12From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against Caesar.”
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
Here, the crowd and Pilate address each other with the formal, respectful pronoun.
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
The Greek in John 19:12 that is translated as “everyone who claims to be a king” or similar in English is translated in Huixtán Tzotzil as “all who mistakenly think they are a king.” Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker. (Source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 19:12:
Uma: “When Pilatus heard those words, he searched for a way to free Yesus. But the Yahudi people jeered again, they said: ‘If you (sing.) free him, you (sing.) are not a friend of Kaisar! That Yesus said that he is a king. So, he opposes Kaisar!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “From then on Pilatus really looked for a way so that he could free Isa. But the leaders of the Yahudi kept shouting, they said, ‘If you free this man, you are no longer the friend of the Leading King. Whoever calls himself a king, is an enemy of the Leader King/Emperor.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then Pilate’s desire to free Jesus increased, however the Jews began to shout again. They said, ‘If you let that man go, you are the enemy of our (incl.) King Caesar who is in Rome. Because a person like this who makes himself a king is the enemy of Caesar.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When Pilato heard that, he put-forth his efforts (lit. ability) to free Jesus. But the Jews, they continued to shout, ‘If you (sing.) free that person, it will be understood that you (sing.) are not a friend of the Emperor. Because the one who makes-himself -a-king, he certainly opposes the Emperor.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When Pilato heard that, he was much more thinking how he might cause Jesus to be freed. But those Judio all shouted out again saying, ‘If you cause this person to be freed, it’s certain that you don’t side with the Impiradur. Of course whatever person makes-himself-out-to-be-a-king, he is opposing the Impiradur.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “From that moment Pilate tried to find a way to release Jesus. But the Jews shouted, ‘If you release that man then you are not a friend of the ruler in Rome. Whoever claims to be a ruler is an enemy of the ruler in Rome.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
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®).
The Greek phrase translated When Pilate heard this is taken by most translators in a temporal sense, though it maybe casual (“because of this”).
He tried to find a way to set Jesus free is more literally “he was trying to set him free.” New English Bible translates “Pilate tried hard to release him,” and Jerusalem Bible translates “Pilate was anxious to set him free.” Moffatt takes When Pilate heard this as indicating a cause, and so translates “This made Pilate anxious to release him.”
But the crowd shouted back is literally “but the Jews shouted saying.”
The Emperor’s friend is literally “a friend of Caesar.” This was an honorific title, bestowed in recognition of special service to the Emperor. Originally “Caesar” was the proper name, but by New Testament times it had become a title equivalent to Emperor, and so the basis for the Good News Translation rendering. Most translators prefer to retain “Caesar,” though Goodspeed also translates, “Emperor.”
Anyone who claims to be a king must be rendered as direct discourse in some languages, for example, “anyone who says, ‘I am a king’ ” or “… ‘I am a ruler’ ”
Is a rebel against the Emperor may often be rendered as “is rebelling against the Emperor” or “… against the great ruler.” In some languages Emperor may be expressed as “the ruler of all countries.” The role of an Emperor is that of one who rules many countries, while individual kings or governors are described as ruling over single countries.
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 .
This paragraph tells of Pilate’s last attempt to get the Jewish religious leaders to agree to release Jesus. The Jewish leaders threatened him by implying that releasing Jesus would make the emperor angry. So finally Pilate condemned Jesus to death.
19:12a
From then on: The phrase that Berean Standard Bible translates as From then on is more literally “From this.” It introduces Pilate’s reaction to what Jesus said in 19:11. This phrase and the tense of “tried” in the following clause indicate that Pilate repeated his trying. Indicate either here or in the next clause that the action is repeated in a natural way in your language. For example:
From this point on (NET Bible) -or-
From that moment (Revised English Bible) -or-
Starting then
Pilate tried to release Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tried to release Him indicates that Pilate wanted to set Jesus free. He did not do that by trying to remove Jesus’ ropes. His efforts were legal or verbal rather than physical. The tense of the Greek word indicates that he also made repeated efforts. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
Pilate made efforts to release him (New American Standard Bible) -or-
Pilate was anxious to set him free (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
he tried to find a way to set Jesus free (Good News Translation)
19:12b
but the Jews kept shouting: This clause indicates that the Jews opposed Pilate’s efforts to release Jesus. The word but indicates a contrast between what Pilate wanted and what the Jews wanted. The Greek text emphasizes the phrase the Jews to indicate a change in the topic. For example:
But the Jews, they continued to shout (Kankanaey Back Translation) -or-
But the crowd shouted back (Good News Translation)
the Jews: This phrase here refers to the people gathered at Pilate’s house who accused Jesus. Like Jesus and his disciples, they were Jewish. They included the chief priests and temple guards mentioned in 19:6a. This phrase was used to refer to the same group of people in 18:31, 18:38, and 19:7. See how you translated this phrase in those verses. For example:
some in the crowd (New Century Version) -or-
the Jewish leaders (NET Bible)
kept shouting: The people shouted to express their opposition to what Pilate was trying to do. Here are other ways to translate this Greek verb:
shouted back (Good News Translation) -or-
yelled (Contemporary English Version)
19:12c
If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar: This sentence expresses a condition (If you release this man) and a conclusion (you are no friend of Caesar). The Jews said that if the condition were fulfilled, then the conclusion would be true.
The Jews were trying to persuade Pilate to not release Jesus. They knew that it was important to him to be a friend of the emperor. Not being his friend could result in punishment or even death. So he would not want to do anything that would mean that he was not his friend. Here are other ways to translate this sentence:
If you set him free, that means that you are not the Emperor’s friend! (Good News Translation) -or-
You are not a friend of the emperor if you release this man!
If you release this man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as release means “set free.” For example:
If you set this man free (Contemporary English Version) -or-
If you free this man (God’s Word)
you: This pronoun here is singular and refers to Pilate.
this man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this man is more literally “this one.” It is a way to refer to someone that implies that they are not important. Here it refers to Jesus.
you are no friend of Caesar: The phrase no friend of Caesar means “an enemy of the emperor.” The Jews were threatening Pilate. They said that freeing Jesus would be acting like an enemy of the Roman emperor. They implied that the emperor would notice what Pilate did and act to punish him. In some languages it may be natural to use a positive expression. For example:
you are an enemy of the emperor
Caesar: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Caesar was the family name of the Roman Emperor (king of an empire), and it became a title. It was the emperor who had appointed Pilate to this job and he could also dismiss or execute (punish with death) Pilate. Here are other ways to translate this word:
the emperor -or-
the ruler in Rome (Otomi Back Translation) -or-
our (incl.) King Caesar who is in Rome (Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
19:12d
Anyone who declares himself a king: This clause refers to the fact that Jesus claimed (declared) that he was the Messiah. The Messiah was thought to be the “king of the Jews.” Use the term for king that you used in 18:33 and 19:3.
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as declares is more literally “makes,” as in 19:7. It implies that the person is not really a king but says he is and acts like a king. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
Everyone who claims to be a king (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
Everyone who makes himself a king (English Standard Version) -or-
Anyone who says, “I am a king”
is defying Caesar: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is defying means “speaks against.” In this context it refers to rejecting and rebelling against the most powerful ruler. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
is against Caesar (New Century Version) -or-
is an enemy of the Emperor (Contemporary English Version) -or-
is a rebel against the Emperor (Good News Translation) -or-
opposes Caesar (New American Standard Bible)
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