John / Chapter 17

John 17

26 verses • SBL Greek New Testament

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

John 17 records Jesus's extended prayer to the Father, traditionally called the 'High Priestly Prayer.' It is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the Gospels. The prayer moves in three concentric circles: Jesus prays for himself and the completion of his mission (vv. 1-5), for his immediate disciples (vv. 6-19), and for all future believers (vv. 20-26). The dominant themes are glory, unity, protection, sanctification, and the revelation of the Father's name.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This prayer is unique in the Gospel tradition — nowhere else do we hear Jesus pray at such length and with such theological depth. The opening petition 'Glorify your Son' (v. 1) reverses normal prayer convention where the petitioner glorifies God; here the Son asks the Father to glorify him, revealing the mutual glorification within the Godhead. The prayer's Christology is extraordinarily high: Jesus speaks of glory shared with the Father 'before the world existed' (v. 5), implying pre-existence. The unity prayer (vv. 21-23) grounds human unity in the divine unity of Father and Son — 'that they may be one, just as we are one.'

Translation Friction

The phrase 'eternal life is that they know you' (v. 3) redefines eternal life as relational knowledge rather than temporal duration. We render this without theological commentary. The 'son of destruction' (v. 12) is widely understood as referring to Judas, but the phrase itself (ho huios tees apoleias) is a Semitic idiom meaning 'one destined for destruction.' The prayer's placement before the arrest creates a literary tension — Jesus prays with serene authority while betrayal approaches.

Connections

The prayer connects to the Prologue (1:1-18) through its themes of glory, pre-existence, and the Father-Son relationship. The sanctification language (vv. 17-19) echoes the consecration of priests in Exodus 28-29. The unity theme anticipates the early church's struggle and hope (Acts 4:32, Ephesians 4:1-6). The 'I am not of the world' language (vv. 14-16) develops the farewell discourse's world/disciple contrast (15:18-19, 16:33).

John 17:1

Ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶπεν· πάτερ, ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα· δόξασόν σου τὸν υἱόν, ἵνα ὁ υἱὸς δοξάσῃ σέ,

After Jesus had spoken these things, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you,

KJV These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

δόξα / δοξάζω doxa / doxazō

"glory / glorify" — glory, honor, splendor, radiance, weight, reputation; to glorify, honor, magnify

The Greek doxa translates the Hebrew kavod ('weight, substance, significance'). In John, the cross is itself the moment of glorification — not a detour from glory but its supreme expression. Jesus's death reveals the Father's character more fully than any other act.

Translator Notes

The gesture of lifting eyes to heaven (eparas tous ophthalmous eis ton ouranon) is a traditional Jewish prayer posture (cf. Psalm 123:1). The perfect tense eleelyhen ('has come') marks the arrival of the 'hour' that has been anticipated throughout the Gospel (2:4, 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 13:1). The mutual glorification — Son glorifies Father, Father glorifies Son — reveals a reciprocal dynamic within the Godhead.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Psalm 123:1. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

John 17:2

καθὼς ἔδωκας αὐτῷ ἐξουσίαν πάσης σαρκός, ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκας αὐτῷ δώσῃ αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

As you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as numerous as you have given him.

KJV As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase exousian pasees sarkos ('authority over all flesh') is a Semitic expression meaning authority over all humanity. The neuter singular pan ho ('everything that') is collective, referring to believers as a unified whole, while the plural autois ('to them') sees them as individuals. The Father gives people to the Son; the Son gives them eternal life — a chain of divine giving.

John 17:3

αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή, ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν.

And this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

KJV And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

ζωὴ αἰώνιος zōē aiōnios

"eternal life" — life of the age to come, everlasting life, divine quality of life

In John, eternal life is not primarily about duration but about quality — it is the life of the age to come, experienced now through knowing God. The Hebrew olam behind aiōnios means 'beyond the visible horizon' rather than strictly 'infinite.'

Translator Notes

This verse redefines eternal life (aiōnios zōē) not as endless duration but as relational knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. The verb ginōskōsin (present subjunctive of ginōskō) indicates ongoing, deepening knowledge — not a one-time acquisition but a continual knowing. The phrase ton monon aleethinon theon ('the only true God') echoes the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) and the first commandment. The juxtaposition of knowing the Father and knowing Jesus Christ places Jesus alongside God as the co-object of saving knowledge.
[TCR Cross-Reference] References Deuteronomy 6:4 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

John 17:4

ἐγώ σε ἐδόξασα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὸ ἔργον τελειώσας ὃ δέδωκάς μοι ἵνα ποιήσω·

I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

KJV I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The aorist edoxasa ('I glorified') and the participle teleiōsas ('having completed') speak of Jesus's earthly mission as already finished — a proleptic perspective that views the cross as accomplished even before it occurs. The word teleiōsas shares its root with tetelestai ('It is finished,' 19:30), creating a verbal link between this prayer and the cross.

