28Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.
The Hebrew and Greek pesach/pascha that is typically translated in English as “Passover” (see below) is translated in a variety of descriptive ways of various aspects of the Jewish festival. (Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight):
Umiray Dumaget Agta: “the celebration of the day of their being brought out of bondage”
(source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Obolo: ijọk Iraraka — “Festival of Passing” (source: Enene Enene)
Yakan: “The festival of the Isra’il tribe which they call For-Remembering” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Wolof: “Festival of the day of Salvation” (“the term ‘pass over’ brings up the image of a person’s crossing over a chasm after death”) (source: Marilyn Escher)
Bura-Pabir: vir kucelir fəlɓəla kəi — “time-of happiness-of jumping-over house”
Sabaot: Saakweetaab Keeytaayeet — “Festival of Passing-by” (source: Iver Larsen)
Language spoken in India and Bangladesh: “Festival of avoidance”
Vlax Romani: o ghes o baro le Nakhimasko — “the Day of the Passing”
Saint Lucian Creole: Fèt Délivwans — “Feast of Deliverance” (source: David Frank)
Finnish: pääsiäinen (“The term is very probably coined during the NT translation process around 1520-1530. It is connected to a multivalent verb päästä and as such refers either to the Exodus (päästä meaning “to get away [from Egypt]”) or to the end of the Lent [päästä referring to get relieved from the limitations in diet]. The later explanation being far more probable than the first.”)
Northern Sami: beas’sážat (“Coined following the model in Finnish. The Sami verb is beassat and behaves partly like the Finnish one. Many Christian key terms are either borrowed from Finnish or coined following the Finnish example.”)
Estonian: ülestõusmispüha — “holiday/Sunday of the resurrection” — or lihavõttepüha — “holiday/Sunday of returning of meat”
Karelian: äijüpäivü — “the great day” (“Here one can hear the influence of the Eastern Christianity, but not directly Russian as language, because the Russian term is Пасха/Pasha or Воскресение Христово/Voskresenie Hristovo, ‘[the day of] the resurrection of Christ,’ but the week before Easter is called as the great week.”) (Source for this and three above: Seppo Sipilä)
Russian (for Russian speaking Muslims): праздник Освобождения/prazdnik Osvobozhdeniya — “Festival of-liberation” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Kono: laaŋumɛ̃ɛ̃ or “skip over the person” (provisional term). Alesha Hagemeyer explains in this blog post that laaŋumɛ̃ɛ̃ is a play on the term laaɲámɛ̃ɛ̃ or “to skip over the water” which is traditionally used for the sacrifice of a sheep or a goat after the death of a family member. That term literally means “to skip over the water” so that “their loved one will pass over the water and enter the presence of God”
English: Passover (term coined by William Tyndale that both replicates the sound of the Hebrew original pesah — פסח as well as part of the meaning: “passing over” the houses of the Israelites in Egypt) — oddly, the English Authorized Version (King James Version) translates the occurrence in Acts 12:4 as Easter
Many Romance languages follow the tradition from Latin that has one term for both “Easter” and “Passover” (pascha). Portuguese uses Páscoa for both, Italian uses Pascha, and French has Pâque for “Passover” and the identically pronounced Pâques for “Easter.”
In languages in francophone and lusophone (Portuguese speaking) Africa, indigenous languages typically use the Romance word for “Easter” as a loanword and often transliterate pesach/pascha. In Kinyarwanda and RundiPasika is used, in Swahili and Congo SwahiliPasaka, and in LingalaPasika. In some cases, the transliteration of “Passover” is derived from the European language, such as Umbundu’sPascoa (from Portuguese) and Bulu’sPak (from French).
As John Ellingworth (in The Bible Translator 1980, p 445f. ) points out “in most contexts only the presence or absence of the definite article distinguishes them [in French la pâque for Passover and Pâques for Easter]. Since most African languages do not have definite articles, there remains no way to distinguish between the two terms where the general population has borrowed the word for Easter and the Bible translators have borrowed the word for Passover to use in their translation. Some even consider the references to [Passover] before the death of Christ as prophetic!”
