John 21:19

(Now Jesus ¹  said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter ²  was going to glorify God.) ³  After he said this, Jesus told Peter, ⁴  “Follow me.”

Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, "Follow Me!"

Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, "Follow me."

He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow me."

Now this he said, pointing out the sort of death by which he would give God glory. And after saying this, he said to him, Come after me.

(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."

This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."

(Now Jesus ¹  said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter ²  was going to glorify God.) ³  After he said this, Jesus told Peter, ⁴  “Follow me.”

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The phrase by what kind of death Peter was going to glorify God almost certainly indicates martyrdom (cf. 1 Pet 4:16), and it may not predict anything more than that. But the parallelism of this phrase to similar phrases in John 12:33 and 18:32 which describe Jesus’ own death by crucifixion have led many to suggest that the picture Jesus is portraying for Peter looks not just at martyrdom but at death by crucifixion. This seems to be confirmed by the phrase you will stretch out your hands in the preceding verse. There is some evidence that the early church understood this and similar phrases (one of them in Isa 65:2) to refer to crucifixion (for a detailed discussion of the evidence see L. Morris, John [NICNT], 876, n. 52). Some have objected that if this phrase does indeed refer to crucifixion, the order within v. 18 is wrong, because the stretching out of the hands in crucifixion precedes the binding and leading where one does not wish to go. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:1108) sees this as a deliberate reversal of the normal order (hysteron proteron) intended to emphasize the stretching out of the hands. Another possible explanation for the unusual order is the Roman practice in crucifixions of tying the condemned prisoner’s arms to the crossbeam (patibulum) and forcing him to carry it to the place of execution (W. Bauer as cited by O. Cullmann in Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr [LHD], 88).

⁴ tn Grk “After he said this, he said to him”; the referents (first Jesus, second Peter) have been specified in the translation for clarity.