Paragraph 21:12–14
Jesus served breakfast to his disciples.
21:12a
Come, have breakfast: The Greek verbs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Come and have breakfast are polite commands that are an invitation. They mean “eat breakfast with me.” In some languages it is more polite to use an inclusive first-person plural command. For example:
Let us have-breakfast! (Uma back Translation)
have breakfast: The English word breakfast refers to the first meal of the day, the morning meal. The Greek expression can be used to refer to any meal (as in Luke 11:37). This was early in the morning and the men were eating bread and fish. Use the expression that is natural in your language for eating such a meal. For example:
eat (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
have something to eat
-or-
eat/share a meal
Jesus said to them: If you start a new paragraph here, it may be natural to make explicit whom Jesus spoke to. For example:
Jesus said to the/his disciples
21:12b
The Greek word that begins this clause introduces some information about something that did not happen. It reveals what the disciples were thinking. Many English translations, like the Berean Standard Bible, leave it untranslated. Here is another way to translate this word:
But (NET Bible)
None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?”: This clause implies that the disciples were still not sure who this man really was. Possibly Jesus looked different in some way. They apparently wanted to ask him who he was, but they were afraid or embarrassed to do so. This quotation is direct speech. In some languages it may be more natural to translate their desired question as indirect speech. For example:
Now none of the disciples dared ask him who he was.
dared to ask Him: This phrase means “were brave or bold enough to ask him.” For example:
was bold enough to ask him (New Jerusalem Bible)
ask: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ask here means to carefully examine someone by asking questions. For example:
question (New American Standard Bible)
General Comment on 21:12b
In some languages it may be natural to translate this clause with a positive expression instead of “none of the disciples.” For example:
The disciples were not brave enough to ask him, “Who are you?”
-or-
The disciples were all afraid to ask him to tell them who he was.
21:12c
They knew it was the Lord: This clause tells why the disciples did not ask Jesus who he was. The reason was that they knew who he was, their Lord. Even though they knew that, they still had questions. Maybe Jesus looked different, or maybe it still seemed strange that he had come alive again. However, the text does not explain why they wanted to ask who he was when they already knew. So do not explain it in your translation.
the Lord: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Lord means “the master, the one who has authority over others.” It is the same word that is often used for God. See how you translated this phrase in 21:7. Here are some other ways to translate this word in this context:
Chief
-or-
Chief Jesus
-or-
⌊their⌋ Lord/Master
General Comment on 21:12c
In some languages it may be natural to translate what the disciples knew as direct speech. Then you would indicate their thoughts in the present tense. For example:
because they understood/knew, “It is ⌊our (incl.)⌋ Lord.”
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