In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “government/governor” plus the sign for “P” with a circular movement. The reference to government indicates Pilate’s position of authority in the Roman Empire. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Pilate” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Following are a number of back-translations of John 18:28:
Uma: “Early in the morning, Yesus was carried from the house of Kayafas going to the house of the governor. The Yahudi rulers themselves did not enter into the house of the governor, because that governor was not a Yahudi person, and if they entered into a house that was not the house of a Yahudi person, they became dirty according to the laws of their religion, and they were not able to eat the Paskah food.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “It was still early morning (before sunrise) when Isa was brought from the house of Kayapas to the palace of the governor of the Roman tribe, but the leaders of the Yahudi did not go inside the palace for if they went inside a house that was not Yahudi they became defiled and they could not take part in the feast of the Festival For-Remembering.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then they took Jesus again from the house of Caiphas, and they went to the palace of the Roman governor. It was still early in the morning at that time. The Jews stayed on the outside so that they might not break their custom of being purified. Because if they entered there they would not be permitted to take part in the eating of the Supper of Passing By.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When Jesus’ being-investigated at Caifas’ house was finished then, it was already getting-light, and the leaders of the Jews took him to the house of Governor Pilato. But they refused to enter, lest they be counted as having-been-made-dirty and be prohibited from joining-in-eating at the fiesta called Passed-By.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Coming from the house of Caifas, the Judio next took Jesus to the house of the Romano governor. It was dawn at that hour. The Judio didn’t enter the house of the governor, so that they wouldn’t be regarded as not possible/acceptable to eat the evening-meal of Passed-by.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Jesus was then taken from the house of Caiaphas to the palace where the governor was. It was early. The Jews did not enter the palace. It was their custom that said they could not mingle with non-Jews when they were going to celebrate. If they should go in, they said that then they couldn’t eat at the Passover celebration.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek Iēsous is “only” a proper name but one with great importance. The following quote by John Ellington (in The Bible Translator1993, p. 401ff. ) illustrates this:
“In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus Christ, Joseph is told that when Mary gives birth to a son ‘you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’ (1:21). This name is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name [Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) which is a short form of a name meaning] ‘the Lord [Yahweh] saves.’ The name is very significant and is in itself especially dear to Christians around the world. (…) Unquestionably great importance is attached to the name of Jesus by Christians of all persuasions and backgrounds.”
