Paragraph 15:9–17
Jesus told his disciples that he loved them very much. He encouraged them to love one another as much as the Father loved him and he loved them.
15:9a–b
As…so…: 15:9a–b compares two actions. These words indicate that the way God loved Christ and the way Christ loves his people are the same. Jesus did not say in what ways they are the same. However, it is implied that God’s love is like the love of Christ for his people. They are both great, complete and perfect. Consider how it is natural to compare two actions. For example:
Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. (NET Bible)
-or-
How the Father has loved me, that is how I have also loved you.
In some languages it may be necessary to say explicitly in what way God loved Christ. For example:
Just as the Father has loved me ⌊completely⌋ , so I have loved you in the same way.
In other languages it may be natural to translate “love” as a noun. You may also want to include the way God’s love for Christ is like Christ’s love for his people. For example:
God’s love for me is ⌊great/wonderful⌋ , and my love for you is ⌊great/wonderful⌋ also.
15:9a
As the Father has loved Me: God loves his Son intensely and completely. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:
As the Father has loved me ⌊intensely⌋
In some languages it may be natural to express the idea of love as a noun rather than a verb. God’s love for his Son is intense, complete and perfect. For example:
Like the Father’s love for me
-or-
Just as the Father’s love for me is ⌊perfect⌋
As: This word here refers to the quality of something being the same as the quality of something else.
the Father: This phrase refers to God the Father. In some languages it is more natural to tell whose father it is. For example:
my Father
Me: This pronoun refers to Jesus Christ.
15:9b
so have I loved you: Jesus loved his disciples with the same real and perfect love with which God loved him. Translate this in a way that matches your translation of the previous clause, translating loved as either a verb or a noun. For example:
in the same way I have loved you
-or-
my love for you is like that, ⌊perfect⌋ , too
you: In the Greek the word you is plural and refers to Jesus’ disciples. The Greek text emphasizes this word.
General Comment on 15:9a,b
In some languages it is more natural to translate 15:9b before 15:9a. For example:
9b I love you 9a just as the Father loves me; (Good News Translation)
-or-
9b I have loved you 9a the same way the Father has loved me. (God’s Word)
-or-
9b I have loved you, 9a just as my Father has loved me. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
9b My love for you, 9a is like my Father’s love for me. (Yakan Back Translation)
15:9c
Remain in My love: This is a plural command. Jesus commanded his followers to always live or remain in his love. He wanted them to always remember his love for them and to live in the power of that love. For example:
continue living in my love
-or-
Always be aware of my love ⌊for you⌋ .
-or-
Continue to enjoy my love for you.
In some languages it may be necessary to translate love as a verb. For example:
Always know/remember that I love ⌊you⌋ .
© 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.