ris3n's Apologetics Codex
John 13.19
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Passage

John 13.19

Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

17. If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them. 18. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me.

19. From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

  1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 21. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (John 13:17-21, ASV)
WEB

17. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18. I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’

19. From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he.

  1. Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.” 21. When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me.” (John 13:17-21, WEB)
KJV

17. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. 18. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

19. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Now: or, From henceforth

  1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 21. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (John 13:17-21, KJV)
YLT

17. if these things ye have known, happy are ye, if ye may do them; 18. not concerning you all do I speak; I have known whom I chose for myself; but that the Writing may be fulfilled: He who is eating the bread with me, did lift up against me his heel.

19. 'From this time I tell you, before its coming to pass, that, when it may come to pass, ye may believe that I am [he];

  1. verily, verily, I say to you, he who is receiving whomsoever I may send, doth receive me; and he who is receiving me, doth receive Him who sent me.' 21. These things having said, Jesus was troubled in the spirit, and did testify, and said, 'Verily, verily, I say to you, that one of you will deliver me up;' (John 13:17-21, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Jesus
  • Audience: the Twelve at supper, with Judas still present (13:26-30)
  • Location: Jerusalem, at the evening meal "before the feast of the passover" (13:1-2)
  • Time period: the night before the crucifixion, c. AD 30 or 33

Theological reading

"From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he." Jesus has just said that one of the Twelve will betray him, applying Psalm 41:9 to Judas: "He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me" (13:18).

Prediction as evidence. Jesus tells them in advance so that the event, when it comes, will strengthen their faith (Strong's G4100, pisteuo) instead of breaking it. He says the same in the next chapter: "now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe" (14:29). Foretold, the betrayal would show that nothing took him by surprise.

"That I am he." The Greek is ego eimi (G1510) with no predicate; English supplies "he." The words can be ordinary speech: the healed blind man uses the same phrase to say "I am he" (9:9). Jehovah's Witnesses read it here in that ordinary sense, as Jesus identifying himself as the one the Scripture he just quoted was about. That reading fits the immediate context and should be stated fairly.

The Isaiah background. The shape of the sentence points further. In Isaiah, God's proof that he alone is God is that he announces events before they happen, and he challenges the idols to do the same: "Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods" (Isaiah 41:23; compare 46:9-10). He calls Israel as witnesses "that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he" (Isaiah 43:10), where the Greek Old Testament has hoti ego eimi. Jesus uses the same pattern: told beforehand, "that ... ye may believe that I am he." John has already recorded the absolute form at 8:24 and 8:28, and at 8:58, where it drew an attempt to stone him. Read against Isaiah, Jesus is doing what Isaiah says only God does: foretelling the future so that, when it arrives, his hearers will believe that he is "he." See Jehovah's Witnesses vs the Christian God and Cumulative Case for the Deity of Christ.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

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.