Paragraph 18:36–38a
Jesus explained that he was not a king of an earthly kingdom.
18:36a
Jesus answered: In some languages it is more natural to say explicitly whom Jesus answered. For example:
Jesus answered Pilate
My kingdom is not of this world: This sentence indicates that Jesus agreed that he was a king but denied that he had an earthly, worldly kingdom. The phrase not of this world indicates that the source or origin of Jesus’ kingdom was not this world. He implied that his kingdom was spiritual, and that it came from God in heaven. It does not mean that his kingdom was not present or active in this world. Here are other ways to translate this sentence:
My kingdom does not belong to this world. (Good News Translation)
-or-
My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. (New Living Translation (2004))
My kingdom: This phrase here refers to Jesus’ ruling as king rather than to the territory over which he ruled. Translate using an expression referring to the right/authority to rule, rather than to land. For example:
My rule
-or-
My ruling as king
-or-
My authority to rule as king
this world: This phrase here refers to the powers and authorities of this world system. Jesus’ authority to rule does not come from the political or military system of this world. God is the one who gives Jesus the right to rule.
18:36b–c
if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews: In these clauses Jesus denied that his kingdom was from this world by saying that a necessary result had not happened. He knew, and Pilate knew, that his followers were not fighting. They had not resisted Jesus’ arrest in the garden. That proved that Jesus was not an earthly king. He did not have to protect himself.
Jesus’ followers would be fighting if his kingdom was from this world. So because his followers were not fighting, Jesus’ kingdom was not from this world. This kind of logic may not be natural or common in some languages. It may be more natural to use true-to-fact statements. See the General Comment on 18:36a–c.
18:36b
if it were: This clause proposes a condition that was not fulfilled. It suggests a situation that is not true. Jesus’ kingdom is not from this world.
Refer back to Jesus’ statement in 18:36a in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
If it were from this world
-or-
If it belonged to this world (New Century Version)
-or-
If it did (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
If I were like kings who rule in this world (TH)
18:36c
My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews: This clause tells the necessary result of the condition given in 18:36b. Because 18:36b was not fulfilled, this result did not happen. Jesus’ followers (or servants—see below) had not fought and were not fighting to protect him. In some languages this may need to be made explicit. For example:
my servants would fight…⌊but they do not⌋
My servants: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as servants is also used in 18:3 to refer to the temple guards. There are two ways to interpret the word servants here:
(1) It means “servants” and refers to the servants that a worldly king might have. Those servants could be the more than 12 legions (many thousands) of angels that Jesus could command (see Matthew 26:53). For example:
my servants (New International Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, King James Version, New Century Version)
(2) It means “followers” and refers to Jesus’ disciples, either just his closest disciples or all his followers. For example:
my followers (Good News Translation)
(New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, God’s Word)
The New Jerusalem Bible translates this phrase as “my men,” which could follow either interpretation. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) because it is the usual meaning of the Greek word.
would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews: The tense of the verb would fight is ambiguous. It could refer to the present time (they would be fighting now) or the past (they would have fought). This seems to be a general statement. Jesus’ followers would have fought to protect him at some time. It is recommended that you translate this phrase in a general way.
If you cannot translate the verb in a general or ambiguous way, it is recommended that you use past tense. That would then refer back to Jesus’ arrest in the garden. For example:
my servants would have fought to keep me from being given over to the Jewish leaders (New Century Version)
to prevent My arrest: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to prevent My arrest is more literally “so that I would not be handed over.” A worldly king would have servants that would fight anyone trying to arrest the king. (Peter fought a little, but Jesus did not accept his help.) Consider how it is natural to indicate action done to prevent others from doing something. For example:
so that I would not be given over to the Jews (New Century Version)
-or-
that I might not be delivered over to the Jews (English Standard Version)
-or-
to prevent my being handed over to the Jews (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
My arrest: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as My arrest is more literally “being handed over.” It refers to enabling the Jewish authorities to arrest Jesus. It is part of a general statement, though it could refer to Judas leading the authorities to arrest Jesus. See how you translated this verb in the active form in 18:35. Here the verb is passive. There are several ways to translate this verb:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
be delivered over to the Jews (English Standard Version)
• Use an active verb. Judas was the one who handed Jesus over, but it is the Jewish authorities who are in focus here. For example:
so that the Jewish authorities could/would not arrest me
• Use a noun. For example:
to prevent my arrest by the Jews (New International Version)
Translate this verb in the way that is most natural in your language in this context.
by the Jews: The phrase the Jews here refers to the leaders of the Jewish people. For example:
the Jewish leaders (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the Jewish authorities (Good News Translation)
-or-
our leaders (Contemporary English Version)
General Comment on 18:36a–c
In some languages it may be natural to translate 18:36a–c without using a condition that was not fulfilled. For example:
My kingdom is not a worldly kingdom. That is the reason why my servants did not fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities.
-or-
My kingdom is not of this world. That is why my servants did not fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews.
18:36d
But now My kingdom is not of this realm: This clause repeats Jesus’ statement that his right to rule did not come from this world. He implied that his kingdom, his right to rule, was from God.
But now: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as But now here introduces a contrast between the real situation and the one Pilate was thinking of. See how you translated the same phrase in 8:40. For example:
But (English Standard Version)
-or-
No (Good News Translation)
My kingdom: Translate this phrase the same way here and in 18:36a so that the connection is clear.
is not of this realm: This phrase indicates that Jesus’ authority is not from this world. Jesus implied that he received his authority to rule from God. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
doesn’t have its origin on earth (God’s Word)
-or-
doesn’t belong to this world (Contemporary English Version)
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