17:21a
that all of them may be one: This clause gives the content of Jesus’ prayer. It tells what Jesus was asking his Father for. Jesus prayed that all who believed in him would be one, meaning that they would live in unity and peace. In some languages it may be natural to start a new sentence here, supplying the verb from 17:20a. For example:
⌊I ask for them⌋ that they might all live in unity
-or-
I pray that they can be one. (New Century Version)
-or-
I want all of them to be one with each other. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I pray that all of these people continue to have unity (God’s Word)
-or-
Father, I beg you for them all so that their thinking will be one (Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
them: This pronoun refers to the disciples and the ones they preached to–it includes all who believe in Christ.
be one: This phrase means “be united” and implies loving one another and living in peace and agreement. See the note on “one” at 17:11f and how you translated the word there. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
be united
-or-
be like-minded
-or-
live together with hearts/minds that agree
17:21b
as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You: These clauses express the unity of God the Father and God the Son. This is the first half of a comparison. See the General Comment on 17:21b–c for a way to rearrange this comparison. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:
just as I am one with you and you are one with me (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Just as I live in you, Father, and you live in me
-or-
Father, in the same way that we(dual) are connected/united together
Father: This word is one that a child would use when speaking to his father. It indicates affection and respect. See the note and how you translated the word in 17:1.
17:21c
May they also be in Us: This clause means “may the believers be united to us.” Jesus prayed that all future believers would be united to him and his Father. For example:
I pray that all the believers may be in unity with us(dual)
Us: This pronoun is dual inclusive and refers to Jesus and God the Father.
General Comment on 17:21b–c
In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of 17:21b–c. For example:
21c May they be in us, 21b just as you are in me and I am in you. (Good News Translation)
-or-
21c I pray that that they may be in unity with each other, 21b the same way we(dual) are in unity with each other.
17:21d
so that the world may believe that You sent Me: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that introduces the purpose that Jesus wanted the believers to be “in us” (united to God the Father and to him). His purpose was that others in the world would believe in him and that he came from God. The loving unity of his followers would show the world that Jesus was truly from God.
the world: This phrase again refers to people in the world who did not yet believe in Christ and the Father. See how you translated this sense of the world in 17:9. For example:
the people of this world (Contemporary English Version)
may believe: This verb means “may begin to believe.” In some languages it is more natural to say that more explicitly. For example:
that those who do not now believe will begin to believe
that You sent Me: This clause indicates what the people of the world would believe. It refers to God sending Jesus to earth as his messenger. and representative. See how you translated the same clause in 17:8.
General Comment on 17:20–21
In the Greek, 17:20–21 forms one long sentence. In some languages it is more natural to divide this sentence into several sentences. For example:
20 I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. 21 I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. (Good News Translation)
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