Kejadian 19:2

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night ¹  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ²  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ³ 

Kejadian 24:32

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ⁴  went to the house and unloaded ⁵  the camels. Straw and feed were given ⁶  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ⁷ 

Kejadian 43:24

43:24 The servant in charge ⁸  brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys.

Kejadian 43:1

The Second Journey to Egypt

43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. ⁹ 

1 Samuel 25:41

25:41 She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, “Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash ¹⁰  the feet of the servants of my lord.”

Lukas 7:44

7:44 Then, ¹¹  turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, ¹²  but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

Yohanes 13:5-15

13:5 He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself. ¹³ 

13:6 Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter ¹⁴  said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash ¹⁵  my feet?” 13:7 Jesus replied, ¹⁶  “You do not understand ¹⁷  what I am doing now, but you will understand ¹⁸  after these things.” 13:8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” ¹⁹  Jesus replied, ²⁰  “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” ²¹  13:9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, wash ²²  not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” 13:10 Jesus replied, ²³  “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, ²⁴  but is completely ²⁵  clean. ²⁶  And you disciples ²⁷  are clean, but not every one of you.” 13:11 (For Jesus ²⁸  knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is ²⁹  clean.”) ³⁰ 

13:12 So when Jesus ³¹  had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table ³²  again and said to them, “Do you understand ³³  what I have done for you? 13:13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, ³⁴  for that is what I am. ³⁵  13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. 13:15 For I have given you an example ³⁶  – you should do just as I have done for you.

Yohanes 13:1

Washing the Disciples’ Feet

13:1 Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time ³⁷  had come to depart ³⁸  from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end. ³⁹ 

Titus 1:10

1:10 For there are many ⁴⁰  rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, ⁴¹ 

[19:2]  ¹ tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

[19:2]  ² tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

[19:2]  ³ sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

[24:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:32]  ⁵ tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).

[24:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.

[24:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”

[43:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “the man.”

[43:1]  ⁹ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.

[25:41]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Here is your maidservant, for a lowly servant to wash.”

[7:44]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:44]  ¹² sn It is discussed whether these acts in vv. 44-46 were required by the host. Most think they were not, but this makes the woman’s acts of respect all the more amazing.

[13:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “with the towel with which he was girded.”

[13:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “do you wash” or “are you washing.”

[13:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[13:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “You do not know.”

[13:7]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “you will know.”

[13:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “You will never wash my feet forever.” The negation is emphatic in Greek but somewhat awkward in English. Emphasis is conveyed in the translation by the use of an exclamation point.

[13:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[13:8]  ²¹ tn Or “you have no part in me.”

[13:9]  ²² tn The word “wash” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Here it is supplied to improve the English style by making Peter’s utterance a complete sentence.

[13:10]  ²³ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[13:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “has no need except to wash his feet.”

[13:10]  ²⁵ tn Or “entirely.”

[13:10]  ²⁶ sn The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet. A common understanding is that the “bath” Jesus referred to is the initial cleansing from sin, which necessitates only “lesser, partial” cleansings from sins after conversion. This makes a fine illustration from a homiletic standpoint, but is it the meaning of the passage? This seems highly doubtful. Jesus stated that the disciples were completely clean except for Judas (vv. 10b, 11). What they needed was to have their feet washed by Jesus. In the broader context of the Fourth Gospel, the significance of the foot-washing seems to point not just to an example of humble service (as most understand it), but something more – Jesus’ self-sacrificial death on the cross. If this is correct, then the foot-washing which they needed to undergo represented their acceptance of this act of self-sacrifice on the part of their master. This makes Peter’s initial abhorrence of the act of humiliation by his master all the more significant in context; it also explains Jesus’ seemingly harsh reply to Peter (above, v. 8; compare Matt 16:21-23 where Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”).

[13:10]  ²⁷ tn The word “disciples” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb. Peter is not the only one Jesus is addressing here.

[13:11]  ²⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Not all of you are.”

[13:11]  ³⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[13:12]  ³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:12]  ³² tn Grk “he reclined at the table.” The phrase reflects the normal 1st century Near Eastern practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.

[13:12]  ³³ tn Grk “Do you know.”

[13:13]  ³⁴ tn Or “rightly.”

[13:13]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and I am these things.”

[13:15]  ³⁶ sn I have given you an example. Jesus tells his disciples after he has finished washing their feet that what he has done is to set an example for them. In the previous verse he told them they were to wash one another’s feet. What is the point of the example? If it is simply an act of humble service, as most interpret the significance, then Jesus is really telling his disciples to serve one another in humility rather than seeking preeminence over one another. If, however, the example is one of self-sacrifice up to the point of death, then Jesus is telling them to lay down their lives for one another (cf. 15:13).

[13:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “his hour.”

[13:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “that he should depart.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause in Koine Greek frequently encroached on the simple infinitive (for the sake of greater clarity).

[13:1]  ³⁹ tn Or “he now loved them completely,” or “he now loved them to the uttermost” (see John 19:30). All of John 13:1 is a single sentence in Greek, although in English this would be unacceptably awkward. At the end of the verse the idiom εἰς τέλος (eis telos) was translated literally as “to the end” and the modern equivalents given in the note above, because there is an important lexical link between this passage and John 19:30, τετέλεσται (tetelestai, “It is ended”).

[13:1]  sn The full extent of Jesus’ love for his disciples is not merely seen in his humble service to them in washing their feet (the most common interpretation of the passage). The full extent of his love for them is demonstrated in his sacrificial death for them on the cross. The footwashing episode which follows then becomes a prophetic act, or acting out beforehand, of his upcoming death on their behalf. The message for the disciples was that they were to love one another not just in humble, self-effacing service, but were to be willing to die for one another. At least one of them got this message eventually, though none understood it at the time (see 1 John 3:16).

[1:10]  ⁴⁰ tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely original. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:10]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).