23:12a–b

That day Herod and Pilate became friends; before this time they had been enemies: This verse tells about a change in the way Herod and Pilate acted toward each other. Before Herod and Pilate had to judge Jesus, they were enemies. They did not cooperate with each other. After Herod returned Jesus to Pilate for judgment, Pilate and Herod became friends. The clause in 23:12a is the result of what happened on That day when Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate (23:11d).

Some other ways to translate this connection are:

So Herod and Pilate became friends that day. They had been enemies before this. (God’s Word)
-or-
That same day Herod and Pilate became friends, even though they had been enemies before this. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
On that day Herodes and Pilatus made peace, whereas before they disagreed.

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of clauses in this verse. See the General Comment on 23:12a–b below for an example.

23:12a

That day: The phrase That day refers to the day when Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. In this verse the phrase is emphatic. Some ways to translate the emphasis in English are:

On that very day (Good News Translation)
-or-
That same day (Contemporary English Version)

Refer to that day in a natural way in your language.

became friends: Here the word friends is used about political rulers. In that context, friends refers to rulers who cooperate with each other as they rule their people. It does not refer to people who like each other and help each other in private ways. Some ways to translate became friends in this context are:

became allies
-or-
were reconciled
-or-
began to cooperate with each other

23:12b

before this time: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as before this literally means “previously.” It refers to the time before Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Refer to that previous time in a natural way in your language.

they had been enemies: In this context the word enemies refers to rulers who do not cooperate with each other. They oppose each other because of political reasons. The word does not imply that Herod and Pilate were at war. It also does not imply that they wanted to kill each other or hurt each other physically or by spiritual means.

Use a natural way in your language to refer to a political rival. Some ways to do this in English are:

they opposed each other
-or-
they were ⌊political⌋ rivals
-or-
they were not peaceful toward each other

General Comment on 23:12a–b

In some languages it may be necessary to reverse the order of 23:12a and 23:12b. For example:

23bAnd though Herod and Pilate had been enemies before, 12athey were reconciled that same day. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-

12bIn the past, Pilate and Herod had always been enemies, 12abut on that day they became friends. (New Century Version)

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