independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
The great period — love to the uttermost, and the towel 13:1–5
vv. 1–4 — one suspended sentence: knowing, loving, the devil's groundwork — then Jesus rises
1
Πρὸ δὲ τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ πάσχαphrase modifier — fronted temporal phrase — leans on ἠγάπησεν; the hinge out of the Book of Signs
εἰδὼς ὁ Ἰησοῦςparticipial — first participle of the cascade — perfect οἶδα, settled knowledge; leans on ἠγάπησεν
ὅτι ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ἡ ὥραcontent — the ὥρα of the whole Gospel arrives (2:4; 7:30; 12:23)
ἵνα μεταβῇ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα,purpose — epexegetic ἵνα — the hour defined as transit; μεταβαίνω, passage-language, not death-language
ἀγαπήσας τοὺς ἰδίους τοὺς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳparticipial — second forward participle — τοὺς ἰδίους echoes 1:11: his own, now received
εἰς τέλος ἠγάπησεν αὐτούς.independent — the crux: εἰς τέλος — 'to the uttermost' and/or 'to the end'; the aorist sweeps footwashing and cross into one act
2
καὶ δείπνου γινομένου,participial — genitive absolute — the meal already underway; the sentence stays suspended toward ἐγείρεται (v. 4)
τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίανparticipial — second genitive absolute — intensive perfect βεβληκότος: the impulse already lodged
ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου,content — epexegetic ἵνα — what was cast in; παραδίδωμι, the passion verb of all four Gospels
3
εἰδὼςparticipial — the εἰδώς of v. 1 repeated — the frame of sovereign knowledge closes round the towel; leans on ἐγείρεται
ὅτι πάντα ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ εἰς τὰς χεῖραςcontent — total authority (3:35; 17:2) — the hands that hold everything take the towel
καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐξῆλθενcontent — origin — the procession from the Father (8:42; 16:28)
καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὑπάγει,content — destination, coordinate predicate of the same ὅτι — πρὸς τὸν θεόν echoes 1:1; he washes because he knows who he is
4
ἐγείρεται ἐκ τοῦ δείπνουindependent — the main verb at last — historic present after three verses of suspension; ἐγείρω, also the resurrection verb
καὶ τίθησιν τὰ ἱμάτιαindependent — τίθησιν — the Good Shepherd's verb for laying down his life (10:11, 15, 17–18); the stripping encodes the cross
καὶ λαβὼν λέντιονparticipial — preposed aorist participle — leans on διέζωσεν; λέντιον, the slave's implement
διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν·independent — the girding for service — διαζώννυμι only here and v. 5 in the NT
v. 5 — the washing begins
5
εἶτα βάλλει ὕδωρ εἰς τὸν νιπτῆραindependent — historic present continues; νιπτήρ, a NT hapax
καὶ ἤρξατο νίπτειν τοὺς πόδας τῶν μαθητῶνindependent — ingressive ἤρξατο — a slave's task, owed by no disciple even to his teacher
καὶ ἐκμάσσειν τῷ λεντίῳcontent — second complementary infinitive — ἐκμάσσω, Mary's verb at the anointing (12:3)
ᾧ ἦν διεζωσμένος.relative — periphrastic pluperfect — the girding of v. 4 persists through the washing
The exchange with Peter — wash, or no share 13:6–11
vv. 6–8 — protest, promise, and the absolute refusal answered
6
ἔρχεται οὖν πρὸς Σίμωνα Πέτρον·independent — historic present — the round of washing reaches Peter
λέγει αὐτῷ·independent — the subject switches unmarked to Peter — the shock speaks first
Κύριε, σύ μου νίπτεις τοὺς πόδας;content — emphatic σύ jammed against μου — Lord and my feet in one breath: the scandal crystallized
7
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·independent — the Semitic double formula for a weighty reply
ὃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ σὺ οὐκ οἶδας ἄρτι,content — ἐγώ set against σύ — the fronted relative carries the whole deed
γνώσῃ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα.content — μετὰ ταῦτα — the post-resurrection perspective (2:22; 12:16)
