After eating with the risen Jesus after fishing.
John 21:15 Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?...Feed my lambs.
John 21:15 Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?...Feed my lambs.
Simon of Jonah, do you care for me more than these people here? Feed these lambs of mine.
Jesus uses the Greek word that means "love" in the sense of caring for. 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" refers to feeding animals and caring for them. The word for "lambs" is only used here and in the following similar verses.
Caring for someone mean taking care of the ones they care for.
Simon, son(IW) of Jonas, lovest(CW) thou me more than these(CW)?...Feed my (MW) lambs.
- 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 -- The "word" doesn't precisely mean "these."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/these" before "lambs" is not shown in the English translation.
Simon, son(IW) of John, do you love(CW) me more than these(CW)?...Feed my (MW) lambs.
- 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 -- The "word" doesn't precisely mean "these."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/these" before "lambs" 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.
more -- The Greek word translated as "more than" is an adjective that means "more" in many different senses of the word. Used as a noun, it means "a majority."
than -- This word "than" 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. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
these? - (CW) The word translated as "these" means "from here" "from there" or "this/that thing/person here/there." As a pronoun by itself, it means "this here" but it can be shortened to just "this." This word doesn't precisely mean "these."
...Feed -- "Feed" is a verb that means to "feed”, "tend”, generally, "feed”, "nourish" of cattle, "feed” and "graze”.
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.
lambs. "Lambs" is froma Greek noun that means "little lamb," "sheepskin," or "fleece."
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.
john, -"John" 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.
more -- The Greek word translated as "more than" is an adjective that means "more" in many different senses of the word. Used as a noun, it means "a majority."
than -- This word "than" 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. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
these? - (CW) The word translated as "these" means "from here" "from there" or "this/that thing/person here/there." As a pronoun by itself, it means "this here" but it can be shortened to just "this." This word doesn't precisely mean "these."
...Feed -- "Feed" is a verb that means to "feed”, "tend”, generally, "feed”, "nourish" of cattle, "feed” and "graze”.
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.
lambs. "Lambs" is froma Greek noun that means "little lamb," "sheepskin," or "fleece."
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.-
πλέον [15 verses](adj sg neut acc comp) "More" is pleion, which means "more [of number, size, extent]," "longer [of time]," "greater than," "further than," (with an article) "the greater number," "the mass or crowd," "the greater part," "the advantage." As an adverb, "more," or "rather." Used as a noun, it means "a majority."
τούτων; [154 verses](adj pl masc/fem/neut gen) "These" is toutos, (touto, toutou)which means "from here," "from there," "this [thing] there," or "that [person] here." In the neuter plural form, it is often used as the object of the verb to means "these things."-
... Βόσκε [4 verses](verb pres inf act ) "Feed" is bosko, which means to "feed”, "tend”, generally, "feed”, "nourish”, of cattle, "feed”, and "graze”, -- "Feed" is a verb that means to "feed”, "tend”, generally, "feed”, "nourish" of cattle, "feed” and "graze”.
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." --
ἀρνία [1 verse](noun pl neut acc) "Lambs" is from arnion, which means "little lamb," "sheepskin," or "fleece."
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.