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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 18 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35 V36 V37 V38 V39 V40
OET (OET-LV) Therefore they_are_leading the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) from the Kaiafas into the residence_of_the_governor, and it_was early.
And they not came_in into the residence_of_the_governor, in_order_that they_may_ not _be_defiled, but they_may_eat the passover_feast.
OET (OET-RV) Then they led Yeshua out from Caiaphas’ place and towards the residence of the governor. It was now the early hours of the morning and as Jews, they didn’t enter the residence of the Roman governor so they wouldn’t become defiled and thus unable to eat the Passover meal.
This section tells how the soldiers took Jesus to the Roman governor, Pilate. Pilate questioned Jesus to find out why the Jews wanted him to punish Jesus with death. He could find no reason to do that. But the Jewish leaders there insisted that Pilate crucify him. Finally, Pilate agreed that Jesus could be crucified.
Here are other possible section headings:
Pilate questioned the Jews and Jesus and sent Jesus to be crucified
Pilate investigated Jesus and decided that he could be punished with death
Jesus’ trial and judgment before Pilate
This section can be divided into seven smaller pieces, where each piece is a separate event. Jews often arranged written materials to include seven related pieces, where the first and last pieces relate, and the second and sixth relate, and the third and fifth relate. Then the middle piece, the fourth, stands alone and is emphasized. That happens in this section as well. Here is a chart showing the seven pieces of this section and how they relate:
18:28–32: Outside the house; Jews ask for Jesus’ death
18:33–38a: Inside the house; Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews
18:38b–40: Outside the house; Pilate says, “I find no case against him.”
19:1–3: The soldiers beat Jesus with a whip and pretend that he is the king of the Jews
19:4–8: Outside the house; Pilate says, “I find no case against him.”
19:8–11: Inside the house; Pilate asks Jesus where he came from
19:12–16a: Outside the house; Pilate allows Jews to crucify Jesus
The middle piece, 19:1–3, is different from all the other pieces. Pilate is only mentioned and is not an important person in this event. That is different from all the other pieces. This middle piece therefore is emphasized. The only ones who seem to worship Jesus in the whole section do so in this middle piece. However, they only pretend to worship and are very cruel as they mock Jesus.
In your translation, you may want to find ways to emphasize 19:1–3. Also, try to translate this section in ways that make it possible to see the connections between the pieces.
This paragraph begins the second part of Jesus’ trial. (The second part, with Jesus before Caiaphas, is only mentioned in John. John does not say anything about what happened there.) The narrative moves from Peter back to Jesus.
The Sanhedrin, the Jewish council with the most authority, could try minor offenses, particularly those involving Jewish religious law and customs. However, it could not punish anyone with death on a cross. Only the Roman government had that authority. So the Jewish authorities took Jesus to the Roman governor to ask him to condemn Jesus to die on a cross.
Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas
¶ Then the Jewish authorities led/took Jesus from the high priest Caiaphas
¶ Then the guards and religious authorities brought Jesus away from the house of Caiaphas
Then: This conjunction indicates that the narrative is changing back from what happened to Peter to what happened to Jesus. See the General Comment on 18:28a–c for another way to introduce this action and paragraph.
they led Jesus away from Caiaphas: The pronoun they refers to the Jewish authorities in general. It was probably some Jewish guards and authorities who led Jesus away from the high priest’s house. For example:
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas (NIV)
Jesus was taken from Caiaphas’ house to the governor’s palace. The Jews wouldn’t go into the palace. (GW)
Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside… (NLT)
led Jesus away: The verb led…away refers to leading Jesus away as a prisoner.
from Caiaphas: This phrase indicates that they all left Caiaphas’ house. See how you referred to Caiaphas in 18:24.
into the Praetorium.
to governor Pilate’s headquarters/house.
to the palace/mansion of the Roman governor Pilate.
into the Praetorium: The Greek word that the BSB translates literally as the Praetorium refers to the official house of the Roman governor. This was the house where the governor stayed when he was in Jerusalem. It included the offices of the Roman government, including the courtroom for trying criminals. Here are ways to translate this phrase:
the palace of the Roman governor (NIV)
the governor’s headquarters (REB)
the headquarters of the Roman governor (NLT)
the building where the Roman governor stayed (CEV)
By now it was early morning,
It was early morning.
The time was around sunrise.
By now it was early morning: This sentence indicates the time setting of the next part of the story. It was probably around sunrise. This is background or parenthetical information. The NET puts this sentence in parentheses. You may want to indicate that this sentence is parenthetical in a way that is natural in your language. Or you can follow the General Comment on 18:28a–c just below.
In many languages it is more natural to rearrange 18:28a–c, and begin the new event with the new time. For example:
28cEarly in the morning 28aJesus was taken from Caiaphas’ house 28bto the governor’s palace. (GNT)
28cIt was early in the morning 28awhen Jesus was taken from Caiaphas 28bto the building where the Roman governor stayed. (CEV)
This sentence continues with more background or parenthetical information. 18:28d indicates that Jesus’ accusers did not enter the governor’s house, and 18:28e–f explains why they did not enter. There were two connected reasons, one negative and one positive. The Jews wanted to avoid being defiled (ritually unclean) (negative) and so be able to celebrate the Passover feast (positive). In English there are many possible ways to indicate these connections. For example:
They did not go into the Praetorium themselves to avoid becoming defiled and unable to eat the Passover. (NJB)
The Jews would not go into the palace. They did not want to become unclean, because they wanted to eat the Passover meal.
