but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 32. That thy faith fail not. The faith of Peter, established by the coming of the Holy Ghost, hath never failed, nor can fail, being built upon a rock, which is Christ himself, and being guided by the spirit of truth, as Christ promised. John 15:26 and 16:13.—And thou being once converted, confirm thy brethren, even all the other apostles and bishops, over whom I have made and constituted thee and thy successors the chief head, that such a head being appointed by divine authority, all occasions of schisms and divisions might cease, says S. Jerom. Witham.—Admire the superabundance of the divine patience. That the disciple might not lose courage, he promised him pardon before he has committed the crime, and restores him again to his apostolic dignity, saying, confirm thy brethren. S. Cyril.
The word for “brothers” here may be also correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.”