11:50a

You do not realize that: The words You do not realize introduce something that Caiaphas thought that the council members should know but did not. For example:

You haven’t even considered this: (God’s Word)
-or-
You fail to see that (New Jerusalem Bible)

11:50b

it is better for you: This clause introduces something that Caiaphas thought would benefit the Jewish council. Here is another way to translate this clause:

it is to your advantage (New Jerusalem Bible)

that one man die for the people: This expression indicates that Caiaphas thought that Jesus should be killed in order to save the people of Israel. He implied that if Jesus died, the people of Israel would not die. The Romans would not come and destroy the nation. Here are other ways to translate this expression:

that ⌊this⌋ one man should die for the benefit of ⌊our (incl.)⌋ people
-or-
that one man should be put to death to save the people

11:50c

than that the whole nation perish: This expression indicates the bad thing that Caiaphas thought would happen if Jesus did not die. That bad thing was that the nation of Israel would be destroyed. Caiaphas expected that the Romans would destroy the whole nation, that is, its leadership, rights, institutions, and independence. The nation of Israel would cease to exist as a nation. Here are other ways to translate this expression:

rather than causing the destruction of the whole nation
-or-
so that the whole country will not be destroyed
-or-
instead of having the whole nation destroyed (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 11:50b–c

11:50b–c compares two possibilities. Consider how it is most natural in your language to make such a comparison. For example:

it is better for you to have one man die for the people, instead of having the whole nation destroyed (Good News Translation)
-or-
it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish (English Standard Version)
-or-
It is good for you that this one man should die for the people. It is not good that the whole nation should perish/die.

General Comment on 11:50a–c

Verse 11:50 is a strong statement. In some languages it may be natural to express this as a rhetorical question. For example:

Don’t you realize that it is better for you to have one man die for the people, instead of having the whole nation destroyed? (Good News Translation)

11:51–52

11:51–52 is a parenthetical comment by the author. It is not part of the main story but a comment on what Caiaphas said in 11:50.

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