7:48

Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?: This is a rhetorical question. It expects the answer “no.” The Pharisees used it to emphasize that none of the religious leaders believed in Jesus. It is also a rebuke because it implies that the temple police should not disagree with the Jewish leaders.

There are at least two ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• Use a rhetorical question, and possibly make the answer explicit. For example:

Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Have any of the leaders or the Pharisees believed in him? No! (New Century Version)

• Use a statement. For example:

Not one of the chief priests or the Pharisees has faith in him. (Contemporary English Version)

Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language.

Pharisees: The Pharisees were a strict Jewish religious group or party. See how you translated this word in 7:32, 45, 47.

believed in Him: This phrase includes the idea that someone believed the facts about who Jesus was and what he did. It also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting themselves or someone else. Here the Pharisees probably meant that no authority or Pharisee believed that Jesus was the Messiah or trusted in him. See how you translated similar phrases in 1:12b, 7:31a, and 7:38a.

Here is another way to translate this phrase here:

has faith in him (Contemporary English Version)

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