His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. (NLT)
They would not go inside the palace, because they did not want to make themselves unclean; they wanted to eat the Passover meal. (NCV)
Indicate the connections in this sentence in a way that is natural in your language. See the following notes for further examples of positive and negative verbs.
and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium,
The Jews did not go into the building/house
Jesus’ accusers stayed outside the governor’s palace/mansion.
and: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as and connects this clause to the previous clause. Some English versions do not translate the conjunction and begin a new sentence here. Connect this clause with the previous clause in a natural way in your language.
the Jews did not enter the Praetorium: This clause implies a contrast between where Jesus’ accusers went and where Jesus went (18:28a). Jesus’ Jewish accusers did not go with Jesus inside the headquarters of the Roman governor.
the Jews: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the Jews is the pronoun “they,” which refers back to the men who had brought Jesus as a prisoner from Caiaphas. They were his accusers. You may need to make this explicit. For example:
His accusers (NLT)
Some translations, like the NRSV, indicate the contrast between Jesus and his accusers by adding the word “themselves.” That emphasizes the subject “they,” which the Greek also does. You may emphasize the contrasting subject if that is natural in your language.
In many languages it may be natural here to supply the implied information that Jesus’ accusers were Jewish, like the BSB does. This information helps explain why they acted as they did.
did not enter: In some languages it may be natural to translate this negative verb phrase with a positive one. For example:
stayed outside (REB)
waited outside (CEV)
to avoid being defiled
because they did not want to become unclean.
They wanted to remain ritually clean
to avoid being defiled: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as to avoid being defiled is more literally “so that they would not be defiled (made unclean).” Jews became defiled if they ate certain foods or touched a dead body, etc. Then they would not be able to worship God or celebrate Passover for a certain amount of time. This phrase indicates negative purpose: the Jews remained outside the governor’s house to avoid becoming ritually defiled. If they had gone inside, they would have become ritually defiled. Here are other ways to translate this negative purpose:
because they did not want to make themselves unclean (NCV)
wanting to keep from being made unclean
In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a positive clause. For example:
for they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean (GNT)
In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a separate clause. For example:
They didn’t want to become unclean. (GW)
because it would defile them (NLT)
Any of them who had gone inside would have become unclean (CEV)
being defiled: This term refers to a state in which one was not allowed to attend a religious activity. In Jewish thought, one must be ritually clean or pure before he could come into God’s presence. Therefore, if someone were defiled (impure or unclean) he could not approach God. See also Unclean, Defiled, Impure, Uncleanness, sense B.3.a in KBT
Jewish teaching (but not the Old Testament) said that Gentile (non-Jewish) homes were ritually unclean or impure. (See Acts 10:28.) So Jews who entered Gentile homes became defiled. They were therefore not allowed to join in public religious ceremonies such as the Passover.See Numbers 9:6, where Jews who were unclean could not celebrate the Passover that day. However, they were able to celebrate it later (see Numbers 9:7–12).
For the idea of ritual impurity, see Leviticus 11:24–26 and Mark 7:1–23. This idea had nothing to do with being physically dirty. Translate this idea in a way that will help your readers understand that it does not refer to literal, physical dirt. For example:
ceremonial uncleanness (NIV)
In some languages it may be natural to translate this abstract noun with a verb or adjective. For example:
be defiled (ESV)
they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean (GNT)
become unclean (GW)
and unable to eat the Passover.
They would not be allowed to eat the Passover feast if they were unclean.
so that they could eat/celebrate the Death-Passed-Over-Us meal/feast with the other Jews.
and unable to eat the Passover: This clause indicates the second reason why Jesus’ Jewish accusers did not enter the governor’s headquarters. They wanted to be able to continue take part in the Jewish Passover festival, which lasted a week.The celebration included the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which continued for seven days. Jewish customs said that if a Jew went into a house of a Gentile he would be ritually “unclean.” Then he would not be allowed to join any religious activity or eat with other Jews until the next day.
So the two reasons for not entering the governor’s headquarters were connected. If a Jew was ritually defiled, he could not eat the Passover with the Jewish community. Translate this second, connected purpose in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
they wanted to be able to eat the Passover (NIV)
but could eat the Passover meal (NET)
because they wanted to eat the Passover meal
in order to be able to eat the Passover meal (GNT)
eat the Passover: This phrase refers to eating a meal at night as part of the annual Passover festival. (Jesus and his disciples celebrated the first Passover night the evening before, but the celebration lasted a week.) It celebrated the night when God passed over the homes of the ancestors of the Jews, who were slaves in Egypt. For the story of the Passover see Exodus chapters 11–12. Also see the note on Passover in John 2:13a and how you translated it there and in 6:4, 11:55, and 13:1. Here are some ways to translate Passover:
meal to celebrate freedom from being slaves
Death-Passed-Over-Us festival
John changes topics from describing what Peter was doing to describing what was happening to Jesus. In the next section, Jesus’ accusers bring him to Caiaphas to be questioned by him.
Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns
ἄγουσιν
˱they˲_˓are˒_leading
Here, they refers to the Jewish leaders and temple guards who were accusing Jesus. If it would be more natural in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [the Jewish authorities and their guards led]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἄγουσιν οὖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ Καϊάφα
˱they˲_˓are˒_leading (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄγουσιν Οὖν τόν Ἰησοῦν ἀπό τοῦ Καϊάφα εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἦν δέ πρωΐ Καί αὐτοί οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἵνα μή μιανθῶσιν ἀλλά φάγωσιν τό Πάσχα)
John implies that they are leading Jesus away from Caiaphas’ house. If it would be more natural in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas’ house]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον
into into (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄγουσιν Οὖν τόν Ἰησοῦν ἀπό τοῦ Καϊάφα εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἦν δέ πρωΐ Καί αὐτοί οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἵνα μή μιανθῶσιν ἀλλά φάγωσιν τό Πάσχα)
The governor’s palace refers to the headquarters of the Roman governor. The next verse indicates that the Roman governor’s name was Pilate. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [to the house of the Roman governor, Pilate]
Note 4 topic: writing-background
ἦν δὲ πρωΐ καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον, ἵνα μὴ μιανθῶσιν, ἀλλὰ φάγωσιν τὸ Πάσχα
˱it˲_was (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄγουσιν Οὖν τόν Ἰησοῦν ἀπό τοῦ Καϊάφα εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἦν δέ πρωΐ Καί αὐτοί οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἵνα μή μιανθῶσιν ἀλλά φάγωσιν τό Πάσχα)
In this sentence John interrupts the main storyline in order to provide some background information about why the Jewish people with Jesus did not enter the governor’s palace. Use the natural form in your language for expressing background information.
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives
αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον, ἵνα μὴ μιανθῶσιν, ἀλλὰ φάγωσιν τὸ Πάσχα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄγουσιν Οὖν τόν Ἰησοῦν ἀπό τοῦ Καϊάφα εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἦν δέ πρωΐ Καί αὐτοί οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἵνα μή μιανθῶσιν ἀλλά φάγωσιν τό Πάσχα)
If this double negative would be misunderstood in your language, you could translate it as a positive statement. Alternate translation: [they remained outside the governor’s palace so that they would remain ceremonially clean, and might eat the Passover]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον, ἵνα μὴ μιανθῶσιν, ἀλλὰ φάγωσιν τὸ Πάσχα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄγουσιν Οὖν τόν Ἰησοῦν ἀπό τοῦ Καϊάφα εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἦν δέ πρωΐ Καί αὐτοί οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἵνα μή μιανθῶσιν ἀλλά φάγωσιν τό Πάσχα)
Pilate, the Roman governor, was not a Jew. The Jewish leaders believed that they would become ceremonially unclean if they entered the house of someone who was not a Jew. If they became ceremonially unclean, then they would not be allowed to celebrate the Passover festival. Therefore, the Jewish leaders did not enter the governor’s palace. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain this in the simplest way possible. Alternate translation: [they themselves did not enter into the governor’s palace because the governor was a Gentile. They believed that entering a Gentile’s home would defile them, so that they would not be allowed to eat the Passover.]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τὸ Πάσχα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄγουσιν Οὖν τόν Ἰησοῦν ἀπό τοῦ Καϊάφα εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἦν δέ πρωΐ Καί αὐτοί οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τό πραιτώριον ἵνα μή μιανθῶσιν ἀλλά φάγωσιν τό Πάσχα)
John is using the name of this part of the festival, Passover, to refer to the meal that people shared on that occasion. If your readers might not understand this, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the Passover meal]
18:28 The trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Since they did not have the power of capital punishment (18:31), the Sanhedrin needed to enlist Pilate, the Roman governor, to carry out an execution.
• it would defile them: They did not want to become ritually unclean by contact with Gentiles in Pilate’s headquarters. So Pilate, probably fearing a riot, went outside to meet them.
• The Passover meal itself had occurred the night before (see 13:1; Mark 14:14-16). The following day, another meal began the weeklong Festival of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:5-6).
OET (OET-LV) Therefore they_are_leading the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) from the Kaiafas into the residence_of_the_governor, and it_was early.
And they not came_in into the residence_of_the_governor, in_order_that they_may_ not _be_defiled, but they_may_eat the passover_feast.
OET (OET-RV) Then they led Yeshua out from Caiaphas’ place and towards the residence of the governor. It was now the early hours of the morning and as Jews, they didn’t enter the residence of the Roman governor so they wouldn’t become defiled and thus unable to eat the Passover meal.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.