While Iēsous (pronounced: /i.ɛː.suːs/) is transliterated as “Jesus” (pronounced /ˈdʒiːzəs/) in English (but was translated as “Hælend” [the “healing one”] in Old English — see Swain 2019) it is transliterated and pronounced in a large variety of other ways as well, following the different rules of different languages’ orthographies, writing systems and rules of pronunciation. The following is a (partial) list of forms of Jesus in Latin characters: aYeso, Azezi, Boiyesuq, Cecoc, Chesús, Chi̍i̍sū, Chisɔsi, Ciisahs, Ciise, Ciisusu, Djesu, Ɛisa, Ƹisa, Eyesu, Gesù, Gesû, Gesü, Ġesù, Ghjesù, Giêsu, ꞌGiê‑ꞌsu, Giê-xu, Gyisɛse, Hesu, Hesús, Hisus, Hisuw, Ià-sŭ, Iesen, Ié:sos, Iesu, Iesui, Iesusɨn, Iesusiva, Ié:sos, Ihu, Īhu, Iisus, Iisussa, Ijeesu, iJisọsị, Iji̍sɔ̄ɔsi, Iosa, Íosa, Ìosa, İsa, I’sa, Isiso, Isõs, Ísu, Isus, Isusa, Iisussa, Isuthi, Itota, Îtu, Isuva, Izesu, Izesuq, Jasus, Jeeju, Jeesus, Jeesuse, Jeezas, Jehu, Jeisu, Jeju, Jejus, Jesesi, Jeshu, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, Jesosi, Jesosy, Jesu, Jesû, Jesua, Jesuh, Jesuhs, Jesuo, Jesús, Jésus, Jesúsu, Jethu, Jezed, Jezi, Jézi, Ježiš, Jezu, Jezus, Jézus, Jėzus, Jēzus, Jezusi, Jėzus, Jezuz, Jiijajju, Jíísas, Jiisusi, Jiizas, Jíìzọ̀s, Jisas, Jisase, Jisasi, Jisasɨ, Jisaso, Jisesi, Jisɛ̀, Jisos, Jisọs, Jisɔs, Jisu, Jiszs, Jizọs, Jizɔs, Jizọsi, Jizọsu, Jòso, Jusu, Jweesus, Ketsutsi, Njises, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sises, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Yasuuⓐ, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeiqsul, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yē shú, Yeso, Yéso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yěsù, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, Zezuz, Zezwii, Ziizɛ, Zisas, Zîsɛ, Zjezus, Zozi, Zozii, and this (much more incomplete) list with other writings systems: ᔩᓱᓯ, ᒋᓴᔅ, Հիսուս, ᏥᏌ, ኢየሱስ, ያሱስ, ܝܫܘܥ, Ісус, Їисъ, 耶稣, იესო, ईसा, イエス, イイスス, イエスス, 예수, येशू, येशो, ਈਸਾ, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ජේසුස්, যীশু, ଯୀଶୁ, ཡེ་ཤུ་, ‘ঈছা, இயேசு, ಯೇಸು, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ယေရှု, ઇસુ, जेजू, येसु, เยซู, យេស៊ូ, ᱡᱤᱥᱩ, ယေသှု, యేసు, ᤕᤧᤛᤢ᤺ᤴ, އީސާގެފާނު, ਯਿਸੂ, ꕉꖷ ꔤꕢ ꕞ, ⵏ⵿ⵗⵢⵙⴰ, ଜୀସୁ, يَسُوعَ,ㄧㄝㄙㄨ, YE-SU, ꓬꓰ꓿ꓢꓴ, 𖽃𖽡𖾐𖼺𖽹𖾏𖼽𖽔𖾏, ꑳꌠ, ᠶᠡᠰᠦᠰ (note that some of these might not display correctly if your device does not have the correct fonts installed).
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In some languages the different confessions have selected different transliterations, such as in Belarusian with Isus (Ісус) by the Orthodox and Protestant churches and Yezus (Езус) by the Catholic church, Bulgarian with Iisus (Иисус) by the Orthodox and Isus (Исус) by the Protestant church, Japanese with Iesu (イエス) (Protestant and Catholic) and Iisusu (イイスス) (Orthodox), or Lingala with Yesu (Protestant) or Yezu (Catholic). These differences have come to the forefront especially during the work on interconfessional translations such as one in Lingala where “many hours were spent on a single letter difference” (source: Ellington, p. 401).
In Literary and Mandarin Chinese where transliterations of proper names between the Catholic and Protestant versions typically differ vastly, the Chinese name of Jesus (Yēsū 耶稣) remarkably was never brought into question between and by those two confessions, likely due to its ingenious choice. (Click or tap here to see more).
The proper name of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh (YHWH), is rendered in most Chinese Bible translations as Yēhéhuá 耶和華 — Jehovah. According to Chinese naming conventions, Yēhéhuá could be interpreted as Yē Héhuá, in which Yē would be the family name and Héhuá — “harmonic and radiant” — the given name. In the same manner, Yē 耶 would be the family name of Jesus and Sū 稣 would be his given name. Because in China the children inherit the family name from the father, the sonship of Jesus to God the Father, Jehovah, would be illustrated through this. Though this line of argumentation sounds theologically unsound, it is indeed used effectively in the Chinese church (see Wright 1953, p. 298).