8
λέγει αὐτῷ Πέτρος·independent — the refusal
οὐ μὴ νίψῃς μου τοὺς πόδας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.content — οὐ μή + aorist subjunctive + εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα — the strongest refusal Greek can build
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς αὐτῷ·independent — the stakes raised from courtesy to salvation
ἐὰν μὴ νίψω σε,conditional — protasis leaning on the apodosis — note the shift from feet to the whole person: σε
οὐκ ἔχεις μέρος μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ.content — μέρος — the covenant portion (Deut 12:12); the washing made soteriological
vv. 9–11 — overcorrection, the bathed and the washed, and the shadow at the table
9
λέγει αὐτῷ Σίμων Πέτρος·independent — the swing from absolute refusal to extravagant demand
Κύριε, μὴ τοὺς πόδας μου μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τὴν κεφαλήν.content — verbless overcorrection — feet, hands, head: the whole person offered for washing
10
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — the distinction drawn
ὁ λελουμένος οὐκ ἔχει χρείαν εἰ μὴ τοὺς πόδας νίψασθαι,content — λούω (bathe wholly) vs νίπτω (wash a part); 'except for his feet' printed with P66 and B against the shorter ℵ reading
ἀλλ᾽ ἔστιν καθαρὸς ὅλος·content — the bathed state — καθαρὸς ὅλος, often heard baptismally
καὶ ὑμεῖς καθαροί ἐστε,content — the application widens to the plural ὑμεῖς
ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ πάντες.content — the elliptical exception — the shadow falls across the table
11
ᾔδει γὰρ τὸν παραδιδόντα αὐτόν·cause — the narrator's γάρ — pluperfect ᾔδει, knowledge in place before the supper; present participle, the betrayal already in motion
διὰ τοῦτο εἶπενindependent — the aside completes itself
ὅτι οὐχὶ πάντες καθαροί ἐστε.content — recitative ὅτι — v. 10b quoted back verbatim by the narrator
Do you know what I have done? — the pattern, the Scripture, the sending 13:12–20
vv. 12–15 — robes resumed, and the ὑπόδειγμα drawn out
12
Ὅτε οὖν ἔνιψεν τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν καὶ ἔλαβεν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέπεσεν πάλιν,conditional — forward temporal ὅτε-clause — washing done, robes resumed, the teacher's posture restored; leans on εἶπεν
εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·independent — the one speech-frame that carries the whole discourse to v. 20
γινώσκετε τί πεποίηκα ὑμῖν;content — γινώσκετε — indicative question or imperative, deliberately ambiguous; perfect πεποίηκα, the act now stands as paradigm
13
ὑμεῖς φωνεῖτέ με· ὁ διδάσκαλος, καὶ· ὁ κύριος,content — the double title quoted with its articles — nominatives held up like placards
καὶ καλῶς λέγετε·content — the titles ratified, not deflected
εἰμὶ γάρ.cause — the unqualified εἰμὶ γάρ — some hear the absolute ἐγώ εἰμι (8:58) behind it
14
εἰ οὖν ἐγὼ ἔνιψα ὑμῶν τοὺς πόδας ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ διδάσκαλος,conditional — first-class protasis — the fact just enacted; v. 13's titles now carry the argument
καὶ ὑμεῖς ὀφείλετε ἀλλήλων νίπτειν τοὺς πόδας·content — ὀφείλετε — a debt owed, not advice; the hierarchy becomes a circle (ἀλλήλων)
15
ὑπόδειγμα γὰρ ἔδωκα ὑμῖνcause — ὑπόδειγμα fronted — an archetype to copy, and given as a gift
ἵνα καθὼς ἐγὼ ἐποίησα ὑμῖν καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιῆτε.purpose — the ἵνα spells the pattern out, καθώς folded inside — the shape of love is Jesus himself
vv. 16–17 — the proverb of the sent, and the beatitude of the doing
16
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,content — the double amen — John's solemn signature formula
οὐκ ἔστιν δοῦλος μείζων τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦcontent — the proverb's first leg — slave and owner
οὐδὲ ἀπόστολος μείζων τοῦ πέμψαντος αὐτόν.content — the second leg — ἀπόστολος, John's only use; the sending-chain requires humility all the way down
