What Does John 21:16 Mean in the King James?
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.
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
The question about love resolves into a verb of care: Jesus entrusts his sheep to Peter.
THE MEANING
Jesus asks whether he is loved, receives Peter’s answer in the language of affection, and entrusts him with feeding his sheep. Love takes a tangible shape here: tending those who belong to Jesus. The two Greek love verbs give the exchange different shades, but John’s usage does not make them a strict ladder from lesser to greater love.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that imperfectly expressed love disqualifies someone from being entrusted with care.
THE ROOT
ἀγαπᾷς
agapās
GROWS FROM
ἀγαπάω
agapaō
To love, value, or regard with affection.
“lovest” in this verse is agapās. Jesus asks with agapaō, a word for love that John also uses for deep affection. Its presence here does not establish a fixed category of love that is superior to Peter’s answer; the exchange holds two related words together.
ALSO GROWS
agapē: Love or affection
ἀγάπη
The related noun makes visible the shared word-family behind Jesus’ question.
agapētos: Beloved
ἀγαπητός
This related word describes one who is loved, carrying the question’s theme from an act of loving to a relationship.
φιλῶ
philō
GROWS FROM
φιλέω
phileō
To love with affection or friendship.
Peter answers with phileō, which carries the shade of affection or friendship. John also uses this verb for the Father’s love of the Son, so Peter’s word does not mean inadequate love; it gives his answer a relational texture without reducing love to a ranked scale.
ALSO GROWS
philos: Friend
φίλος
The related word shows the friendship-colored sense that can accompany Peter’s answer.
philia: Friendship or affection
φιλία
This related noun makes explicit the affectionate bond present in the word-family.
βόσκε
boske
GROWS FROM
βόσκω
boskō
To feed, pasture, or provide grazing.
“Feed” in this verse is boske. The verb makes love practical: the answer to Jesus’ question is an entrusted act of care. The same verb can describe feeding animals in ordinary circumstances, so the sacred weight comes from whose sheep they are and who entrusts them to Peter.
ALSO GROWS
boskō: Feed or pasture
βόσκω
The verb itself keeps the commission concrete: provision and tending.
boskos: Herdsman or one who feeds a flock
βοσκός
This related noun shows the person-shaped branch of the same work of tending.
THE PATTERN
Love becomes visible through the concrete care of those entrusted to it.
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;THE THREAD
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.Feed translates the same Greek verb, boskō, in both verses. The verb itself means practical feeding; in John, the force comes from Jesus entrusting Peter with the sheep that belong to him.
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