Paragraph 14:27–31

Jesus told the disciples that he was giving them true peace. It was now time for him to go the Father. Satan was about to attack, but Jesus would continue to love and obey God his Father.

14:27a

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you: These two clauses are parallel. The meaning is the same, and the idea is repeated for emphasis. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:

I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. (Good News Translation)
-or-

⌊When I leave⌋ I will make your minds peaceful; I will give you my own peace.

Peace: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as Peace has a broad meaning that includes more than just the absence of fighting. It also involves positive mental and emotional welfare, and good relationships with God and others. See how you translated this word in Luke 1:79, Romans 5:1, and Ephesians 1:2 and 6:15.

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

My peace: This phrase refers to peace that comes from Jesus, peace that he creates.

14:27b

I do not give to you as the world gives: There are two ways to interpret this sentence.

(1) It indicates that the way that Jesus gives peace is different from the way that the world gives peace. For example:

I do not give it to you as the world does. (New Century Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, Good News Translation, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, New Century Version)

(2) It indicates that the peace that Jesus gives is different from the peace that the world gives. For example:

It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. (Contemporary English Version)

(New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most English translations. The Greek text does not mention peace in this sentence. It only mentions the act of giving.

Jesus did not say in what way he gave peace and in what way the world gave peace. It is best to let the reader think about this himself.

Here are other ways to translate this sentence:

Not as the world gives do I give to you (English Standard Version)
-or-
I do not give peace in the same way that the world does.

the world: Here this phrase probably refers to the people of the world who do not believe in God or Christ. That is what the phrase meant in 14:17, 19, and 22. But in this verse it could also include the principles or systems here on earth that do not honor God.

14:27c

Do not let your hearts be troubled: The chapter begins with these words. See the note and how you translated them in 14:1.

hearts: The word hearts here refers to the source of people’s thoughts and feelings. Use the term that is natural in your language, as you did in 14:1.

do not be afraid: This clause means “stop being afraid.” Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Do not let your hearts be…lacking in courage (NET Bible)

General Comment on 14:27c

In some languages it may be natural to combine the two clauses in 14:27c into one. For example:

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
So don’t be troubled or cowardly. (God’s Word)

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.