Moreover, the “given name” of Sū 稣 carries the meaning ‘to revive, to rise again’ and seems to point to the resurrected Jesus. (Source: J. Zetzsche in Malek 2002, p. 141ff., see also tetragrammaton (YHWH))
There are different ways that Bible translators have chosen historically and today in how to translate the name of Jesus in predominantly Muslim areas: with a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) (which is used for “Jesus” in the Qur’an), the Greek Iēsous, or, like major 20th century Bible translations into Standard Arabic, the Aramaic Yēšūaʿ: Yasua (يَسُوعَ). (Click or tap here to see more.)
Following are languages and language groups that use a form of Isa include the following (note that this list is not complete):
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Some languages have additional “TAZI” editions (TAZI stands for “Tawrat, Anbiya, Zabur, and Injil” the “Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Gospel”) of the New Testament that are geared towards Muslim readers where there is also a translation in the same language for non-Muslims. In those editions, Isa is typically used as well (for example, the Khmer TAZI edition uses Isa (អ៊ីសា) rather than the commonly used Yesaou (យេស៊ូ), the Thai edition uses Isa (อีซา) rather than Yesu (เยซู), the Chinese edition uses Ěrsā (尔撒) vs. Yēsū (耶稣), and the English edition also has Isa rather than Jesus.)
In German the name Jesus (pronounced: /ˈjeːzʊs/) is distinguished by its grammatical forms. Into the 20th century the grammatical rules prescribed a unique Greek-Latin declination: Jesus (nominative), Jesu (genitive, dative, vocative), Jesum (accusative), from which today only the genitive case “Jesu” is still in active use. Likewise, in Seediq (Taroko), the morphological treatment of “Jesus” also occupies a special category by not falling under the normal rule of experiencing a vowel reduction when the object-specific suffix an is added “since it was felt that the readers might resent that the name has been changed that drastically.” (Compare Msian for “Moses” (Mosi) as an object, but Yisuan for “Jesus” (Yisu).) (Source: Covell 1998. p. 249)
In Lamba the name ŵaYesu consists of a transliteration Yesu and the prefix ŵa, a plural form for “proper names when addressing and referring to persons in any position of seniority or honor.” While this was avoided in early translations to avoid possible misunderstandings of more than one Jesus, once the church was established it was felt that it was both “safe” and respectful to use the honorific (pl.) prefix. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )
In virtually all sign languages, “Jesus” is signed with the middle finger of each hand pointing to the palm (or wrist) of the other in succession (signing the nails of the cross). In the context of Bible translation this has been pointed out as theologically problematic since the “semantic connections of the original name Jesus do point towards ‘salvation,’ they do not naturally lead to crucifixion.” (Source: Phil King in Journal of Translation 1 (2020), p. 33ff.)
Following is the oldest remaining Ethiopian Orthodox icon of Jesus from the 14th or possibly 13th century (found in the Church of the Saviour of the World in Gurji, Ethiopia). As in many Orthodox icons, Jesus’ right hand forms the Greek letters I-C-X-C for IHCOYCXPICTOC or “Jesus Christ.” Another interpretation of the right hand is that it shows three fingers pointing to the Trinity, while the two other fingers point to Jesus’ two natures.
Orthodox icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The following is the so-called “Wales Window for Alabama.” It is a stained-glass window by the artist John Petts from Carmarthenshire, Wales, created in response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which took place in 1963:
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
The style of the following drawing of Jesus by Annie Vallotton is described by the artist as this: “By using few lines the readers fill in the outlines with their imagination and freedom. That is when the drawings begin to communicate.” (see here ; see also We All are One in Christ)
Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Early in the morning (Revised Standard Version “early”; Jerusalem Bible “morning”; Moffatt, New English Bible “early morning”; New American Bible “at daybreak”) translates one word in Greek (proi). This is a technical term, referring to the last Roman division (or “watch”) of the night, from three to six in the morning. If the questioning before the High Priest (18.19-23) lasted until three and Jesus was then several hours before Caiaphas (18.24), he may have been taken to Pilate around six in the morning.
Jesus was taken translates “They take Jesus” of the Greek text. The second sentence in this verse (they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean, in order to be able to eat the Passover meal) makes clear that Jews are meant. Some Roman soldiers may have been included in the escort.
