In John 21: 15-17 there's a post-Resurrection dialog between Peter and Jesus. Here's the KJV translation of this dialog.
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord;
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou
me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest
that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Other more recent translations basically say the same thing about
this threefold dialog between Jesus and the guy who recently denied him.
It's good to read this passage as Jesus's threefold recommissioning of
Peter after the three denials. But it does seem repetitive.
But, there's a strange thing about the translation. The Greek uses two different words for love here. agape and philo. Writing out the KJV again using "like" for philo and "love" for agape, we get this.
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord;
thou knowest that I like thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I like thee.
He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, likest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Likest thou
me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest
that I like thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
This difference in words gives the whole dialog a very different
tone. Is Peter holding out on Jesus? (If you're wondering about why
this might be important, next time your spouse asks, "do you love me?"
answer "sweetheart, I like you." Let us know how that works out for you.
:-)
Does anybody know why the English translations erase this distinction
in the words for love in this passage? Was it due to a translator's
theological point of view?