along the shore of Lake Tiberias. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, and the brothers James and John,[a] were there, together with two other disciples. 3 (A) Simon Peter said, “I'm going fishing!”
The others said, “We will go with you.” They went out in their boat. But they didn't catch a thing that night.
4 Early the next morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize who he was. 5 Jesus shouted, “Friends, have you caught anything?”
“No!” they answered.
6 (B) So he told them, “Let your net down on the right side of your boat, and you will catch some fish.”
They did, and the net was so full of fish that they could not drag it up into the boat.
7 Jesus' favorite disciple told Peter, “It's the Lord!” When Simon heard it was the Lord, he put on the clothes he had taken off while he was working. Then he jumped into the water. 8 The boat was only about 100 meters from shore. So the other disciples stayed in the boat and dragged in the net full of fish.
9 When the disciples got out of the boat, they saw some bread and a charcoal fire with fish on it. 10 Jesus told his disciples, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” 11 Simon Peter got back into the boat and dragged the net to shore. In it were 153 large fish, but still the net did not rip.
12 Jesus said, “Come and eat!” But none of the disciples dared ask who he was. They knew he was the Lord. 13 Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave some of it to his disciples. He did the same with the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from death.
Jesus and Peter
15 When Jesus and his disciples had finished eating, he asked, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than the others do?”[b]
Simon Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I do!”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus said.
16 Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you!”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus told him.
17 Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus had asked him three times if he loved him. So he told Jesus, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.”
Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you for certain that when you were a young man, you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will hold out your hands. Then others will wrap your belt around you and lead you where you don't want to go.”
19 Jesus said this to tell how Peter would die and bring honor to God. Then he said to Peter, “Follow me!”
Jesus and His Favorite Disciple
20 (C) Peter turned and saw Jesus' favorite disciple following them. He was the same one who had sat next to Jesus at the meal and had asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw this disciple, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “What is it to you, if I want him to live until I return? You must follow me.” 23 So the rumor spread among the other disciples that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say he would not die. He simply said, “What is it to you, if I want him to live until I return?”
24 This disciple is the one who told all of this. He wrote it, and we know he is telling the truth.
25 Jesus did many other things. If they were all written in books, I don't suppose there would be room enough in the whole world for all the books.
John 21
New Life Version
The Risen Christ Talks to His Followers
21 After this, Jesus again showed Himself to His followers at the lake of Tiberias. It happened like this: 2 Simon Peter and Thomas who was called the Twin and Nathanael from the town of Cana in the country of Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two other followers were all together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” The others said, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into a boat. That night they caught no fish.
4 Early in the morning Jesus stood on the shore of the lake. The followers did not know it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They said, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Put your net over the right side of the boat. Then you will catch some fish.” They put out the net. They were not able to pull it in because it was so full of fish.
7 Then the follower whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Peter heard it was the Lord, he put on his fisherman’s coat. (He had taken it off.) Then he jumped into the water. 8 The other followers came in the boat. They were pulling the net with the fish. They were not far from land, only a little way out.
9 When they came to land they saw fish and bread on a fire. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 Simon Peter went out and pulled the net to land. There were 153 big fish. The net was not broken even with so many.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat.” Not one of the followers would ask, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took bread and fish and gave it to them. 14 This was the third time Jesus had shown Himself to His followers after He had risen from the dead.
The Risen Christ Talks to Peter
15 When they were finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” Peter answered Jesus, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 Jesus said to Peter the second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He answered Jesus, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Take care of My sheep.”
17 Jesus said to Peter the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter felt bad because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He answered Jesus, “Lord, You know everything. You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 For sure, I tell you, when you were young, you put on your belt and went wherever you wanted to go. When you get old, you will put out your hands and someone else will put on your belt and take you away where you do not want to go.” 19 He said this to tell Peter what kind of death he would die to honor God. After Jesus said this, He said to Peter, “Follow Me.”
20 Peter turned around. He saw the follower whom Jesus loved, following. This one had been beside Jesus at the supper. This is the one who had asked Jesus, “Lord, who will hand You over?” 21 Peter saw him and said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this one?” 22 Jesus said, “If I want this one to wait until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” 23 So the news spread among the followers that this follower would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die. He said, “If I want him to wait until I come, what is that to you?”
John Tells That He Wrote This Book
24 This is the follower who is telling of these things and who has written them. We know that his word is true. 25 There are many other things which Jesus did also. If they were all written down, I do not think the world itself could hold the books that would be written.
John 21
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus Appears to Seven Followers
21 Later, Jesus appeared again to his followers by Lake Galilee.[a] This is how it happened: 2 Some of the followers were together—Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the two sons of Zebedee, and two other followers. 3 Simon Peter said, “I am going out to fish.”
The other followers said, “We will go with you.” So all of them went out and got into the boat. They fished that night but caught nothing.
4 Early the next morning Jesus stood on the shore. But the followers did not know it was Jesus. 5 Then he said to them, “Friends, have you caught any fish?”
They answered, “No.”
6 He said, “Throw your net into the water on the right side of your boat. You will find some fish there.” So they did this. They caught so many fish that they could not pull the net back into the boat.
7 The follower Jesus loved very much said to Peter, “That man is the Lord!” When Peter heard him say it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself. (He had taken his clothes off to work.) Then he jumped into the water. 8 The other followers went to shore in the boat. They pulled the net full of fish. They were not very far from shore, only about 100 yards.[b] 9 When they stepped out of the boat and onto the shore, they saw a fire of hot coals. There were fish on the fire and some bread there too. 10 Then Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish that you caught.”
11 Simon Peter got into the boat and pulled the net to the shore. It was full of big fish—153 of them! But even with that many fish, the net did not tear. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat.” None of the followers would ask him, “Who are you?” They knew he was the Lord. 13 Jesus walked over to get the bread and gave it to them. He also gave them the fish.
14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his followers after he was raised from death.
Jesus Talks to Peter
15 When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other men love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.[c]”
16 Again Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Then Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 A third time Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was sad because Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep. 18 The truth is, when you were young, you tied your own belt and went where you wanted. But when you are old, you will put out your hands, and someone else will tie your belt. They will lead you where you don’t want to go.” 19 (Jesus said this to show how Peter would die to give glory to God.) Then he said to Peter, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw the follower Jesus loved very much walking behind them. (This was the follower who had leaned against Jesus at the supper and said, “Lord, who is it that will hand you over?”) 21 When Peter saw him behind them, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “Maybe I want him to live until I come. That should not matter to you. You follow me!”
23 So a story spread among the followers of Jesus. They were saying that this follower would not die. But Jesus did not say he would not die. He only said, “Maybe I want him to live until I come. That should not matter to you.”
24 That follower is the one who is telling these things. He is the one who has now written them all down. We know that what he says is true.
25 There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I think the whole world would not be big enough for all the books that would be written.
Footnotes
- John 21:1 Lake Galilee Literally, “Lake of Tiberias,” another name for Lake Galilee. See Jn. 6:1.
- John 21:8 100 yards Literally, “200 cubits.”
- John 21:15 lambs Jesus uses this word and the word “sheep” in verses 16 and 17 to mean his followers, as in Jn. 10.
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