18:8a

“I told you that I am He,” Jesus replied: In this clause, Jesus told the guards that he already said that he was the one that they wanted to arrest. It implies that his earlier answer was true. This clause is the grounds or basis for Jesus’ request in 18:8c. (18:8b is an additional grounds, a condition that has been fulfilled.) Your translation should indicate that Jesus said again what he had just said. Translate this in a way that connects with your translation of 18:5. For example:

Jesus replied. “I have already told you that I am Jesus.” (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
“I have already told you who I am,” Jesus replied.
-or-
“As I ⌊just⌋ said, I am the one ⌊that you seek⌋ ,” Jesus answered.

In some languages it is more natural to use direct speech for Jesus’ quotation of his own earlier words. For example:

Jesus replied, “I said to you, ‘I am the one.’ ”

18:8b

So: The connector So indicates a logical connection between the grounds or basis in 18:8a and the conclusion in 18:8c. (18:8b is an additional grounds, a condition that has been fulfilled.) Because Jesus was the one that the guards wanted to arrest, they should let his disciples go. Here are other ways to translate this connection:

If, then, you are looking for me, let these others go. (Good News Translation)
-or-
And since I am the one you want, let these others go. (New Living Translation (2004))

if you are looking for Me: This clause is a condition that is assumed to be true. It means “since (because) it is me that you want to arrest.” Jesus and the guards all knew that Jesus was the man they wanted to arrest. For example:

since I am the one you want (New Living Translation (2004))

you: This pronoun is plural and refers to the various soldiers and guards present.

Me: The Greek text emphasizes the pronoun Me to contrast it with “these men” in 18:8c. The idea is, “If I am the one that you want, then leave these other men alone.” Try to show this emphasis and contrast in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

So if/because I am the one whom you are looking for, then these ⌊others⌋ can be allowed to leave
-or-
So, if it is ⌊really⌋ me that you seek, ⌊just⌋ let these ⌊other⌋ men go

18:8c

let these men go: This clause in this context means “Do not arrest these other men.” Jesus asked the soldiers to let his disciples go away freely. For example:

give these men permission to leave
-or-
permit these men to go ⌊free⌋

In some languages it may be natural to use a negative verb. For example:

do not keep/arrest these men

these men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as these men refers to Jesus’ disciples. The Greek text emphasizes the word to contrast it with “me” in 18:8b. Because Jesus was contrasting them with himself, in some languages it may be natural to say:

these ⌊other⌋ men
-or-
these others (Contemporary English Version)

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.