Ifἄνyou forgiveἀφῆτεthe sinsτὰς ἁμαρτίαςof any,τινωνthey have been forgivenἀφέωνταιthem;αὐτοῖςifἄνyou retain thoseκρατῆτεof any,τινωνthey have been retained.”κεκράτηνται
John 20:23
Study it in the app“If you forgive the sins of any, they have been forgiven them; if you retain those of any, they have been retained.””
With the Greek beneath
John 20:23, word by word
- you forgiveἀφῆτεaphēte
forgive
To wipe away sins or debts, not exact them.
Where else “aphēte” appears- the sinsἁμαρτίαςhamartias
sin
Doing what God does not want, and the guilt it leaves.
Where else “hamartias” appears- you retain thoseκρατῆτεkratēte
hold fast
To keep a firm grip on something, not let go.
Where else “kratēte” appears
Parallel passages
Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.
Jesus appears to the eleven
Mark 16:14 summarizes the appearance; the ending of Mark is not in the oldest manuscripts.
See them side by side
John 20:19-23
19So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors where the disciples were had been locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and says to them, “Peace to you.” 20And having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22And having said this, he breathed on them and says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they have been forgiven them; if you retain those of any, they have been retained.”
36And while they were saying these things, he himself stood in the middle of them. 37But startled and terrified, they thought they were seeing a spirit. 38And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your heart? 39See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat here?” 42And they gave him a piece of broiled fish; 43and he took it and ate it before them.
14Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him raised.
The context
22And having said this, he breathed on them and says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 · This verse (above)
24But Thomas, one of the Twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
To study John 20 in a group
1. What it says
What does Mary Magdalene see at the tomb, and at what moment does she recognize Jesus? (vv. 11-18)
2. What it means
Thomas says he will not believe without seeing and touching, and then answers, “My Lord and my God.” What does Jesus say to him? (vv. 24-29)
3. How I live it
John wrote these signs so that we may believe and have life (v. 31). What doubt or question would you like to bring to Jesus today?