14:64a

You have heard the blasphemy: The high priest’s words You have heard the blasphemy indicate that all the council members had heard what Jesus said. The high priest thought that they all should understand what Jesus said in 14:62 was blasphemy. Here are some ways to translate the high priest’s statement:

You’ve heard him dishonor God! (God’s Word)
-or-
You all heard him say these things against God. (New Century Version)

You: The word You is plural and refers to the council members.

the blasphemy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as blasphemy refers to the sin of dishonoring or speaking evil of God. In 14:62b–c, Jesus indicated that he was the Son of God and that he would sit at the right hand of God. The high priest thought that Jesus was an ordinary man, so such statements blasphemed God. He thought that Jesus was dishonoring God by claiming to be equal to God.

Here are some other ways to translate the phrase the blasphemy:

way he dishonored God
-or-
the insult he gave to God by claiming to be equal to God

See how you translated this term in 3:28b.

14:64b

What is your verdict?: The high priest asked the members of the court to say whether they thought Jesus was innocent or guilty of the charge of blasphemy. He wanted them to tell him what they had decided.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

What is your decision? (Good News Bible)
-or-
Which do you think he is, guilty or innocent?
-or-
What do you think? (New International Version)

14:64c

And they all condemned Him as deserving of death: The council’s decision was that Jesus was guilty of blaspheming God and that he deserved to die.

And they all: The words they all refer to the other members of the council who were mentioned in 14:53b.

condemned Him: The phrase condemned Him means “officially declared him to be guilty.” The council members decided that what Jesus had done was wrong and that he should be punished.

deserving of death: The phrase deserving of death means “deserving to be killed.” In other words, the council decided that it was right to kill Jesus because he was guilty of blaspheming God.

In some languages it may be more natural to express this decision as a direct quote. For example:

They said, “He is guilty and he deserves the death penalty.”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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