John 17:5

καὶ νῦν δόξασόν με σύ, πάτερ, παρὰ σεαυτῷ τῇ δόξῃ ᾗ εἶχον πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι παρὰ σοί.

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed.

KJV And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

This is one of the strongest pre-existence claims in the New Testament. Jesus asks to be restored to the glory (tee doxee) he shared with the Father pro tou ton kosmon einai ('before the world existed'). The phrase para seautō ('in your own presence, at your own side') echoes the Prologue's pros ton theon ('with God,' 1:1). The prayer assumes that the incarnation involved a voluntary setting aside of divine glory, which is now to be resumed.

John 17:6

Ἐφανέρωσά σου τὸ ὄνομα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὓς ἔδωκάς μοι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. σοὶ ἦσαν κἀμοὶ αὐτοὺς ἔδωκας, καὶ τὸν λόγον σου τετήρηκαν.

I have made your name known to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

KJV I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The verb ephanerōsa ('I revealed, manifested, made known') indicates that Jesus's entire ministry was an act of revealing the Father's name — his character, identity, and purposes. 'Name' (onoma) in Semitic thought encompasses the person's entire nature. The possessive chain — 'they were yours, you gave them to me' — emphasizes that the disciples belong first to the Father and are entrusted to the Son.

John 17:7

νῦν ἔγνωκαν ὅτι πάντα ὅσα δέδωκάς μοι παρὰ σοῦ εἰσιν·

Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you,

KJV Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The perfect egnōkan ('they have come to know') indicates a settled conviction. The disciples have reached the understanding that Jesus's teaching, authority, and mission all originate with the Father — not from himself independently. This echoes the disciples' confession in 16:30.

John 17:8

ὅτι τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἔδωκάς μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔλαβον καὶ ἔγνωσαν ἀληθῶς ὅτι παρὰ σοῦ ἐξῆλθον, καὶ ἐπίστευσαν ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας.

For I have given to them the words which you gavest me. Then they have received them, and have known surely that I arrived out from you, then they have believed that you didst send me.

KJV For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The chain of transmission is explicit: Father gives words to Son, Son gives words to disciples, disciples receive them. The three verbs — elabon ('received'), egnōsan ('understood'), episteusan ('believed') — describe the progression of faith: reception, comprehension, and trust. The adverb alēthōs ('truly, genuinely') affirms the reality of their knowledge despite its limitations.

John 17:9

ἐγὼ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐρωτῶ· οὐ περὶ τοῦ κόσμου ἐρωτῶ, ἀλλὰ περὶ ὧν δέδωκάς μοι, ὅτι σοί εἰσιν,

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, because they are yours.

KJV I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The limitation 'not for the world' (ou peri tou kosmou) does not mean Jesus has no concern for the world (cf. 3:16) but that this particular prayer focuses on the disciples who form the nucleus of the future community. The reason given — 'because they are yours' (hoti soi eisin) — grounds the petition in the Father's ownership of the disciples.

John 17:10

καὶ τὰ ἐμὰ πάντα σά ἐστιν καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά, καὶ δεδόξασμαι ἐν αὐτοῖς.

All that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.

KJV And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The mutual possession — 'mine is yours and yours is mine' — is a striking declaration of complete unity between Father and Son. The perfect passive dedoxasmai ('I have been glorified') in the disciples suggests that the disciples' faith and witness already constitute a glorification of Jesus, even before the cross.

John 17:11

καὶ οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἰσίν, κἀγὼ πρὸς σὲ ἔρχομαι. πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ᾧ δέδωκάς μοι, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς.

I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, so that they may be one, just as we are one.

KJV And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The address pater hagie ('Holy Father') is unique in the New Testament — this combination appears nowhere else. The petition teerēson autous en tō onomati sou ('keep them in your name') asks the Father to protect the disciples within the sphere of his revealed character. The unity requested — 'that they may be one, just as we are' — sets the standard for human community at the level of the divine unity between Father and Son.