17
εἰ ταῦτα οἴδατε,conditional — first protasis (εἰ + indicative) — the knowing assumed real
μακάριοί ἐστεcontent — one of John's two beatitudes (with 20:29)
ἐὰν ποιῆτε αὐτά.conditional — the trailing contingent protasis — knowing does not bless; doing does
vv. 18–20 — not all: the Scripture, the sign in advance, and the reception-chain
18
οὐ περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν λέγω·content — the beatitude restricted — the shadow of v. 10b returns
ἐγὼ οἶδα τίνας ἐξελεξάμην·content — election stated — ἐξελεξάμην (6:70; 15:16); the betrayer is no surprise
ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ·purpose — elliptical ἵνα of divine necessity ('this is happening so that…') — the betrayal held inside the plan
ὁ τρώγων μου τὸν ἄρτον ἐπῆρεν ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ.content — Ps 41:9 — with the vivid τρώγων of the bread-of-life discourse (6:54–58); table-fellowship inverted into the kick of contempt
19
ἀπ᾽ ἄρτι λέγω ὑμῖν πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι,content — prediction before event — πρὸ τοῦ + infinitive
ἵνα πιστεύσητε ὅταν γένηταιpurpose — the betrayal, foretold, becomes evidence rather than scandal
ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι.content — the absolute ἐγώ εἰμι (8:24, 28, 58) — the divine name unpredicated
20
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,content — the second double amen of the discourse
ὁ λαμβάνων ἄν τινα πέμψω δέχεται,content — the shaliach principle — the agent is as the sender; ἐμέ supplied from the parallel
ὁ δὲ ἐμὲ δεχόμενος δέχεται τὸν πέμψαντά με.content — the chain reaches its origin — Father → Son → sent ones
One of you will betray me — the morsel, and the night 13:21–30
vv. 21–22 — the announcement, and the baffled looks
21
Ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦςparticipial — preposed aorist participle — the discourse closed; leans on ἐταράχθη
ἐταράχθη τῷ πνεύματιindependent — the verb of 11:33 and 12:27 — the Johannine Jesus' deepest agitation; τῷ πνεύματι, the inward sphere
καὶ ἐμαρτύρησενindependent — μαρτυρέω — even the naming of betrayal is solemn witness
καὶ εἶπεν·independent — the triple verb builds to the word
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με.content — the third double amen — εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν: one, and unnamed
22
ἔβλεπον εἰς ἀλλήλους οἱ μαθηταὶindependent — progressive imperfect — the glances circling the table
ἀπορούμενοι περὶ τίνος λέγει.participial — ἀπορέω — no way through; the indirect question kept in the vivid present
vv. 23–26 — the disciple at the breast, the whispered question, the dipped morsel
23
ἦν ἀνακείμενος εἷς ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ,independent — the Beloved Disciple's first appearance — ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ echoes 1:18: as the Son to the Father, so this disciple to Jesus
ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς·relative — the defining relative — imperfect ἠγάπα; the phrase recurs at 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20
24
νεύει οὖν τούτῳ Σίμων Πέτροςindependent — historic present νεύει — the wordless signal across the couches
πυθέσθαι τίς ἂν εἴη περὶ οὗ λέγει.purpose — purpose infinitive; the optative εἴη with ἄν — a rare classical politeness in Koine
25
ἀναπεσὼν ἐκεῖνος οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος τοῦ Ἰησοῦparticipial — preposed participle — leans on λέγει; ἐκεῖνος, the narrator's quasi-name for the Beloved Disciple
λέγει αὐτῷ·independent — historic present
κύριε, τίς ἐστιν;content — the question at the breast — direct, urgent, private
26
ἀποκρίνεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present
ἐκεῖνός ἐστινcontent — the identification given — privately, to one hearer only (cf. v. 28)
ᾧ ἐγὼ βάψω τὸ ψωμίον καὶ δώσω αὐτῷ.relative — the host's honor-gesture chosen as the sign — favor and betrayal in one ψωμίον
