13:34a

A new commandment I give you: This commandment was new in the sense that Jesus was now giving himself as the standard and example of love. He had told them to love before (for example, in the Sermon on the Mount). Here are other ways of translating this clause:

I am giving you a new command. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
A new command I give you (New International Version)
-or-
Here is a new command that I give you.

A new commandment: The Greek text emphasizes this phrase. The word new in this context means new in quality. Jesus has commanded people to love others before. However, here he commands his disciples to love each other just as he loved them.

I give you: To give a command is the same as to command something. Saying it this way emphasizes what Jesus commanded more than his act of commanding. However, in some languages it may be more natural to use a verb form. For example:

I command you something new.

you: This pronoun is plural and refers to all the disciples.

Love one another: This clause gives the content of the commandment. This was what Jesus commanded his disciples to do. For example:

I give you a new commandment—to love one another. (NET Bible)
-or-
I give you a new commandment: love one another. (Revised English Bible)

The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as one another in this context refers to all the disciples loving all of the other disciples. For example:

Love each other. (New Century Version)

13:34b

As I have loved you: This clause tells the standard of how Jesus wanted his disciples to love each other. He wanted them to show the same love for one another that he showed to them. Jesus’ love was humble and made him willing to sacrifice himself on the cross. He wanted them to imitate him, serving and giving their lives for one another as he had done for them. For example:

Following the example of how I have loved you
-or-
in the same way as I have loved you

so you also must love one another: This clause repeats the command that the disciples must love each other. Here, however, the love is described by the previous clause (“Just as I have loved you”). Use the verb phrase that is natural for giving a command in your language.

General Comment on 13:34b

In some languages it is more natural to reverse the order of the clauses in 13:34b. For example:

You must love each other as I have loved you. (New Century Version)

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