John 17:12

ὅτε ἤμην μετ' αὐτῶν, ἐγὼ ἐτήρουν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ᾧ δέδωκάς μοι, καὶ ἐφύλαξα, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπώλετο εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ἵνα ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ.

While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

KJV While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Two verbs describe Jesus's protective work: eteeroun ('I kept, watched over') and ephylaxa ('I guarded, protected'). The phrase ho huios tees apōleias ('the son of destruction') is a Semitic idiom meaning 'one destined for or characterized by destruction.' The same phrase appears in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The reference to Scripture being fulfilled likely points to Psalm 41:9 (quoted in 13:18) or Psalm 109:8.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Psalm 41:9. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Psalm 109:8. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.

John 17:13

νῦν δὲ πρὸς σὲ ἔρχομαι, καὶ ταῦτα λαλῶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἵνα ἔχωσιν τὴν χαρὰν τὴν ἐμὴν πεπληρωμένην ἐν ἑαυτοῖς.

But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.

KJV And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Jesus prays aloud ('in the world') so the disciples can hear. The phrase teen charan teen emeen pepleerōmeneen ('my joy made complete') echoes 15:11 and 16:24. The joy Jesus offers is his own joy — the joy of his relationship with the Father — shared with the disciples and brought to fullness.

John 17:14

ἐγὼ δέδωκα αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον σου, καὶ ὁ κόσμος ἐμίσησεν αὐτούς, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου καθὼς ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου.

I have given them your word. Even as i am not in the world, and the world has hated them, because they are not in the world.

KJV I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The logic is: receiving God's word alienates the disciples from the world-system, making them targets of hatred. The parallel 'just as I am not of the world' (kathōs egō ouk eimi ek tou kosmou) places the disciples' experience in direct parallel with Jesus's own rejection. The world's hatred is evidence of their belonging to God, not a sign of failure.

John 17:15

οὐκ ἐρωτῶ ἵνα ἄρῃς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, ἀλλ' ἵνα τηρήσῃς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ.

I am not asking that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

KJV I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase ek tou poneerou could mean 'from evil' (abstract) or 'from the evil one' (personal). Given John's references to the 'ruler of this world' (12:31, 14:30, 16:11), the personal reading is more likely. Jesus does not pray for escape from the world but for protection while remaining in it — the mission requires presence, not withdrawal.

John 17:16

ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου οὐκ εἰσὶν καθὼς ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου.

Even as i am not in the world, and they are not in the world.

KJV They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

This verse nearly repeats verse 14b, creating a frame around the petition in verse 15. The repetition emphasizes the foundational claim: the disciples' identity is defined by their origin ('not of the world') rather than their location (they remain in the world). This grounds both the world's hostility and the need for divine protection.

John 17:17

ἁγίασον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ· ὁ λόγος ὁ σὸς ἀλήθειά ἐστιν.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

KJV Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

ἁγιάζω hagiazō

"sanctify" — sanctify, set apart, consecrate, make holy, dedicate

Corresponds to the Hebrew qadash. The root idea is separation for sacred purpose. Here the disciples are being consecrated for their mission to the world, parallel to how priests were consecrated for service in the temple.

Translator Notes

The verb hagiason ('sanctify, set apart, consecrate') is cultic language — the same verb used in the Septuagint for consecrating priests and offerings (Exodus 28:41, Leviticus 8:10-12). The disciples are being set apart for a sacred mission. The instrument of sanctification is truth (en tee aleetheia), which is then identified with God's word (ho logos ho sos). Truth in John is not abstract proposition but the reality of God revealed through Jesus.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Exodus 28:41. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Leviticus 8:10-12. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.

John 17:18

καθὼς ἐμὲ ἀπέστειλας εἰς τὸν κόσμον, κἀγὼ ἀπέστειλα αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν κόσμον·

Just as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

KJV As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The verb aposteila ('I sent') is the root of apostolos ('apostle, sent one'). Jesus's mission becomes the model and mandate for the disciples' mission. The parallel is comprehensive: as the Father sent the Son into a hostile world, so the Son sends his followers into that same world. The mission is outward, not inward.

John 17:19

καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐγὼ ἁγιάζω ἐμαυτόν, ἵνα ὦσιν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἡγιασμένοι ἐν ἀληθείᾳ.

And for their sake I consecrate myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

KJV And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Jesus 'consecrates himself' (hagiazō emauton) — language that evokes a sacrifice being set apart for offering. The phrase hyper autōn ('for their sake, on their behalf') gives his self-consecration a substitutionary quality. Jesus sets himself apart for the cross so that the disciples might be set apart for mission. The shift from 'sanctify' (for the disciples in v. 17) to 'consecrate' (for Jesus here) reflects the sacrificial nuance of Jesus's self-dedication.

