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Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) Now when Pilate heard that, he became more afraid.![]()
OET-LV Therefore when the Pilatos heard this the message, he_was_ more _afraid.
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SR-GNT Ὅτε οὖν ἤκουσεν ὁ Πιλᾶτος τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, μᾶλλον ἐφοβήθη. ‡
(Hote oun aʸkousen ho Pilatos touton ton logon, mallon efobaʸthaʸ.)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT Therefore, when Pilate heard this word, he became even more afraid,
UST When Pilate heard that, he was more afraid than before of what would happen to himself if he condemned Jesus to die.
BSB When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,
MSB (Same as BSB above)
BLB Therefore when Pilate heard this word, he was even more afraid.
AICNT When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,
OEB When Pilate heard what they said, he became still more alarmed;
WEBBE When therefore Pilate heard this saying, he was more afraid.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET When Pilate heard what they said, he was more afraid than ever,
LSV When, therefore, Pilate heard this word, he was more afraid,
FBV When Pilate heard this he was more afraid than ever,
TCNT When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid.
T4T When Pilate heard that, he was more afraid of what would happen to himself if he commanded the soldiers to kill Jesus.
LEB So when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,
BBE When this saying came to Pilate's ears his fear became greater;
Moff Now when Pilate heard that, he was still more afraid;
Wymth More alarmed than ever, Pilate no sooner heard these words than he re-entered the Praetorium and began to question Jesus.
ASV When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;
DRA When Pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more.
YLT When, therefore, Pilate heard this word, he was the more afraid,
Drby When Pilate therefore heard this word, he was the rather afraid,
RV When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;
SLT When Pilate heard this word, he was more afraid:
Wbstr When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
KJB-1769 ¶ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
KJB-1611 ¶ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid,
(Same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps When Pilate hearde that saying, he was the more afrayde.
(When Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid.)
Gnva When Pilate then heard that woorde, he was the more afraide,
(When Pilate then heard that word, he was the more afraid, )
Cvdl Whan Pilate herde that worde, he was the more afrayed,
(When Pilate heard that word, he was the more afraid,)
TNT When Pylate hearde that sayinge he was the moare afrayde
(When Pilate heard that saying he was the more afraid )
Wycl Therfor whanne Pilat hadde herd this word, he dredde the more.
(Therefore when Pilate had heard this word, he dreaded the more.)
Luth Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, fürchtete er sich noch mehr
(So Pilatus the word heard, feared he itself/yourself/themselves still more)
ClVg Cum ergo audisset Pilatus hunc sermonem, magis timuit.
(Since therefore would_have_heard Pilatus this_one conversation, more was_afraid. )
UGNT ὅτε οὖν ἤκουσεν ὁ Πειλᾶτος τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, μᾶλλον ἐφοβήθη.
(hote oun aʸkousen ho Peilatos touton ton logon, mallon efobaʸthaʸ.)
SBL-GNT Ὅτε οὖν ἤκουσεν ὁ Πιλᾶτος τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, μᾶλλον ἐφοβήθη,
(Hote oun aʸkousen ho Pilatos touton ton logon, mallon efobaʸthaʸ,)
RP-GNT Ὅτε οὖν ἤκουσεν ὁ Πιλάτος τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, μᾶλλον ἐφοβήθη,
(Hote oun aʸkousen ho Pilatos touton ton logon, mallon efobaʸthaʸ,)
TC-GNT Ὅτε οὖν ἤκουσεν ὁ [fn]Πιλάτος τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, μᾶλλον ἐφοβήθη,
(Hote oun aʸkousen ho Pilatos touton ton logon, mallon efobaʸthaʸ, )
19:8 πιλατος ¦ πειλατος TH WH
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
19:1-16 Jesus was also beaten after his sentencing (Mark 15:15), but here John records an earlier beating, which was likely Pilate’s attempt to show that Jesus had been punished and could be released (John 19:4). When this failed, Pilate passed his sentence and handed Jesus over to the Jewish leaders for crucifixion (19:16).
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.
Pilate and Jesus spoke together. Jesus showed that he was not afraid of Pilate. He said that it was God who gave Pilate his power.
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,
¶ So when Pilate heard what the Jews said, he was more afraid.
¶ Hearing that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God caused Pilate to become even more frightened.
The Greek begins this verse with a conjunction that is often translated as “So” indicating a result. In this context it introduces the result of what the Jewish leaders just said. The word “When” also indicates a result here, so many English translations, like the BSB, leave this word implicit. Introduce the result (Pilate’s reaction) in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Therefore when Pilate heard this statement (NASB)
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid: What the Jews said caused Pilate to be afraid. He did not know before that Jesus said that he was the Son of God. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:
Hearing this, Pilate felt even more fear.
These words caused Pilate to become even more frightened.
This made Pilate even more afraid.
Pilate was more afraid when he heard what the Jews said.
When Pilate heard this statement: The pronoun this refers to what the Jewish high priests just told Pilate, that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Here is another way to translate this clause:
When Pilate heard what they said (NET)
he was even more afraid: The Greek word that the BSB translates as even more here probably implies that Pilate was already afraid.A few commentaries and CEV understand this word to mean that Pilate was “very much” afraid rather than “more” afraid. And a few commentaries understand it to mean “rather” here as it does in 3:19 and 12:43. However, most commentaries and nearly all English translations understand it to mean “more.” For example:
he was more afraid than ever (NRSV)
In some languages it is natural to say what Pilate was afraid of. Apparently he was afraid to condemn Jesus to death, but he was also afraid to reject the Jewish leaders’ demand. So he delayed making a decision and talked to Jesus again. If you must indicate what Pilate was afraid of, it is best to say something general. For example:
he was even more afraid to judge/act/decide
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τοῦτον τὸν λόγον
this (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτε Οὖν ἤκουσεν ὁ Πιλᾶτος τοῦτον τόν λόγον μᾶλλον ἐφοβήθη)
Here, word refers to what the Jewish leaders said in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this plainly. Alternate translation: [what they said about Jesus claiming to be the Son of God]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
μᾶλλον ἐφοβήθη
more ˱he˲_˓was˒_afraid
John is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the context. Alternate translation: [he grew even more afraid of condemning Jesus] or [he grew even more afraid than before of what might happen to him if he condemned Jesus]

Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 22-23; John 13-19
On the Thursday before he was crucified, Jesus had arranged to share the Passover meal with his disciples in an upper room, traditionally thought to be located in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem. After they finished the meal, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus often met with his disciples. There Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ own disciples, betrayed him to soldiers sent from the High Priest, and they took Jesus to the High Priest’s residence. In the morning the leading priests and teachers of the law put Jesus on trial and found him guilty of blasphemy. The council sent Jesus to stand trial for treason before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who resided at the Praetorium while in Jerusalem. The Praetorium was likely located at the former residence of Herod the Great, who had died over 30 years earlier. When Pilate learned that Jesus was from Galilee, he sent him to Herod Antipas, who had jurisdiction over Galilee. But when Jesus gave no answer to Herod’s many questions, Herod and his soldiers sent him back to Pilate, who conceded to the people’s demands that Jesus be crucified. Jesus was forced to carry his cross out of the city gate to Golgotha, meaning Skull Hill, referring to what may have been a small unquarried hill in the middle of an old quarry just outside the gate. After Jesus was unable to carry his cross any further, a man named Simon from Cyrene was forced to carry it for him. There at Golgotha they crucified Jesus. After Jesus died, his body was hurriedly taken down before nightfall and placed in a newly cut, rock tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish high council. This tomb was likely located at the perimeter of the old quarry.