John 13:4-9

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 13:4 tn Grk “and removed”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
2. John 13:4 tn The plural τὰ ἱμάτια (ta himatia) is probably a reference to more than one garment (cf. John 19:23-24). If so, this would indicate that Jesus stripped to a loincloth, like a slave. The translation “outer clothes” is used to indicate that Jesus was not completely naked, since complete nudity would have been extremely offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context.
3. John 13:4 tn Grk “taking a towel he girded himself.” Jesus would have wrapped the towel (λέντιον, lention) around his waist (διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν, diezōsen heauton) for use in wiping the disciples’ feet. The term λέντιον is a Latin loanword (linteum) which is also found in the rabbinic literature (see BDAG 592 s.v.). It would have been a long piece of linen cloth, long enough for Jesus to have wrapped it about his waist and still used the free end to wipe the disciples’ feet.
4. John 13:5 tn Grk “with the towel with which he was girded.”
5. John 13:6 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) is specified in the translation for clarity.
6. John 13:6 tn Grk “do you wash” or “are you washing.”
7. John 13:7 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
8. John 13:7 tn Grk “You do not know.”
9. John 13:7 tn Grk “you will know.”
10. John 13:8 tn Grk “You will never wash my feet forever.” The negation is emphatic in Greek but somewhat awkward in English. Emphasis is conveyed in the translation by the use of an exclamation point.
11. John 13:8 tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”
12. John 13:8 tn Or “you have no part in me.”
13. John 13:9 tn The word “wash” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Here it is supplied to improve the English style by making Peter’s utterance a complete sentence.