John 15:17 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with the fronted demonstrative tauta {ταῦτα | taû-ta} ‘these things’, which gives the command immediate discourse focus and points back to the preceding teaching. The main verb entellomai {ἐντέλλομαι | en-tél-lo-mai} ‘I command’ is a present form, presenting the speaker’s charge as direct and presently binding; the first person is built into the verb and the wider discourse identifies Jesus as the speaker. The dative hymin {ὑμῖν | hy-mîn} ‘to you’ marks the disciples as the recipients of the command. Hina {ἵνα | hína} ‘so that’ introduces a purpose clause, not a new command, and the clause that follows expresses the intended result. Within that clause, agapate {ἀγαπᾶτε | a-ga-pâ-te} ‘you love’ is a present subjunctive, which naturally carries an ongoing, continuous sense in context, while allelous {ἀλλήλους | al-lḗ-lous} ‘one another’ makes the action explicitly mutual. The English renderings preserve the fronted emphasis of tauta, keep the purpose relation clear with “so that,” and vary the wording of the command in the dynamic line to sound more natural while still retaining the mutual-love force of the Greek.