In many languages a passive or impersonal construction is impossible, and the pronoun “they” would be misleading, since it could refer to those who had been questioning Peter. It may be best to say “The Jewish authorities took Jesus” or “The Jewish authorities ordered Jesus taken.” In some languages, however, the verb “take” is too general in this context, and it is necessary to use a more specific term, for example, “the guards led Jesus from Caiaphas’ house to the governor’s palace.”
From Caiaphas’ house (so also Barclay) is literally “from Caiaphas.” Moffatt, Revised Standard Version, and Jerusalem Bible render “from the house of Caiaphas.”
The governor’s palace (New English Bible “the Governor’s headquarters”; Goodspeed “the governor’s house”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “the palace of the Roman Governor”) translates a Greek word transliterated praetorium in several translations (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Moffatt). In New Testament times the word was used of the official residence of a Roman governor. Normally, the governor of Judea lived in Caesarea (note Acts 23.33-35), but on the occasion of important feasts he would go to Jerusalem to keep down disturbances or popular uprisings. There is no unanimous agreement as to the precise building referred to. It may have been the palace of Herod in the western part of the city, but some recent scholars argue that it was the fortress of Antonia, north of Temple area. In some languages there is no special term such as palace for the dwelling of an important ruler. However, one can say “the governor’s large house” or “the large house where the governor stayed.”
The Jewish authorities translates “they” of the Greek text. As indicated above, the references to being ritually clean and to the Passover meal make clear that Jews are meant. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New English Bible, Barclay translate “the Jews.”
The word palace translates the same word rendered governor’s palace above.
Because they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean (Barclay “They did not want to risk being ceremonially defiled”; New American Bible “for they had to avoid ritual impurity”) is more literally “so that they might not be defiled” (Revised Standard Version). The reference is specifically to ritual impurity, and some translators make this information explicit. “To keep oneself ritually clean” is expressed in some languages in an idiomatic form, for example, “to keep dirt away from oneself” or “to prevent spots from coming upon a person.” However, in general, a desire to be preserved ritually pure or uncontaminated is expressed in a negative attitude toward defilement—literally, “they didn’t want to be defiled,” for example, “they didn’t want to be thought of as sinners” or “they didn’t want to be contaminated” or, as expressed in one language, “they didn’t want to smell like Gentiles.”
To eat the Passover meal is literally “to eat the passover.” It was important for a Jew not to become ritually unclean, because he would then have to postpone celebration of the Passover for a month (see Num 9.9-11). To eat the Passover meal may be expressed in some languages as “to have a share in the Passover festival” or “to be a part of the Passover festival.”
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 .
Pilate investigated Jesus and decided that he should die
This section tells how the soldiers took Jesus to the Roman governor, Pilate. Pilate questioned Jesus to find out why the Jews wanted him to punish Jesus with death. He could find no reason to do that. But the Jewish leaders there insisted that Pilate crucify him. Finally, Pilate agreed that Jesus could be crucified.
Here are other possible section headings:
Pilate questioned the Jews and Jesus and sent Jesus to be crucified -or-
Pilate investigated Jesus and decided that he could be punished with death -or-
Jesus’ trial and judgment before Pilate
This section can be divided into seven smaller pieces, where each piece is a separate event. Jews often arranged written materials to include seven related pieces, where the first and last pieces relate, and the second and sixth relate, and the third and fifth relate. Then the middle piece, the fourth, stands alone and is emphasized. That happens in this section as well. Here is a chart showing the seven pieces of this section and how they relate:
18:28–32: Outside the house; Jews ask for Jesus’ death
18:33–38a: Inside the house; Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews
18:38b–40: Outside the house; Pilate says, “I find no case against him.”
19:1–3: The soldiers beat Jesus with a whip and pretend that he is the king of the Jews
19:4–8: Outside the house; Pilate says, “I find no case against him.”
