18:37a
“Then You are a king!” Pilate said: Pilate returned to his first question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (18:33). He understood that Jesus was saying that he was a king. This is a rhetorical question that expects the answer yes. Pilate wanted to confirm something that he thought that Jesus implied.
There are two ways to translate this rhetorical question:
• Use a rhetorical question. For example:
You are a king, then? (Revised English Bible)
• Use a statement like the Berean Standard Bible. For example:
So you are a king! (New Century Version)
-or-
So you must mean that you are a king.
-or-
So that means that you are in fact a king.
18:37b
“You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered: There are two ways to interpret the Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as You say that I am a king :
(1) Jesus said that he was a king. He agreed with Pilate that he was a king. For example:
You are right in saying I am a king. (New International Version (1984))
(God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, New International Version (1984), God’s Word)
(2) Jesus did not admit that he was a king. For example:
It is you who say that I am a king. (New Jerusalem Bible)
(NIV2011, New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version, probably New Living Translation (2004))
The translations that translate more literally can be understood to follow either interpretation here (King James Version, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, NET Bible, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). It is good to translate this in an ambiguous way. Jesus probably intended his answer to cause Pilate and others who heard him to think about what being a king meant. They suggested that he was a king, and he did not deny it. But he did not say that he was a political ruler. Try to give an ambiguous answer that introduces Jesus’ explanation of his true mission. For example:
You are calling me a king.
-or-
“King” is your word (Revised English Bible)
-or-
“A king” is what you say.
You say: The Greek text emphasizes the pronoun You to contrast it with “I” in 18:37c. Pilate thought that the purpose of Jesus’ life was to be a king. However, Jesus said that he had a different purpose.
18:37c
For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth: This sentence indicates that Jesus came into the world to tell people the truth. His purpose in coming was not to be a worldly king.
The phrases I was born and have come into the world both refer to the same event. Jesus came into the world from heaven when he was born. Repeating the idea emphasizes it. Emphasize this idea in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world (English Standard Version)
-or-
For this purpose I was born—yes, for this very reason I came into the world—
In some languages it may be necessary to combine the verb phrases. For example:
This is the reason that I was born into this world
The Greek text emphasizes the word I to contrast it with “You” in 18:37b. See the note there.
to testify to the truth: This phrase indicates that Jesus was a witness to the truth, especially the truth about God his Father. He knew his Father personally. During his life on earth he testified (told what he knew) about who God is and what he is like. See how you translated testify in 1:7, 3:11, and 5:31. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
to speak about the truth (Good News Translation)
-or-
to tell people the truth (New Century Version)
the truth: In some languages it may not be possible or natural to talk about truth as a noun. You may want or need to use an adjective form of the word. For example:
to speak about what is true
-or-
to declare the true teaching
18:37d
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice: This sentence serves as an implied challenge to Pilate to listen to Jesus. Jesus implied that if Pilate really wanted to know the truth, he would listen to Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this sentence:
Whoever wants to know the truth will receive/accept what I say
-or-
All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true (New Living Translation (2004))
Everyone who belongs to the truth: This phrase means “all the people who want to know the truth” or “everyone who is devoted to believing the truth.” If you translated truth as an adjective in 18:37c, you will want to do the same here. For example:
All who follow what is really true
-or-
Whoever wants to know what the true teaching is
listens to My voice: This phrase means “believes/accepts what I say.” It implies that the person will accept and obey what Jesus says. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
listens to me (God’s Word)
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