Paragraph 21:7–8
The disciples realized that the figure on the shore was Jesus, and they returned to land. Peter jumped into the water and swam to shore ahead of the others.
21:7a
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved: This phrase probably refers to the author John himself. See how you translated this phrase in 13:23 and 19:26. For example:
The disciple who was dear to Jesus
said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”: The clause It is the Lord means “The man talking to us is Jesus.” The loved disciple recognized Jesus by the miracle he did. In some languages it is natural to mark this as something that the disciple concluded when he saw the miracle. For example:
he said to Peter, “That must be the Lord.”
-or-
he said to Peter, “Surely that man is the Lord.”
the Lord: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Lord means “master, one who has authority over others.” It referred to Jesus. See how you translated this phrase in 20:2, 18, 20. In some languages it may be necessary to provide a possessive pronoun here. For example:
⌊our
(incl.)⌋ Lord
21:7b
As soon as Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord: This clause introduces what Simon Peter did as a result of what the loved disciple said. The Greek text includes a word meaning “so” or “therefore” that is not explicit in the Berean Standard Bible. You may want to make it explicit. For example:
So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord…. (NET Bible)
What Simon Peter then did was the result of hearing that the man on the beach was the Lord. In some languages it may not be necessary or natural to repeat what Peter heard. For example:
When Peter heard him say this (New Century Version)
-or-
Hearing this (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
Simon Peter: The Greek text uses Peter’s two names here. However, in some languages that may not be natural after the mention of Peter in 21:7a. You may want to use just one name here. For example:
When Peter heard that it was the Lord
the Lord: See how you translated this phrase in 21:7a. In some languages it may again be necessary to provide a possessive pronoun here. For example:
⌊his⌋ Lord
-or-
⌊their⌋ Lord
21:7c
he put on his outer garment: This clause refers to Peter putting on his outer garment (piece of clothes). It may be that Peter just tied the garment around himself. See 13:4, 5, where Jesus wrapped and tied a towel around his waist and the same verb is used. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
he wrapped his coat around himself (New Century Version)
-or-
Simon Peter tied his outer garment around him (New Jerusalem Bible)
his outer garment: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as outer garment was probably a short fisherman’s coat.
for he had removed it: This clause indicates the reason why Peter put on his outer garment. The word for here means “because.” The reason was that he needed more clothes on before he could greet Jesus in a suitable way. Several English translations put this clause in parentheses to indicate that it is parenthetical information. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
(for he had taken it off) (New International Version)
-or-
because he was not wearing much
he had removed it: The word that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as had removed it is more literally “naked.” There are two ways to interpret the word here based on two senses of the word.
(1) It means that he was wearing few clothes. It was not normal for Jewish men to be completely naked in public. Peter likely had nothing on but a long shirt or something around his waist. For example:
he put back on the clothes that he had taken off (God’s Word)
(Berean Standard Bible, NET Bible, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New American Bible, Revised Edition)
(2) It means that he was not wearing anything. For example:
(for he had nothing on) (New Jerusalem Bible)
(New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, King James Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)
Other translations (English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Revised Standard Version) translate this word in an ambiguous way, saying that he was “stripped for work.” It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most Bible experts.
Here are other ways to translate this clause:
(for he had stripped for work) (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
because he did not have many clothes on
21:7d
and jumped into the sea: This clause implies that Peter decided to swim to Jesus. Probably he thought that that was faster than helping the other disciples drag the net to the shore. In some languages it may be natural to make it explicit that Peter swam after jumping in. For example:
jumped into the water ⌊and swam to the shore⌋
jumped: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as jumped is more literally “threw himself.” The verb indicates that Peter moved quickly and suddenly. For example:
threw himself into the sea (English Standard Version)
-or-
dived into the lake
the sea: This phrase refers to the Lake of Galilee or Tiberias. The word in Greek can mean either “sea” or “lake.” This was a freshwater (not salty) body of water. See whether you referred to a sea or lake in 21:1 and use the same word here and there.
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