19:8–11: Inside the house; Pilate asks Jesus where he came from
19:12–16a: Outside the house; Pilate allows Jews to crucify Jesus
The middle piece, 19:1–3, is different from all the other pieces. Pilate is only mentioned and is not an important person in this event. That is different from all the other pieces. This middle piece therefore is emphasized. The only ones who seem to worship Jesus in the whole section do so in this middle piece. However, they only pretend to worship and are very cruel as they mock Jesus.
In your translation, you may want to find ways to emphasize 19:1–3. Also, try to translate this section in ways that make it possible to see the connections between the pieces.
Paragraph 18:28–32
This paragraph begins the second part of Jesus’ trial. (The second part, with Jesus before Caiaphas, is only mentioned in John. John does not say anything about what happened there.) The narrative moves from Peter back to Jesus.
The Sanhedrin, the Jewish council with the most authority, could try minor offenses, particularly those involving Jewish religious law and customs. However, it could not punish anyone with death on a cross. Only the Roman government had that authority. So the Jewish authorities took Jesus to the Roman governor to ask him to condemn Jesus to die on a cross.
18:28a
Then: This conjunction indicates that the narrative is changing back from what happened to Peter to what happened to Jesus. See the General Comment on 18:28a–c for another way to introduce this action and paragraph.
they led Jesus away from Caiaphas: The pronoun they refers to the Jewish authorities in general. It was probably some Jewish guards and authorities who led Jesus away from the high priest’s house. For example:
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas (New International Version) -or-
Jesus was taken from Caiaphas’ house to the governor’s palace. The Jews wouldn’t go into the palace. (God’s Word) -or-
Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside… (New Living Translation (2004))
led Jesus away: The verb led…away refers to leading Jesus away as a prisoner.
from Caiaphas: This phrase indicates that they all left Caiaphas’ house. See how you referred to Caiaphas in 18:24.
18:28b
into the Praetorium: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as the Praetorium refers to the official house of the Roman governor. This was the house where the governor stayed when he was in Jerusalem. It included the offices of the Roman government, including the courtroom for trying criminals. Here are ways to translate this phrase:
the palace of the Roman governor (New International Version) -or-
the governor’s headquarters (Revised English Bible) -or-
the headquarters of the Roman governor (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
the building where the Roman governor stayed (Contemporary English Version)
18:28c
By now it was early morning: This sentence indicates the time setting of the next part of the story. It was probably around sunrise. This is background or parenthetical information. The NET Bible puts this sentence in parentheses. You may want to indicate that this sentence is parenthetical in a way that is natural in your language. Or you can follow the General Comment on 18:28a–c just below.
General Comment on 18:28a–c
In many languages it is more natural to rearrange 18:28a–c, and begin the new event with the new time. For example:
28c Early in the morning 28a Jesus was taken from Caiaphas’ house 28b to the governor’s palace. (Good News Translation) -or-
28c It was early in the morning 28a when Jesus was taken from Caiaphas 28b to the building where the Roman governor stayed. (Contemporary English Version)
18:28d–f
This sentence continues with more background or parenthetical information. 18:28d indicates that Jesus’ accusers did not enter the governor’s house, and 18:28e–f explains why they did not enter. There were two connected reasons, one negative and one positive. The Jews wanted to avoid being defiled (ritually unclean) (negative) and so be able to celebrate the Passover feast (positive). In English there are many possible ways to indicate these connections. For example:
They did not go into the Praetorium themselves to avoid becoming defiled and unable to eat the Passover. (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
The Jews would not go into the palace. They did not want to become unclean, because they wanted to eat the Passover meal. -or-
His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
They would not go inside the palace, because they did not want to make themselves unclean; they wanted to eat the Passover meal. (New Century Version)
Indicate the connections in this sentence in a way that is natural in your language. See the following notes for further examples of positive and negative verbs.
