Good News Translation radically restructures the first sentence in verse 18. It reads literally “But the servants and the guards were standing, having made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.” Good News Translation (also Jerusalem Bible) introduces first in the sentence the information that it was cold, since this fact explains the actions which follow. Jerusalem Bible reads “Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves.” The servants and guards refers to the personal servants of the High Priest and the temple guards (verse 3 and 10). The Greek word translated charcoal fire appears in the New Testament only here and in 21.9.

Since charcoal is known in almost all parts of the world, there should be no difficulty in translating a charcoal fire. In some instances it may be necessary to say “a fire of coals” or “a fire of burning embers” to distinguish it from a wood fire, which would give off a lot of smoke and not be suitable in a courtyard.

Peter went over and stood with them, warming himself also represents some restructuring. The Greek literally reads “But Peter was with them standing and warming himself.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .