Passage

John 21.15-17

Book: John · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"13. Jesus cometh, and taketh the bread, and giveth them, and the fish likewise. 14. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after that he was risen from the dead."

"15. So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, 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 a second time, Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Tend my sheep. 17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of John, 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 girdedst 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. Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me." (John 21:13-19, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"13. Then Jesus came and took the bread, gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 14. This is now the third time that Jesus was revealed to his disciples, after he had risen from the dead."

"15. So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16. He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17. He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep."

"18. Most certainly I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself, and walked where you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you, and carry you where you don’t want to go.” 19. Now he said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”" (John 21:13-19, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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 girdedst 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." (John 21:13-19, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"13. Jesus, therefore, doth come and take the bread and give to them, and the fish in like manner; 14. this [is] now a third time Jesus was manifested to his disciples, having been raised from the dead."

"15. When, therefore, they dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, 'Simon, [son] of Jonas, dost thou love me more than these?' he saith to him, 'Yes, Lord; thou hast known that I dearly love thee;' he saith to him, 'Feed my lambs.' 16. He saith to him again, a second time, 'Simon, [son] of Jonas, dost thou love me?' he saith to him, 'Yes, Lord; thou hast known that I dearly love thee;' he saith to him, 'Tend my sheep.' 17. He saith to him the third time, 'Simon, [son] of Jonas, dost thou dearly love me?' Peter was grieved that he said to him the third time, 'Dost thou dearly love me?' and he said to him, 'Lord, thou hast known all things; thou dost know that I dearly love thee.' Jesus saith to him, 'Feed my sheep;"

"18. verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast younger, thou wast girding thyself and wast walking whither thou didst will, but when thou mayest be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another will gird thee, and shall carry [thee] whither thou dost not will;' 19. and this he said, signifying by what death he shall glorify God; and having said this, he saith to him, 'Be following me.'" (John 21:13-19, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: the risen Christ
Audience: Peter, with the other disciples present (the post-resurrection breakfast scene; cf. Jn 21:1-14)
Location: the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee)
Time period: post-resurrection appearance, c. AD 30/33

Theological reading

John 21:15-17 is the restoration of Peter, structurally inverse to Peter's three-fold denial (Jn 18:15-27). Christ asks three times; Peter answers three times; Christ commissions three times. The triple-form re-binds Peter to his calling after the triple-failure. The famous verb-shift, Jesus uses agapaō in vv. 15-16 and shifts to phileō in v. 17, while Peter answers phileō throughout, has divided exegetes for centuries. The strict-distinction reading (Trench; many devotional preachers) holds that Jesus asks for covenant-committed agapē and Peter, chastened, can only honestly affirm affectional philia, with Christ condescending to Peter's word on the third question. The stylistic-variation reading (Carson; Morris) holds that the Fourth Gospel routinely varies vocabulary for style (note also the bosko / poimainō and arnion / probaton swaps within these same verses) and the swap may carry no theological freight. Either way, the pericope's central work is restoration, not lexical subtlety: love-of-Christ is named as the qualification for shepherding ("feed My lambs / tend My sheep"), establishing the pastoral office as cruciform-love-driven service to Christ's flock, and v. 18 binds the commission to the martyrdom toward which Peter's restored love will carry him.

Key words

G0025 - agapao, agapaō (to love), Jesus's verb in vv. 15-16; the covenant-committed-love sense
G5368 - phileō (pending), phileō (to love affectionately), Peter's verb throughout, and Jesus's verb in v. 17
G1492 - oida, oida, Peter's "You know (oidas) all things" in v. 17; settled-intuitive knowing
G1097 - ginōskō, Peter's "You know (ginōskeis) that I love You"; the experiential-relational sense

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.