John 13:12

When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you?

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

ASV

So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

YLT

When, therefore, he washed their feet, and took his garments, having reclined (at meat) again, he said to them, `Do ye know what I have done to you?

DBT

When therefore he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, having sat down again, he said to them, Do ye know what I have done to you?

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Commentary voices

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Voices5

On this verse

Jesus washed the feet of the disciples insofar as he was their teacher, and the feet of the servants insofar as he was their Lord. For the dust from the earth and from worldly things is cleared away by teaching, since it reaches nothing else than the extremities and lower parts of the disciples. But those things that defile the feet are also removed by the lordship of the ruler, since he has authority over those who still receive common defilement because they still have the spirit of bondage.

Origen of Alexandria· COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.115-16, 253patristic

Related commentary

So after he had washed their feet,....

John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)reformed

Know ye what I have done - Our Lord had told Peter, in the presence of the rest, Joh 13:7, that he should afterwards know what was the intent and meaning of this washing; and now he begins to fulfill his promise; therefore I think it more likely that he gives a command, here, than asks a question, as he knew himself that they did not comprehend his design. On this account γινωσκετε might be translated in the imperative mood, Consider what I have done.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

And the opening of these four reasons will take in the exposition of the whole story. Christ washed his disciples' feet that he might give a proof of that great love wherewith he loved them; loved them to the end,

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

(1.) He adjourned the explication till he had finished the transaction, [1.] To try their submission and implicit obedience. What he did they should not know till afterwards, that they might learn to acquiesce in his will when they could not give a reason for it. [2.] Because it was proper to finish the riddle before he unriddled it.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

Voices on this verse

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Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse — and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

9 linked verses

The verses this one reaches9

Matthew 20:25
But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
John 13:7
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
John 13:4
So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist.
Ezekiel 24:24
‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’
John 13:5
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.
Acts 10:17
While Peter was puzzling over the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and approached the gate.
Matthew 13:51
Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.
Ezekiel 24:19
Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”
Mark 4:13
Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Around this verse

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

Featured studyThe Upper Room & the Farewell — John 13–17This study walks through this verse.

The Word Made Flesh — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

John — The Gospel of sevens and signs. Seven signs, seven 'I AM' sayings, a prologue and an epilogue — written 'that ye might believe' (20:31).

Canon: New Testament
Author: John the Apostle (2nd-century patristic attribution + internal claims)
Date: c. AD 85–95

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
John 13:7
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
leads to
- Daniel 12:8
  I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”
- John 12:16
  At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about…
- John 14:26
  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
- James 5:7–11
  Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
- John 13:10–12
  Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”
Through
John 13:4
So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist.
leads to
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Luke 22:27
  For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.
- Luke 12:37
  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself…

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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