John 21:18
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.
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.
20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- 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.”
- ASV
- 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.
- DARBY
- Verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire.
- BLB
- Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you were girding yourself and were walking where you were wanting; but when you shall be old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will gird you and will bring [you] where you do not want.”
- ÅB
- Sannelig, sannelig sier jeg deg: Da du var yngre, bandt du selv opp om deg og gikk dit du ville; men når du er blitt gammel, skal du rekke ut dine hender, og en annen skal binde opp om deg og føre deg dit du ikke vil.
- OTB
- Sannelig, sannelig sier jeg deg, da du var yngre, kledde du deg selv og gikk dit du ville; men når du blir gammel, skal du strekke ut hendene dine, og en annen skal kle deg og føre deg dit du ikke vil.»
- B1930
- Sannelig, sannelig sier jeg dig: Da du var yngre, bandt du selv op om dig og gikk dit du vilde; men når du er blitt gammel, skal du rekke ut dine hender, og en annen skal binde op om dig og føre dig dit du ikke vil.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
John 13:36
Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
Read in contextActs 12:3–4
And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
Read in contextActs 21:11
And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Read in context