John 21
Modern English Version
The Appearance of Jesus to the Seven Disciples
21 After this, Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed Himself this way: 2 Simon Peter; Thomas, called The Twin; Nathanael of Cana in Galilee; the sons of Zebedee; and two more of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” Then they said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and immediately entered the boat. But that night they caught nothing.
4 When the morning came, Jesus stood on the shore. But the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”
They answered Him, “No.”
6 He said to them, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they threw it, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the abundance of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the little boat, dragging the net full of fish. For they were not far from land, but about three hundred feet away.[a] 9 When they came to land, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish lying on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.” 11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net, full of one hundred and fifty-three large fish, to land. Although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.
Jesus and Peter
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
Peter was grieved because He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Lord, You know everything. You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you desired. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 He said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When He had said this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Jesus and the Beloved Disciple
20 Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who also leaned against His bosom at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray You?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow Me!” 23 The saying went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things. We know that his testimony is true.
25 There are also many other things which Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. Amen.
Footnotes
- John 21:8 About 200 cubits, or 90 meters.
John 21
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jesus’ Third Appearance to the Disciples
21 After this, Jesus revealed(A) Himself again to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.[a](B) He revealed Himself in this way:
2 Simon Peter,(C) Thomas(D) (called “Twin”), Nathanael(E) from Cana of Galilee,(F) Zebedee’s(G) sons, and two others of His disciples were together.
3 “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them.
“We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.(H)
4 When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore. However, the disciples did not know it was Jesus.(I)
5 “Men,”[b] Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?”
“No,” they answered.
6 “Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” He told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did,[c] and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. 7 Therefore the disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”(J)
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer garment around him[d] (for he was stripped) and plunged into the sea. 8 But since they were not far from land (about 100 yards[e](K) away), the other disciples came in the boat,(L) dragging the net full of fish. 9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. 11 So Simon Peter got up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.(M)
12 “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish.
14 This was now the third time[f](N) Jesus appeared[g](O) to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.
Jesus’ Threefold Restoration of Peter
15 When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John,[h] do you love[i] Me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”
“Feed(P) My lambs,”(Q) He told him.
16 A second time He asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love(R) Me?”(S)
“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”
“Shepherd(T) My sheep,”(U) He told him.
17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love(V) Me?”
Peter was grieved(W) that He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know everything!(X) You know that I love You.”
“Feed(Y) My sheep,” Jesus said. 18 “I assure you:(Z) When you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” 19 He said this to signify by what kind of death(AA) he would glorify God.[j](AB) After saying this, He told him, “Follow Me!”(AC)
Correcting a False Report
20 So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved(AD) following them. That disciple was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray You?”(AE) 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord—what about him?”
22 “If I want him to remain until I come,”(AF) Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow Me.”
23 So this report[k] spread to the brothers[l](AG) that this disciple would not die.(AH) Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
Epilogue
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books[m] that would be written.(AI)
Footnotes
- John 21:1 The Sea of Galilee; Sea of Tiberias is used only in John; Jn 6:1,23
- John 21:5 Lit Children
- John 21:6 Lit they cast
- John 21:7 Lit he girded his garment
- John 21:8 Lit about 200 cubits
- John 21:14 The other two are in Jn 20:19-29.
- John 21:14 Lit was revealed (v. 1)
- John 21:15 Other mss read Simon, son of Jonah; Mt 16:17; Jn 1:42
- John 21:15 Two synonyms are translated love in this conversation: agapao, the first 2 times by Jesus (vv. 15-16); and phileo, the last time by Jesus (v. 17) and all 3 times by Peter (vv. 15-17). Peter’s threefold confession of love for Jesus corresponds to his earlier threefold denial of Jesus; Jn 18:15-18,25-27.
- John 21:19 Jesus predicts that Peter would be martyred. Church tradition says that Peter was crucified upside down.
- John 21:23 Lit this word
- John 21:23 The word brothers refers to the late first century Christian community.
- John 21:25 Lit scroll
John 21
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus shows himself to the disciples again
21 After that, Jesus showed himself to the disciples again when they were by Lake Tiberias.[a] This is how it happened. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas the Twin and Nathanael were together. (Nathanael came from Cana in Galilee.) The sons of Zebedee (James and John) and two other disciples were also there. 3 Simon Peter said to the other disciples, ‘I will now go and catch fish.’ They replied, ‘We will come with you.’ So they went out and they got into the boat. But they caught nothing during that night.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus was standing on the shore of the lake. But the disciples did not know that it was Jesus who stood there. 5 Then Jesus asked them, ‘Friends, have you caught any fish?’ They answered, ‘No!’ 6 He said, ‘Throw your net out on the right side of the boat. If you do that, you will catch some fish.’ So they threw the net out into the water. Then they caught so many fish that they could not pull the net back into the boat.
7 The disciple that Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he put on his coat. (He had been wearing only a few clothes.) Then he jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed him in the boat. They pulled the net that was full of fish behind them. They were not far from the shore. It was about 100 metres away. 9 When they came to the shore, they saw that someone had lit a fire. Some fish were cooking on it. There was some bread there, too. 10 Jesus said to them, ‘Bring here some of the fish that you have just caught.’
11 Simon Peter got back into the boat and he pulled the net onto the shore. It was full of 153 big fish. There were so many fish, but the net had not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, ‘Come here and eat breakfast.’ None of the disciples was brave enough to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew that it was the Lord. 13 So Jesus took the bread and he gave it to them. Then he did the same with the fish.
14 After Jesus died and became alive again, this was now the third time that he showed himself to his disciples.
Jesus talks to Peter
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter. He said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other disciples love me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’
16 Jesus asked him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ 17 Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’[b] Peter was sad because Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ So he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know that I really love you!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Take care of my sheep. 18 I tell you this: When you were young, you put on your own clothes. Then you went to any place that you wanted to visit. But when you are old, it will be different. You will hold out your arms and someone else will tie your clothes for you. Then they will take you to a place where you do not want to go.’ 19 When Jesus said this, he was showing how Peter would die.[c] His death would give honour to God. Then Jesus said to Peter, ‘Follow me.’
20 Peter turned round and he saw the disciple that Jesus loved. He was the man who had been very near to Jesus at the supper. He had asked Jesus, ‘Lord, who will sell you to your enemies?’ Now this disciple was following behind them. 21 When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, ‘Lord, what will happen to him?’ 22 Jesus answered him, ‘Perhaps I might want him to live until I return to this earth. But that should not matter to you. You must follow me!’
23 At that time, people began to talk about these words that Jesus had said. Some disciples thought that Jesus meant that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say, ‘He will not die.’ Instead, he said to Peter, ‘Perhaps I might want him to live until I return to this earth. But that should not matter to you.’
24 I am the disciple who saw these things. I am the one who wrote them down. We all know that what I have written about them is true.
25 Jesus also did many other things. If people wrote about all those things, there would be very many books. I do not think that the whole world would have enough room for all those books.
Footnotes
- 21:1 Lake Tiberias is another name for Lake Galilee.
- 21:17 Jesus asked Peter three times, ‘Do you love me?’ Before Jesus died, Peter had said three times that he did not know Jesus. This may be the reason why Jesus asked the question three times.
- 21:19 Jesus was telling Peter that Peter would die on a cross, with his arms on each side. He would die in the same way that Jesus had died.
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