John 21:2

Context
21:2 Simon Peter, Thomas¹ (called Didymus),² Nathanael³ (who was from Cana⁴ in Galilee), the sons⁵ of Zebedee,⁶ and two other disciples⁷ of his were together.

John 21:20-25

Context

Peter and the Disciple Jesus Loved

21:20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them.⁸ (This was the disciple⁹ who had leaned back against Jesus’¹⁰ chest at the meal and asked,¹¹ “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”)¹² 21:21 So when Peter saw him,¹³ he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 21:22 Jesus replied,¹⁴ “If I want him to live¹⁵ until I come back,¹⁶ what concern is that of yours? You follow me!” 21:23 So the saying circulated¹⁷ among the brothers and sisters¹⁸ that this disciple was not going to die. But Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but rather, “If I want him to live¹⁹ until I come back,²⁰ what concern is that of yours?”

A Final Note

21:24 This is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 21:25 There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down,²¹ I suppose the whole world²² would not have room for the books that would be written.²³

[21:2] ¹tn Grk “and Thomas.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements of a series.

[21:2] ²sn Didymus means “the twin” in Greek.

[21:2] ³tn Grk “and Nathanael.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements of a series.

[21:2] ⁴map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[21:2] ⁵tn Grk “and the sons.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements of a series.

[21:2] ⁶sn The sons of Zebedee were James and John.

[21:2] ⁷sn The two other disciples who are not named may have been Andrew and Philip, who are mentioned together in John 6:7-8 and 12:22.

[21:20] ⁸tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:20] ⁹tn The words “This was the disciple” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity.

[21:20] ¹⁰tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:20] ¹¹tn Grk “and said.”

[21:20] ¹²sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[21:21] ¹³tn Grk “saw this one.”

[21:22] ¹⁴tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[21:22] ¹⁵tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

[21:22] ¹⁶tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.

[21:23] ¹⁷tn Grk “went out.”

[21:23] ¹⁸tn Grk “the brothers,” but here the term refers to more than just the immediate disciples of Jesus (as it does in 20:17). Here, as R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 2:1110), it refers to Christians of the Johannine community (which would include both men and women).

[21:23] ¹⁹tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

[21:23] ²⁰tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.

[21:25] ²¹tn Grk “written”; the word “down” is supplied in keeping with contemporary English idiom.

[21:25] ²²tn Grk “the world itself.”

[21:25] ²³tc Although the majority of mss (C² Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï lat) conclude this Gospel with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”), such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, excellent and early witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B C*^,3 D W 1 33 pc it), lack the particle, rendering no doubt as to how this Gospel originally ended.