18:28d
and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and connects this clause to the previous clause. Some English versions do not translate the conjunction and begin a new sentence here. Connect this clause with the previous clause in a natural way in your language.
the Jews did not enter the Praetorium: This clause implies a contrast between where Jesus’ accusers went and where Jesus went (18:28a). Jesus’ Jewish accusers did not go with Jesus inside the headquarters of the Roman governor.
the Jews: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Jews is the pronoun “they,” which refers back to the men who had brought Jesus as a prisoner from Caiaphas. They were his accusers. You may need to make this explicit. For example:
His accusers (New Living Translation (2004))
Some translations, like the New Revised Standard Version, indicate the contrast between Jesus and his accusers by adding the word “themselves.” That emphasizes the subject “they,” which the Greek also does. You may emphasize the contrasting subject if that is natural in your language.
In many languages it may be natural here to supply the implied information that Jesus’ accusers were Jewish, like the Berean Standard Bible does. This information helps explain why they acted as they did.
did not enter: In some languages it may be natural to translate this negative verb phrase with a positive one. For example:
stayed outside (Revised English Bible) -or-
waited outside (Contemporary English Version)
18:28e
to avoid being defiled: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to avoid being defiled is more literally “so that they would not be defiled (made unclean).” Jews became defiled if they ate certain foods or touched a dead body, etc. Then they would not be able to worship God or celebrate Passover for a certain amount of time. This phrase indicates negative purpose: the Jews remained outside the governor’s house to avoid becoming ritually defiled. If they had gone inside, they would have become ritually defiled. Here are other ways to translate this negative purpose:
because they did not want to make themselves unclean (New Century Version) -or-
wanting to keep from being made unclean
In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a positive clause. For example:
for they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean (Good News Translation)
In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a separate clause. For example:
They didn’t want to become unclean. (God’s Word) -or-
because it would defile them (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Any of them who had gone inside would have become unclean (Contemporary English Version)
being defiled: This term refers to a state in which one was not allowed to attend a religious activity. In Jewish thought, one must be ritually clean or pure before he could come into God’s presence. Therefore, if someone were defiled (impure or unclean) he could not approach God. See also Unclean, Defiled, Impure, Uncleanness, sense B.3.a in Key Biblical Terms
Jewish teaching (but not the Old Testament) said that Gentile (non-Jewish) homes were ritually unclean or impure. (See Acts 10:28.) So Jews who entered Gentile homes became defiled. They were therefore not allowed to join in public religious ceremonies such as the Passover.
For the idea of ritual impurity, see Leviticus 11:24–26 and Mark 7:1–23. This idea had nothing to do with being physically dirty. Translate this idea in a way that will help your readers understand that it does not refer to literal, physical dirt. For example:
ceremonial uncleanness (New International Version)
In some languages it may be natural to translate this abstract noun with a verb or adjective. For example:
be defiled (English Standard Version) -or-
they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean (Good News Translation) -or-
become unclean (God’s Word)
18:28f
and unable to eat the Passover: This clause indicates the second reason why Jesus’ Jewish accusers did not enter the governor’s headquarters. They wanted to be able to continue take part in the Jewish Passover festival, which lasted a week. Jewish customs said that if a Jew went into a house of a Gentile he would be ritually “unclean.” Then he would not be allowed to join any religious activity or eat with other Jews until the next day.
So the two reasons for not entering the governor’s headquarters were connected. If a Jew was ritually defiled, he could not eat the Passover with the Jewish community. Translate this second, connected purpose in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
they wanted to be able to eat the Passover (New International Version) -or-
but could eat the Passover meal (NET Bible) -or-
because they wanted to eat the Passover meal -or-
in order to be able to eat the Passover meal (Good News Translation)
eat the Passover: This phrase refers to eating a meal at night as part of the annual Passover festival. (Jesus and his disciples celebrated the first Passover night the evening before, but the celebration lasted a week.) It celebrated the night when God passed over the homes of the ancestors of the Jews, who were slaves in Egypt. For the story of the Passover see Exodus chapters 11–12. Also see the note on Passover in John 2:13a and how you translated it there and in 6:4, 11:55, and 13:1. Here are some ways to translate Passover :
meal to celebrate freedom from being slaves -or-
Death-Passed-Over-Us festival
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