What Does John 13:1 Mean in the King James?
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
In “he loved them unto the end,” the end is also love brought to its full measure.
THE MEANING
Jesus knows his hour of departure has arrived, yet his love for those in the world reaches its full measure. The verse holds the reader inside that tension: even when separation stands near, love is not reduced to what can be held in sight.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie undone is that love ends when presence does; here, departure does not cancel love but reveals its full reach.
THE ROOT
τέλος
telos
GROWS FROM
τελ-
tel-
End, goal, or completion, the point something reaches or fulfills.
The phrase reaches to the final point, while τέλος (telos, end or goal) also carries the sense of completion. Later, the same word family names what is finished, opening the possibility that “unto the end” describes love carried to its full measure.
ALSO GROWS
teleō: Finish, accomplish, bring to completion.
τελέω
This word family appears when Jesus says, “It is finished” (John 19:30), linking the end with what has been brought to completion.
teleioō: Complete, bring to its goal or full measure.
τελειόω
The word describes love being perfected in 1 John 4:12, where love reaches its intended fullness.
μεταβῇ
metabē
GROWS FROM
μετά (meta, across) + βαίνω (bainō, go or step)
Pass across; move from one place or state to another.
“depart” in this verse is metabē. The verb presents departure as passage across a boundary, from this world unto the Father. The same verb describes passing from death into life, so the word carries the sense of transition, not merely absence.
ALSO GROWS
metabainō: Pass from one place or state to another.
μεταβαίνω
This is the verb behind “depart”; it frames the movement as crossing from one realm to another.
anabainō: Go up, ascend.
ἀναβαίνω
This related compound uses the same verb for going, with a different prefix giving the movement an upward direction.
THE PATTERN
Love reaches its full measure by remaining present across the boundaries that seem to end it.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.THE THREAD
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.The verb translated “depart” here is the same Greek verb rendered “is passed” in John 5:24. In both verses, it names movement across a boundary: from this world unto the Father, and from death into life.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us