14:63a
At this, the high priest tore his clothes: The high priest tore his clothes deliberately in order to express anger and horror at what Jesus had said in 14:62. He probably made only one tear in the robe or tunic that he was wearing. He did not rip his clothing in pieces.
It was a Jewish custom for a person to tear his clothes when someone had spoken blasphemy. When the high priest tore his clothes, his action had symbolic meaning. It indicated that the high priest believed that Jesus had spoken blasphemy. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:
When the high priest heard what Jesus said he tore his own clothes because he was angry/horrified.
See the note on “blasphemy” in 14:64a.
his clothes: The word his refers to the high priest’s own clothes, not to Jesus’ clothes.
and declared: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as declared is literally “he says.” Translate this word in a way that is natural in this context to fit with the way you translated the rhetorical question.
14:63b
Why do we need any more witnesses?: The clause Why do we need any more witnesses? is a rhetorical question. It is an emphatic way to express a statement. There are at least three ways to translate this statement:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
Why do we still need witnesses? (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Do we need further witnesses? (Revised English Bible)
• As a statement. For example, the Good News Bible says:
We don’t need any more witnesses!
• As a tag question. For example:
Surely, we do not need any other witnesses, do we?
Use whichever option is most natural in your language in this context.
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