13:23

One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side: At formal meals Jewish people reclined (leaned) on couches around the table. They leaned on their left elbow and used their right hand to eat the food. (See the note and picture at 12:2b.) The disciple John was next to Jesus. He was apparently on Jesus’ right side, a place of honor. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
One disciple, the one Jesus loved, was there at the table next to Jesus.
-or-
The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. (New Living Translation (2004))

the one whom Jesus loved: It is usually agreed that this phrase refers to John the author. You should not make this explicit here, but you may want to mention this in a footnote. For example:

The “disciple Jesus loved” was probably John. (New Living Translation (2004) footnote)

The phrase indicates that John knew that Jesus loved him very much. See the notes on loved at 11:5, 36. The phrase does not indicate that the other disciples were not loved, and you should avoid implying this.

was reclining at His side: The word reclining here refers to a half-lying position, leaning on one’s elbow. This was the usual way to eat at special meals. John was next to Jesus with his back to Jesus. This way he could lean back and talk privately to Jesus. See how you translated this same word in 12:2b. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

was sitting next to Jesus (Good News Translation)

at His side: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as at His side indicates that John was close to Jesus, at his side or chest. Because guests leaned on their left elbow, he must have been at Jesus’ right side. The position at the right of the chief guest was honored, and you may want to make this explicit:

to the right of Jesus in a place of honor (NET Bible)

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