Well, they answered is literally “they answered and said to him.” John’s style here reflects Semitic Greek structure. Good News Translation attempts to give an equivalent meaning in contemporary English style. Jerusalem Bible translates “To this they answered.” New English Bible “they retorted” sounds bookish.
In the question are you also from Galilee? the pronoun you is emphatic. It is not possible to know what the other Jewish authorities meant in asking Nicodemus this question. Obviously, they would have known the place from which Nicodemus had come, since the Sanhedrin was formed of a relatively small and well-integrated group of men who undoubtedly knew about one another. The question may have been intended to mean “Are you a partisan of Galilee as far as the origin of the Messiah is concerned?” or “Are you one who favors Galilee?” However, rather than attempt to introduce into the translation something of the apparent intent of the question, it is probably best simply to reproduce the question and leave the interpretation of intent to the context as a whole. There seems to be little chance of serious misunderstanding.
Study the Scriptures (so also New English Bible) is more literally “Search” (Revised Standard Version). In 5.39 this same verb “to search” is used with the Scriptures as its stated object, and there Good News Translation translates You study the Scriptures. The verb “to search” was a technical term used by the rabbis when referring to a study of the Scriptures. For that reason Good News Translation and New English Bible make this information explicit. New American Bible also makes an attempt in this direction, “Look it up.” Jerusalem Bible “Go into the matter” and Phillips “Look where you will” are misleading.
Most Greek manuscripts have the general statement that no prophet ever comes from Galilee, while the original reading of one reliable Greek manuscript makes the specific statement that “the Prophet will not come from Galilee” (see Good News Translation note). Most modern translations (New American Bible is an exception) follow the reading no prophet ever comes from Galilee. Moffatt follows this same Greek text, but his rendering is rather amusing, “no prophet ever springs from Galilee.”
In some languages there is a problem in relating the studying of the Scriptures to what is to be learned from them. This concept may be best expressed as a conditional, for example, “If you study the Scriptures, you will learn that” or “By studying the Scriptures you will learn that.”
A further problem is involved in the tense of the verb comes. If this is understood as a general truth, always applicable and then placed in a historical tense (for example, “no prophet has ever come from Galilee”), there are obvious exceptions, since Jonah had come from a town in Galilee (2 Kgs 14.25). Some translators have therefore wished to employ the expression “no prophet is ever to come from Galilee” as a reference to a predicted prophet. However, it is possible to say “you cannot expect a prophet to come from Galilee.” This translation preserves the general meaning of the Greek form of the statement, and at the same time has reference to future events, rather than to past situations.
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 .