13:11a–b

This verse gives the reader parenthetical information that explains what Jesus said in 13:10d. John was the one who added this explanation. Some English translations put this verse in parentheses. Do what is natural in your language to indicate that this is an explanation or parenthetical information.

13:11a

For: The connector For in this context means “⌊Jesus said this⌋ because.”

He knew who would betray Him: Jesus knew which of his disciples would betray him. He knew that it was Judas. But you should not make this explicit here. For example:

Jesus knew the one who was going to betray him (NET Bible)

betray: In this context the word betray means “help his enemies to arrest Jesus.” See how you translated this word in 12:4.

13:11b

That is why: This phrase refers to what was said in 13:11a as the reason for what Jesus said in 13:10d. (What Jesus said is repeated in the following clause). The reason that Jesus said “Not all of you are clean” is that he knew who would betray him. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

for this reason (New Revised Standard Version)

He said, “Not all of you are clean”: This clause quotes what Jesus said in 13:10d. The quotation does not use exactly the same words as 13:10d, but the meaning is the same. Your readers should understand that this refers to what Jesus had just said. For example:

That’s why he said, “All of you, except for one, are clean.” (God’s Word)

General Comment on 13:11b

In some languages it may be natural to refer back to Jesus’ words using an indirect quotation. For example:

and that was why he said not every one was clean (New International Version)

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