βάψας οὖν τὸ ψωμίονparticipial — preposed aorist participle — leans on λαμβάνει; the word becomes deed at once
λαμβάνει καὶ δίδωσιν Ἰούδᾳ Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου.independent — historic presents — and the name at last spoken in narration
vv. 27–30 — Satan enters; the command; the exit into the dark
27
καὶ μετὰ τὸ ψωμίον τότε εἰσῆλθεν εἰς ἐκεῖνον ὁ Σατανᾶς.independent — the hospitality-gift becomes the door — v. 2's implanted purpose is now possession (cf. Luke 22:3)
λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — the sovereign word over the betrayal
ὃ ποιεῖς ποίησον τάχιον.content — not permission but command — the hour's timetable stays in Jesus' hands
28
τοῦτο δὲ οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τῶν ἀνακειμένωνindependent — the narrator's aside — the exchange opaque at the table
πρὸς τί εἶπεν αὐτῷ·content — indirect question — πρὸς τί, to what end
29
τινὲς γὰρ ἐδόκουν,cause — the γάρ-aside — δοκέω, John's verb for mistaken belief
ἐπεὶ τὸ γλωσσόκομον εἶχεν Ἰούδας,cause — ἐπεί-clause — the treasurership (12:6) screens the real transaction
ὅτι λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς·content — the imagined speech inside their supposing
ἀγόρασον ὧν χρείαν ἔχομεν εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν,content — the first guess — a purchase for Passover
ἢ τοῖς πτωχοῖς ἵνα τι δῷ.content — the second guess — Passover alms; τοῖς πτωχοῖς fronted before its own ἵνα
30
λαβὼν οὖν τὸ ψωμίονparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἐξῆλθεν
ἐκεῖνος ἐξῆλθεν εὐθύς·independent — ἐκεῖνος isolates him; εὐθύς, rare in John, lands hard
ἦν δὲ νύξ.independent — the theological full stop — literal evening, and the darkness of 1:5; 3:19; 9:4
Now is the Son of Man glorified — the new commandment 13:31–35
vv. 31–32 — Judas's exit trips the glorification chain
31
Ὅτε οὖν ἐξῆλθεν,conditional — forward temporal ὅτε-clause — the exit is the trigger; leans on λέγει
λέγει ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the frame for vv. 31–35
νῦν ἐδοξάσθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου,content — the eschatological νῦν; proleptic aorist — the cross already counted as glory
καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐδοξάσθη ἐν αὐτῷ·content — the mutual glorification begins its chain
32
εἰ ὁ θεὸς ἐδοξάσθη ἐν αὐτῷ,conditional — first-class protasis — v. 31b taken as fact and made a premise
καὶ ὁ θεὸς δοξάσει αὐτὸν ἐν αὑτῷ,content — the reflexive αὑτῷ — glory restored within the divine life itself (17:5)
καὶ εὐθὺς δοξάσει αὐτόν.content — εὐθύς again (after v. 30) — the exaltation is imminent
vv. 33–35 — little children: the departure, the commandment, the mark
33
τεκνία, ἔτι μικρὸν μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰμι·content — τεκνία — the Gospel's one diminutive of tenderness (common in 1 John); μικρόν, the farewell word (14:19; 16:16)
ζητήσετέ με,content — the seeking of 7:34 and 8:21 — but for these seekers it ends differently
καὶ καθὼς εἶπον τοῖς Ἰουδαίοιςcomparative — forward καθώς — leans on the resumptive 'so now I say to you' below
ὅτι ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν,content — the departure-word (7:34; 8:21), now spoken in love, not judgment; the inability temporal, not final (v. 36)
καὶ ὑμῖν λέγω ἄρτι.content — the resumption the καθώς leans on — ὑμῖν emphatic, ἄρτι immediate
34
ἐντολὴν καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν,content — the object fronted like a headline; performative present δίδωμι — the giving happens in the saying
ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους·purpose — epexegetic ἵνα — the content of the command
καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶςcomparative — the standard and the ground — leans on the restated ἵνα; the newness (καινήν, not νέαν) is this καθώς, not the content (Lev 19:18)
ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους.purpose — the command restated with its measure attached
