Although John had said that Caiaphas … was High Priest that year (verse 13), the statement at the end of the trial scene that Annas sent him (Jesus) to Caiaphas (verse 24) makes clear that the High Priest in verse 19 must be Annas and not Caiaphas. Annas could loosely be referred to as the High Priest, since he had previously held that office, was father-in-law to Caiaphas, and was a highly influential man. But it is better for the translator to render merely the High Priest, without indicating the man referred to.

John states that the High Priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching; no reference is made to questions regarding Jesus’ messiahship and the accusation of blasphemy, which are the two main points of the trial in the Synoptic accounts.

After the verb questioned it may be necessary in some languages to introduce direct discourse, for example, “The High Priest asked Jesus, ‘Who are your disciples and what do you teach?’ ”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .