Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageNearby stood six stone water jars, placed there for the Jewish purification rites, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GNow standing there were six stone water jars for the purification rites of the Yehudim, each holding two or three measures.
KJV
King James VersionAnd there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleNow six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.
Footnotes
Stone vessels (λίθιναι ὑδρίαι) were used for ritual purification because stone, unlike pottery, could not contract ritual impurity under halakhic law — these jars embody the entire Jewish purity system; each held two to three metrētai (μετρητάς), a liquid measure of approximately 39 litres, making the total yield of transformed wine somewhere between 450 and 680 litres, a deliberate extravagance echoing the eschatological abundance of wine in the age to come (cf. Amos 9:13–14; 2 Bar. 29:5); the F.O.G preserves the ancient measure, while the F.O.G Message converts to gallons for immediate comprehension.