35
ἐν τούτῳ γνώσονται πάντεςcontent — the mark before the world — ἐν τούτῳ points ahead to the ἐάν
ὅτι ἐμοὶ μαθηταί ἐστε,content — ἐμοί fronted — dative of possession: mine
ἐὰν ἀγάπην ἔχητε ἐν ἀλλήλοις.conditional — trailing protasis specifying ἐν τούτῳ — mutual love as the world's evidence
Where are you going? — the rooster word 13:36–38
v. 36 — the question that drives the farewell dialogues
36
Λέγει αὐτῷ Σίμων Πέτρος·independent — Peter seizes on the departure-word
κύριε, ποῦ ὑπάγεις;content — quo vadis — the question the discourse keeps circling (14:5; 16:5)
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς·independent — the answer gives a when, not a where
ὅπου ὑπάγω οὐ δύνασαί μοι νῦν ἀκολουθῆσαι,content — the fronted ὅπου-clause kept in line — νῦν is the operative word
ἀκολουθήσεις δὲ ὕστερον.content — the promise beneath the refusal — fulfilled in 21:18–19, the martyr's following
vv. 37–38 — the pledge in the Shepherd's idiom, and the prediction
37
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος·independent — ardor refusing delay
κύριε, διὰ τί οὐ δύναμαί σοι ἀκολουθῆσαι ἄρτι;content — the pressed 'why' — ἄρτι against Jesus' ὕστερον
τὴν ψυχήν μου ὑπὲρ σοῦ θήσω.content — Peter borrows the Good Shepherd's own idiom (10:11, 15) — a claim only the Shepherd can make good; sincere, and premature
38
ἀποκρίνεται Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the chapter's last word follows
τὴν ψυχήν σου ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ θήσεις;content — Peter's pledge handed back as a question — word for word, the pronouns reversed
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι,content — the chapter's fourth double amen — now to Peter alone (σοι, singular)
οὐ μὴ ἀλέκτωρ φωνήσῃcontent — οὐ μή + subjunctive — the same emphatic negation Peter used in v. 8, now turned on him
ἕως οὗ ἀρνήσῃ με τρίς.conditional — temporal ἕως οὗ + subjunctive sets the deadline — dawn; fulfilled in 18:17, 25–27, resolved only in ch. 21
Analysis. John 13 opens the Book of Glory, and the layout opens with the chapter's grammatical signature: vv. 1–4 laid as one great suspended period. The fronted temporal phrase and the participle cascade — εἰδώς with its ὅτι of the arrived hour, ἀγαπήσας over the ἠγάπησεν it grounds, then the two genitive absolutes of v. 2 (supper underway, the devil's purpose already lodged) and the resumed εἰδώς of v. 3 with its threefold knowledge — all lean forward, indented and anchor-less, until the main verbs finally strike flush-left in v. 4: ἐγείρεται, τίθησιν (the Good Shepherd's laying-down verb, 10:11), διέζωσεν. After that the page alternates narrative parataxis in historic presents with speech hanging blue beneath its verbs of saying: the Peter exchange with its double negation (οὐ μὴ νίψῃς … εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα) answered by the ἐὰν μὴ νίψω protasis leaning on 'no share with me'; the not-all-clean aside the narrator glosses with γάρ; the interpretation-discourse of vv. 12–20 all suspended under the one εἶπεν αὐτοῖς of v. 12, with the Ps 41:9 citation (τρώγων — the bread-of-life verb of 6:54–58) hung under πληρωθῇ; the betrayal scene whose lines shorten to the chapter's darkest full stop, ἦν δὲ νύξ; the νῦν ἐδοξάσθη chain and the new commandment with its forward-leaning καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς set between the two ἵνα lines; and Peter's pledge in the Shepherd's own idiom handed back as a question before the rooster word. Cruxes the layout names rather than hides: εἰς τέλος read as both 'to the uttermost' and 'to the end'; v. 10's longer reading εἰ μὴ τοὺς πόδας printed with P66 and Vaticanus against the shorter Sinaiticus text; γινώσκετε in v. 12 ambiguous between question and command; the absolute ἐγώ εἰμι of v. 19; and the ἐντολὴ καινή whose newness is not the content (Lev 19:18) but the καθώς — the measure of Jesus' own completed love.