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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 19 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41
OET (OET-LV) Therefore the Pilatos, having_heard of_ the _messages these, brought outside the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa), and he_sat_down on the_tribunal, at a_place being_called the_Stone_Pavement, But in_Hebraios, Gabbatha.
OET (OET-RV) So now Pilate, having heard all this, brought Yeshua outside again. Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called The Stone Pavement (and called Gabbatha in Hebrew).
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 tells of Pilate’s last attempt to get the Jewish religious leaders to agree to release Jesus. The Jewish leaders threatened him by implying that releasing Jesus would make the emperor angry. So finally Pilate condemned Jesus to death.
When Pilate heard these words,
When Pilate heard what they were saying, (REB)
When Pilate heard what the crowd was threatening,
When Pilate heard these words: The phrase these words refers to what the people just said to Pilate.
he brought Jesus out
he ordered Jesus to be brought out to him
he told the soldiers to lead Jesus out of the palace/mansion to the courtyard.
he brought Jesus out: This clause implies that Pilate told the soldiers to take Jesus outside. They took him from the court in Pilate’s house to the courtyard in front of the house. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
he led Jesus outside (JBP)
he caused Jesus to be brought/led outside
and sat on the judgment seat
and sat down on his judge’s chair
He sat down on the official judgment seat
He took his seat where the judge always sat to announce his decisions.
and sat on the judgment seat: Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat in the courtyard. That was a sign that he would soon announce his final decision about the case.
There are two ways to understand the Greek verb that the BSB translates as sat:
It means that Pilate sat down himself on the judge’s bench. For example:
Pilate sat down on the judgment seat (NLT) (BSB, NRSV, RSV, ESV, NIV, NET, GNT, NLT, REB, GW, NASB, CEV, NCV, KJV)
It means that Pilate seated Jesus (caused him to sit) on the judge’s bench, perhaps to mock him. For example:
Pilate…seated him on the chair of judgment (NJB) (NJB)
It is strongly recommended that you follow interpretation (1) with the great majority of translations and scholars.
the judgment seat: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the judgment seat refers to a raised platform with a seat. The governor, acting as judge, sat on this seat to announce his decisions. For example:
the judge’s seat (GNT)
In translating this expression, avoid implying that Pilate sat on someone else’s seat. This seat was used by the governor to announce judgments and decisions. It may therefore be natural to say:
his judgment bench
the seat of the governor when giving judgment (Tagbanwa Back Translation)
at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
in the area called “Paved with Stones,” which is called “Gabbatha” in the Hebrew language.
It was in the courtyard called “Stone Floor,” which the Jews call “Gabbatha.”
at a place: The place where Pilate took his seat was an outdoor pavement in the governor’s courtyard.
called the Stone Pavement: The phrase the Stone Pavement is the name of this area in the courtyard. It indicates that it was paved (covered) with large flat rocks to form a solid floor.
which in Hebrew is Gabbatha: The expression which in Hebrew is Gabbatha is short for “in the Hebrew language (Aramaic) this place is called Gabbatha.” The Hebrew people (Jews) called this pavement Gabbatha. This does not mean that the word Gabbatha meant “Stone Pavement.” The meaning of the Aramaic word Gabbatha is uncertain.
Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
(In the Jewish language the name is Gabbatha) (NCV)
the Jewish people call it Gabbatha
in Hebrew: Hebrew refers to the language that the Jewish people in Jesus’ day spoke, which was Aramaic. See 5:2, where the same expression is used. Here are some other ways this phrase can be translated:
in Aramaic (ESV)
in the language of the Jews
in the language that the Jews speak
Because the author of this book, John, is also a Jew, in some languages it is more natural to say:
in our(excl) language
in the language that we(excl) Jews speak
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τῶν λόγων τούτων
¬the ˱of˲_words these
Here, these words refers to what the Jewish leaders had said in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this plainly. Alternate translation: [what the Jewish leaders said to him]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἤγαγεν ἔξω τὸν Ἰησοῦν
brought outside (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Οὖν Πιλᾶτος ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων τούτων ἤγαγεν ἔξω τόν Ἰησοῦν καί ἐκάθισεν ἐπί βήματος εἰς τόπον λεγόμενον Λιθόστρωτον Ἑβραϊστί Δέ Γαββαθᾶ)
John implies that Pilateordered his soldiers to bring Jesus out. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [commanded the soldiers to bring Jesus out]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐκάθισεν
˱he˲_sat_down
Since a person would sit down to teach or make official statements, the phrase sat down here implies that Pilate was going to speak to the people about what he had decided to do with Jesus. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [he sat down to judge]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐπὶ βήματος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Οὖν Πιλᾶτος ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων τούτων ἤγαγεν ἔξω τόν Ἰησοῦν καί ἐκάθισεν ἐπί βήματος εἰς τόπον λεγόμενον Λιθόστρωτον Ἑβραϊστί Δέ Γαββαθᾶ)
The judgment seat was a special chair in which a leader sat when he was making an official judgment. If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of judgment, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [in the seat used for judging people]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
εἰς τόπον λεγόμενον Λιθόστρωτον
at ˓a˒_place ˓being˒_called ˓the˒_Stone_Pavement
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [in a place the people called “The Pavement]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
Ἑβραϊστὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Οὖν Πιλᾶτος ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων τούτων ἤγαγεν ἔξω τόν Ἰησοῦν καί ἐκάθισεν ἐπί βήματος εἰς τόπον λεγόμενον Λιθόστρωτον Ἑβραϊστί Δέ Γαββαθᾶ)
See how you translated this phrase in [5:2](../05/02.md).
Γαββαθᾶ
Gabbatha
John writes out the sounds of this Jewish Aramaic word with Greek letters. Since John translates the meaning earlier in the verse, you should write out this word using the most similar sounds in your language.
OET (OET-LV) Therefore the Pilatos, having_heard of_ the _messages these, brought outside the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa), and he_sat_down on the_tribunal, at a_place being_called the_Stone_Pavement, But in_Hebraios, Gabbatha.
OET (OET-RV) So now Pilate, having heard all this, brought Yeshua outside again. Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called The Stone Pavement (and called Gabbatha in Hebrew).
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.
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