John 20:26

The original Koine Greek, according to the Textus Receptus, reads:

Καὶ μεθ' ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ πάλιν ἦσαν ἔσω οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ Θωμᾶς μετ' αὐτῶν ἔρχεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων καὶ ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον καὶ εἶπεν Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν^[1]

In the King James Version of the Bible, this verse is translated as:

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.^[2]

The modern World English Bible (WEB) translates this verse as:

After eight days again his disciples were inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace be to you."^[3]

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub John 20:26.

"After eight days" brings the chronology to the Sunday after Easter.^[4] This week may correspond to the cumulative first week recorded in John 1:19–2:1, and to the last week before his death in John 12:1–19:31, which begins "six days before the Passover".^[5][6]

The doors were again "closed" or "locked",^[a] as they had been in John 20:19, because of the disciples' continued fear "of the Jews",^[4] but Jesus could enter and be in their midst.^[6][b]

The phrase "Peace be with you"^[c] is a common traditional Jewish greeting,^[8] still in use today (shalom aleichem or שלום לכם shalom lekom: cf. 1 Samuel 25:6).^[9][10] The same words were spoken by Jesus in verse 19 and "again" in verse 21.^[9] Jesus' words of "peace" at this time can be seen as offering reassurance for the disciples.^[4]