John 21:18
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
John 21:18 in other translations
| BSB | Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” |
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| WEB | Most certainly I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” |
| ASV | Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. |
| YLT | verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast younger, thou wast girding thyself and wast walking whither thou didst will, but when thou mayest be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another will gird thee, and shall carry thee whither thou dost not will;' |
| DARBY | Verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire. |
| BBE | Truly I say to you, When you were young, you made yourself ready and went wherever you had a desire to go: but when you are old, you will put out your hands and another will make you ready, and you will be taken where you have no desire to go. |
| Webster | Verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast young, thou didst gird thyself and walk whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldst not. |
What does John 21:18 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 21:18-19
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Barnes' Notes
Thou girdedst. The expression here denotes freedom. He did as he pleased--he girded himself or not--he went or remained, as he chose. Perhaps the expression refers rather to that time than to the previous period of Peter's life. "Thou being young or in the rigour of life, hast just girded thyself and come freely to the shore." In either case the Saviour intimates that at the end of his life he would not be thus free.
When thou shalt be old. Ancient writers say that Peter was put to death about thirty-four years after this. His precise age at that time is not known.
Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands. When Peter was put to death, we are told that he requested that he might be crucified with his head downward, saying that he who had denied his Lord as he had done was not worthy to die as he did. This expression of Christ may intimate the readiness of Peter thus to die. Though he was not at liberty as when he was young, though bound by others, yet he freely stretched out his hands on the cross, and was ready to give up his life.
Another shall gird thee. Another shall bind thee. The limbs of persons crucified were often bound instead of being nailed, and even the body was sometimes girded to the cross, Mt 27:35.
Carry thee, &c. Shall bear thee, or shall compel thee to go to prison and to death, This is not said to intimate that Peter would be unwilling to suffer martyrdom, but it stands opposed to the freedom of his early life. Though willing when compelled to do it, yet he would not seek it; and though he would not needlessly expose himself to it, yet he would not shrink from it when it was the will of God.
(n) "When thou was young" Jn 13:36, Acts 12:3,4 (o) "shall gird thee" Acts 21:11
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 21:15-19
Our Lord addressed Peter by his original name, as if he had forfeited that of Peter through his denying him. He now answered, Thou knowest that I love thee; but without professing to love Jesus more than others. We must not be surprised to have our sincerity called into question, when we ourselves have done that which makes it doubtful. Every remembrance of past sins, even pardoned sins, renews the sorrow of a true…
John 21:18 in the original Greek
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for John 21:18
- John 13:36
Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
- Acts 12:3-4
And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
- Acts 21:11
And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- John 21:17
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
- John 21:18
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
- John 21:19
This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
John 21:18 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | De cierto, de cierto te digo: Cuando eras más mozo, te ceñías, é ibas donde querías; mas cuando ya fueres viejo, extenderás tus manos, y te ceñirá otro, y te llevará á donde no quieras. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | En vérité, en vérité, je te dis: Quand tu étais jeune, tu te ceignais, et tu allais où tu voulais; mais quand tu seras devenu vieux, tu étendras les mains, et un autre te ceindra, et te conduira où tu ne veux pas. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage dir: Als du jünger warst, gürtetest du dich selbst und wandeltest, wohin du wolltest; wenn du aber alt geworden bist, wirst du deine Hände ausstrecken, und ein anderer wird dich gürten und hinbringen, wohin du nicht willst. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Amen, amen dico tibi: cum esses junior, cingebas te, et ambulabas ubi volebas: cum autem senueris, extendes manus tuas, et alius te cinget, et ducet quo tu non vis. |