high priest

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “high priest” in English is translated in the following ways:

  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “the ruler of the priests of our nation”
  • Chol: “very great priest” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Ayutla Mixtec: “first over the priests”
  • Desano: “chief of the priests” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.).
  • Uma: “Big Priest” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “high sacrificer” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa as “Most-important Priest of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “Big leader of offerings” (source: Bariai Back Translation)

In Khoekhoe the translation for “high priest” is only capitalized when it refers to Jesus (as is Hebrews 2:17 et al.). (Source: project-specific notes in Paratext)

See also priest and chief priest.

complete verse (John 11:49)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 11:49:

  • Uma: “From there, one from the midst of them named Kayafas, the High Priest that year, said: ‘You don’t know anything!” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “One person answered, his name was Kayapas. He was the leading priest that year. Kayapas said, ‘You do not understand.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then Caiphas, one of them spoke, he was the high priest on that year, he said, ‘You have no thinking.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But whereupon Caifas who was the highest priest that year, he said, ‘You know absolutely nothing.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When they couldn’t agree about what would be good to do, Caifas spoke, who was their leader that year. He said, ‘What are you for people?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “One person replied, he who was named Caiaphas. He was the boss of the priests that year. He said to the people, ‘Don’t you know what we must do?” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on John 11:49

Caiaphas is mentioned again in 18.13,14,24,28. He was appointed High Priest in A.D. 18 and was deposed in A.D. 36, when Pilate also was put out of office. As John indicates in 18.13, Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas. Traditionally the Jewish High Priest held office for life, but in New Testament times the tenure of the High Priest depended on the favour of the Roman government. John’s statement who was High Priest that year is taken by some commentators to indicate that John believed that the office of High Priest was a yearly appointment. However, this assumption is not necessarily correct. More probably John simply meant that Caiaphas was the High Priest in that memorable year in which Jesus was crucified.

The same term in Greek may be rendered either “high priest” or “chief priest” when used in the singular, but it must be rendered “chief priests” when it occurs in the plural. In the singular it may be translated “the leader of the priests” or “the one who is over all the other priests” or, as in some languages, “the first priest of all.”

What fools you are! is literally “you do not know anything,” in which “you” and “anything” are emphatic. This statement may be rendered “You don’t understand what’s happening” or “You don’t realize what’s involved” or “You don’t see the problem.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 11:49

Paragraph 11:49–52

A Pharisee named Caiaphas spoke up in the council meeting. He said that Jesus should die for the nation.

11:49

But: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But here introduces Caiaphas’ response to what the council members said in 11:48. There is contrast between the chief priests and Pharisees’ solution (stop Jesus) and Caiaphas’ solution (kill him). In some languages it may be natural to leave this word untranslated, as some English translations have done. Here is another way to translate this word:

Then (New International Version)

one of them, named Caiaphas: This phrase identifies Caiaphas as a member of the council.

who was high priest that year: The phrase high priest that year indicate that at the time of this council, the high priest was Caiaphas. The Jewish custom was for a high priest to hold that position until he died. The Romans, however, removed a high priest that did not satisfy them and appointed another. Caiaphas’ father-in-law was the previous high priest but the Romans replaced him with Caiaphas.

If a literal translation implies that there was a different high priest each year, it may be necessary to say:

who was high priest at that time

high priest: This phrase refers to the leader of the priests. He was the most important priest.

said to them: The word them refers to the other council members.

You know nothing at all!: Caiaphas was saying that the other religious leaders did not understand this problem. The Greek text is more literally, “You do not know anything” and emphasizes the words “You” and “anything.” He was speaking firmly and severely to them, even insulting them. For example:

You people don’t have any sense at all! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
You don’t know what you’re talking about! (New Living Translation (2004))

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