John 13:4

13:4 he got up from the meal, removed ¹  his outer clothes, ²  took a towel and tied it around himself. ³ 

John 13:26

13:26 Jesus replied, ⁴  “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread ⁵  after I have dipped it in the dish.” ⁶  Then he dipped the piece of bread in the dish ⁷  and gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son.

[13:4]  ¹ tn Grk “and removed”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[13:4]  ² tn The plural τὰ ἱμάτια (ta Jimatia) 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.

[13:4]  ³ tn Grk “taking a towel he girded himself.” Jesus would have wrapped the towel (λέντιον, lention) around his waist (διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν, diezwsen Jeauton) 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.

[13:26]  ⁴ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[13:26]  ⁵ sn The piece of bread was a broken-off piece of bread (not merely a crumb).

[13:26]  ⁶ tn Grk “after I have dipped it.” The words “in the dish” are not in the Greek text, but the presence of a bowl or dish is implied.

[13:26]  ⁷ tn The words “in the dish” are not in the Greek text, but the presence of a bowl or dish is implied.