23:52a–b

He went to Pilate: The phrase He went to Pilate indicates that Joseph went to Governor Pilate to make a formal request. He did this after Jesus had died. Connect this request to 23:51 in a natural way in your language. In some languages it may be helpful to use a time phrase. For example:

⌊After Jesus died,⌋ Joseph went to Governor Pilate

Introduce Joseph’s request in a natural way in your language.

to ask for the body of Jesus: The clause to ask for the body of Jesus indicates that Joseph asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus’ body down from the cross so that he could bury it. Another way to translate this is:

he begged/requested Pilate to allow him to take Jesus’ corpse and bury it

The context indicates that Pilate gave him that permission. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

he asked Governor Pilate to allow him to bury Jesus’ body. ⌊Pilate agreed⌋

In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech. For example:

he said to Pilate, “Please allow me to take Jesus’ body and bury it.” ⌊Pilate said, “You may do that.”⌋

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