John 17:20

Οὐ περὶ τούτων δὲ ἐρωτῶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν πιστευόντων διὰ τοῦ λόγου αὐτῶν εἰς ἐμέ,

I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,

KJV Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The prayer expands from the present disciples to all future believers — everyone who will come to faith through the apostolic witness. The present participle pisteuontōn ('those believing') envisions an ongoing community that extends through time. This verse makes every subsequent Christian a subject of Jesus's prayer.

John 17:21

ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν, καθὼς σύ, πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν σοί, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ὦσιν, ἵνα ὁ κόσμος πιστεύῃ ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας.

That they all may be one. As you, Father, art in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us — that the world may trust that you have dispatched me.

KJV That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The unity prayer has three layers: unity among believers ('that they may all be one'), participation in the divine life ('that they also may be in us'), and missional witness ('that the world may believe'). The standard for human unity is nothing less than the mutual indwelling of Father and Son. This is not organizational uniformity but relational oneness patterned on the Godhead.

John 17:22

κἀγὼ τὴν δόξαν ἣν δέδωκάς μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἕν·

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, so that they may be one just as we are one —

KJV And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The claim that Jesus has given his glory (teen doxan) to the disciples is remarkable. This glory is not the pre-incarnate glory of verse 5 but the glory revealed through the incarnation and the cross — the glory of self-giving love. Shared glory becomes the basis for unity: those who share in the same glory naturally share in one another.

John 17:23

ἐγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ σὺ ἐν ἐμοί, ἵνα ὦσιν τετελειωμένοι εἰς ἕν, ἵνα γινώσκῃ ὁ κόσμος ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας καὶ ἠγάπησας αὐτοὺς καθὼς ἐμὲ ἠγάπησας.

I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to complete unity, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them just as you loved me.

KJV I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The perfect participle teteleiōmenoi ('having been brought to completion, perfected') describes unity as a realized state, not merely an aspiration. The chain of indwelling — Jesus in the disciples, the Father in Jesus — creates a unity that has missional impact: the world will 'know' (ginōskee) God's sending of Jesus and God's love for the disciples. The astounding claim is that God loves the disciples kathos eme eegapeesas ('just as you loved me') — with the same quality of love he has for the Son.

John 17:24

πάτερ, ὃ δέδωκάς μοι, θέλω ἵνα ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγώ κἀκεῖνοι ὦσιν μετ' ἐμοῦ, ἵνα θεωρῶσιν τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἐμὴν ἣν δέδωκάς μοι, ὅτι ἠγάπησάς με πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.

Father, I desire that those you have given me may also be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

KJV Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The verb thelō ('I desire, I will') is unusually direct for prayer — Jesus does not merely ask but expresses his will to the Father, reflecting the intimacy and unity of their relationship. The phrase pro katabolees kosmou ('before the foundation of the world') reaches further back than verse 5 ('before the world existed'), grounding the Father's love for the Son in eternity. The ultimate destiny of believers is to see (theōrōsin) Jesus's full, unveiled glory — a beatific vision.

John 17:25

πάτερ δίκαιε, καὶ ὁ κόσμος σε οὐκ ἔγνω, ἐγὼ δέ σε ἔγνων, καὶ οὗτοι ἔγνωσαν ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας·

Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me.

KJV O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The address pater dikaie ('Righteous Father') shifts from 'Holy Father' (v. 11) — holiness related to the petition for protection, righteousness to the appeal for justice and vindication. Three levels of knowing are contrasted: the world does not know the Father at all, Jesus knows the Father directly, and the disciples know that the Father sent Jesus. The disciples' knowledge is mediated through Jesus.

John 17:26

καὶ ἐγνώρισα αὐτοῖς τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ γνωρίσω, ἵνα ἡ ἀγάπη ἣν ἠγάπησάς με ἐν αὐτοῖς ᾖ κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς.

I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

KJV And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The prayer ends with a final statement of purpose that encompasses the entire Gospel: the revelation of the Father's name (his character) results in the Father's own love dwelling in the disciples, with Jesus himself in them. The future gnōrisō ('I will make known') indicates that Jesus's revelatory work continues beyond the cross through the Spirit. The prayer's final word is 'in them' (en autois), placing the focus not on Jesus's return to glory but on his ongoing presence within the believing community.

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