13:10a
Jesus told him: Jesus was answering Peter’s request. His answer implied the response “no.” In some languages it may be natural to make Peter’s name explicit and also indicate that Jesus refused his request. For example:
⌊But⌋ Jesus answered Peter
13:10b
Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet: This clause refers to someone who has literally bathed his whole body. It says that he does not need to wash any part of his body again except his feet. If someone bathed and then walked to another house, his feet would get dirty, but nothing else. This clause also has a figurative meaning. It refers to those whom God has made clean from sin. When they sin, they do not have to be saved or completely cleansed again. They just need to be cleansed or forgiven of that new sin.
It is recommended that you translate this verse literally, because it does refer to people who have literally bathed. But translate it in a way that could also be understood to refer to people being cleansed of their sin. And you may need to make the literal meaning clearer. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
After a person has had a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. (New Century Version)
-or-
The person who has bathed, he does not need to bathe his body again because it is still clean. It is only his feet that should be washed.
Whoever has already bathed: This phrase refers to a person who has washed and cleaned his whole body in water. Use the phrase that is natural in your language and culture. For example:
Those who have taken a bath (GNT92)
needs only to wash: This phrase says that a person does not need to wash his whole body if he has already bathed. If just his feet are dirty, a person only needs to wash his feet. The spiritual, figurative meaning is that once Jesus has washed/forgiven someone, that person is forever forgiven. See the General Comment on 13:10b.
his feet: There is a textual issue in this verse. In some Greek manuscripts, this clause includes a Greek phrase that means his feet.
(1) Most Greek manuscripts include the phrase his feet, and most English translations translate this phrase. For example:
and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet (Good News Translation)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, English Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), King James Version, Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, NET Bible)
(2) Other Greek manuscripts do not include this phrase. This is followed by only a few English translations. For example:
Anyone who has bathed needs no further washing; (Revised English Bible)
(Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most English translations. This is the reading of most Greek texts, including some of the oldest and most reliable manuscripts.
General Comment on 13:10b
You will want to avoid indicating that a person who has bathed literally never has to wash again. To do that, it may be necessary to change the way that you translate this clause. Instead of saying “does not need to wash, except for the feet,” you may want to say something like “just needs to wash his feet.” For example:
People who have bathed…need to wash just their feet (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
After a person has had a bath…he needs only to wash his feet. (New Century Version)
13:10c
and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and here connects a negative statement (“does not need to wash”) to a positive statement (“is entirely clean”). This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement. Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis. Here are some ways to show the emphasis:
• Use the conjunction “but” as in the New Revised Standard Version.
The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. (English Standard Version)
• Do not use a conjunction. For example:
Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. (New International Version)
• Change the order of the clauses. For example:
Those who have had a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet. (Good News Translation)
You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.
he will be completely clean: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as completely clean mean “his whole body is clean.” Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
is entirely clean (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
such a person is clean all over (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
their whole body is clean (New International Version)
-or-
all of his body is ⌊already⌋ clean
13:10d
And you are clean: This clause here means “your sins are forgiven.” Jesus has moved away from speaking literally to speaking figuratively. He was not commenting on whether his disciples had bathed. Translate clean using a word that can be understood figuratively.
you are clean: The pronoun you is plural and refers to the disciples. For example:
you disciples are clean (NET Bible)
-or-
you, my disciples, are clean (Contemporary English Version)
though not all of you: This phrase limits the previous clause. When Jesus said “you are clean,” he did not mean all of them. This phrase is a short way of saying “though not all of you are clean.” The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as though introduces the limit and emphasizes it. The implied emphasis is that Judas was not clean, but you should not make this explicit here. For example:
except for one of you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
but not every one of you (NET Bible)
-or-
however not all of you ⌊have a clean heart⌋
General Comment on 13:10
Jesus was giving an illustration of a spiritual truth. He compared receiving forgiveness to taking a bath, becoming clean. This verse can be understood on two levels, literal and figurative:
(a) The literal meaning refers to a person who has bathed, probably earlier that day. He does not need to bathe again. Only his feet need washing.
(b) The figurative meaning refers to a person whose sins Christ has forgiven. He does not need to receive complete forgiveness again but just forgiveness for his daily sins.
You will need to translate the first meaning. But you may want to put the second meaning in a footnote because it explains what Jesus meant in 13:10d.
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