KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
WORDS OF JESUS IN RED
To get what John 21:23 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Greek Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Greek | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Greek word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Greek word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Then” | οὖν | (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordingly | Then |
| “went abroad” | ἐξῆλθεν | To issue (literally or figuratively) | abroad |
| “this” | οὗτος | The he (she or it), i.e., this or that (often with article repeated) | this |
| “saying” | λόγος | Something said (including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (i.e., Christ) | saying |
| “among” | εἰς | To or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases | among |
| “the” | τοὺς | The (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) | the |
| “brethren,” | ἀδελφοὺς | A brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G0001) | brethren |
| “that” | ὅτι | Demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant); causative, because | that |
| “that” | ἐκεῖνος | That one (or (neuter) thing); often intensified by the article prefixed | that |
| “disciple” | μαθητὴς | A learner, i.e., pupil | disciple |
| “should die:” | ἀποθνῄσκει | To die off (literally or figuratively) | should die |
| “not” | οὐκ | The absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not | not |
| “yet” | καὶ | And, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words | yet |
| “Jesus” | Ἰησοῦς | Jesus (i.e., Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites | Jesus |
| “said” | εἶπεν | To speak or say (by word or writing) | said |
| “not” | οὐκ | The absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not | not |
| “unto him,” | αὐτῷ | The reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons | unto him |
| “He shall” | ἀποθνῄσκει· | To die off (literally or figuratively) | He shall |
| “not” | οὐκ | The absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not | not |
| “die;” | ἀποθνῄσκει· | To die off (literally or figuratively) | die |
| “but,” | ἀλλ' | Properly, other things, i.e., (adverbially) contrariwise (in many relations) | but |
| “If” | Ἐὰν | A conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty | If |
| “I will that” | θέλω | To determine (as an active option from subjective impulse; whereas G1014 properly denotes rather a passive acquiescence in objective considerations), i.e., choose or prefer (literally or figuratively); by implication, to wish, i.e., be inclined to (sometimes adverbially, gladly); impersonally for the future tense, to be about to; by Hebraism, to delight in | I will that |
| “he” | αὐτὸν | The reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons | he |
| “tarry” | μένειν | To stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy) | tarry |
| “till” | ἕως | A conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance, until (of time and place) | till |
| “I come,” | ἔρχομαι | To come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively) | come |
| “what” | τί | An interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions) | what |
| “is that” | (No Greek definition. English implied.) | ||
| “to” | πρὸς | A preposition of direction; forward to, i.e., toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e., pertaining to; with the dative case, by the side of, i.e., near to; usually with the accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, i.e., whither or for which it is predicated) | to |
| “thee?” | σέ | Thee | thee |
See John 21:23 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.