After eating with the risen Jesus after fishing.
John 21:16 Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? ...Feed my sheep.
John 21:16 Simon son of John, do you love me? Take care of my sheep.”
Simon of Jonah, do you care for me? Guide these sheep of mine.
Jesus uses the Greek word that means "love" in the sense of caring for. In the last verse, Jesus asked if his caring was more than others. In this verse, he doesn't ask as much. Peter replies using the word that means "like" or "enjoy. So, Peter is not exactly agreeing with Jesus in his answer.
The word for "feed/take care of" is different than the previous verse. It means caring for animals generally, including guiding them.
The lambs in the previous verse grow up to become sheep in this one.
Following like sheep is seen as a negative today, but our problem is that we have had generations of bad leaders.
Simon, son(IW) of Jonas, lovest(CW) thou?...Feed(CW) my (MW) sheep.
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "son" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word - This is one of two different verbs with different meanings translated as "love" so the translation confuses them.
- CW --Confusing Word -- This "feed" is not the same Greek word translated earlier in the previous verse as "feed."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/these" before "sheep" is not shown in the English translation.
Simon son(IW) of John, do you love(CW) me? Take care of my (MW) sheep.”
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "son" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word - This is one of two different verbs with different meanings translated as "love" so the translation confuses them.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/these" before "sheep" is not shown in the English translation.
Simon, - "Simon" is assumed to be a Hebrew name. Strangely enough, the word also has a meaning in Greek, it is a verb that means "turning up a nose" and this form could also be the noun, "flat nose" or adjective, "snub-nosed." It also means, interestingly, "a confederate in evil." The name only appears in the New Testament, where twelve different people have this name. This is interesting given that everyone there would recognized the word's Greek meaning. There is also something very entertaining about a man named "Flat-nose" being renamed "Rocky."
son -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.
of -- This word "of" comes from the possessive form (genitive case) of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
Jonas, -"Jonas" is from the Greek spelling of the proper name "Jonah."
lovest -- (CW) The word translated as "love" expresses a lot of different ideas including "to care for," "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," and "to be contented with." Jesus however, applies it to relationships where we have a duty to care for others: family, God, etc. Another word, also translated as "love," is used to for relationships of affectionate friendship that are more voluntary. To distinguish this word, translating it as "cares for" seems to work best. See this article on love for more information.
thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
me - "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
...Feed - (CW)"Feed" is an uncommon Greek word, first used by Jesus here that means to "herd", "tend", "act as a shepherd", "tend flock", "guide", and "govern". This is not the "feed" in the previous verse. This translation is inconsistent translating the "feed" here as "feed" in the previous verse.
my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun, "my," "me," and "mine." Usually follows the noun so, "of mine."
missing "the/these" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more.
sheep. "- "Sheep" is Christ's symbol for his followers. The Greek word refers to any domesticated animal and works better if translated simply as "flock" or "herd." The flock follows the shepherd, which is above them. It is also together, a united group.
Simon, - "Simon" is assumed to be a Hebrew name. Strangely enough, the word also has a meaning in Greek, it is a verb that means "turning up a nose" and this form could also be the noun, "flat nose" or adjective, "snub-nosed." It also means, interestingly, "a confederate in evil." The name only appears in the New Testament, where twelve different people have this name. This is interesting given that everyone there would recognized the word's Greek meaning. There is also something very entertaining about a man named "Flat-nose" being renamed "Rocky."
son -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.
of -- This word "of" comes from the possessive form (genitive case) of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
Jonas, -"Jonas" is from the Greek spelling of the proper name "Jonah."
do -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English.
you -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
love -- (CW) The word translated as "love" expresses a lot of different ideas including "to care for," "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," and "to be contented with." Jesus however, applies it to relationships where we have a duty to care for others: family, God, etc. Another word, also translated as "love," is used to for relationships of affectionate friendship that are more voluntary. To distinguish this word, translating it as "cares for" seems to work best. See this article on love for more information.
me - "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
...Take care of- "Take care of" is an uncommon Greek word, first used by Jesus here that means to "herd", "tend", "act as a shepherd", "tend flock", "guide", and "govern".
my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun, "my," "me," and "mine." Usually follows the noun so, "of mine."
missing "the/these" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more.
sheep. "- "Sheep" is Christ's symbol for his followers. The Greek word refers to any domesticated animal and works better if translated simply as "flock" or "herd." The flock follows the shepherd, which is above them. It is also together, a united group.
Σίμων [6 verses](Hebrew Name)The Greek letters for the name Simon. In Greek, it means (noun sg masc nom/voc) "a confederate in evil," (part sg pres act masc nom/voc) "turning up a nose," ( adj pl masc gen) "snub-nosed," and ( noun pl masc gen) "flat-no (proper noun) -
Ἰωάνου, -- [8 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Jonas" is from Ionas, the Greek word for the OT prophet Jonah.
ἀγαπᾷς [32 verses](verb 2nd sg pres ind act) "Love" is agapao, which means "to care for," "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," "to caress," "to prize," "to desire," "to be pleased with," and "to be contended with." This love is more associated with affection in relationships where we are obligated. Jesus uses another word. Jesus uses another word, phileô, which means "to love," "to like," "to be fond of doing," and "to show affection" to express "love" in the sense of like and dislike. He never uses the word eros, which describes romantic, sexual love.
με [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means "me." As the object of a preposition, an accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement.-
... Ποίμαινε [3 verse]( part sg pres act masc acc ) "Feed" is poimainō, which means to "herd", "tend", "act as a shepherd", "tend flock", "guide", and "govern". -
τὰ [821 verses](article spl neut acc) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." --
προβάτιά [26 verses](noun pl neut acc) "Sheep" is probaton, which means any domesticated four-footed animal, "sheep," "cattle," "herds," and "flocks. -
μου. [239 verses](adj sg masc gen) "My" is from mou (emou), which means "me," and "mine." It is in a possessive (genitive) form. As a genitive of a preposition here, it implies movement away from something or a position away from something else.