Translation commentary on John 19:24

The soldiers is literally “they,” but Good News Translation makes the pronominal reference explicit.

Throw dice (so also Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible) translates a Greek verb which means to get something either by casting or drawing lots (so Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, Goodspeed, Phillips), However, for contemporary readers the idea of throwing dice or tossing a coin (New English Bible “let us toss for it”) may be the nearest cultural equivalent. In some languages a generic expression may be employed, for example, “let us gamble for it.” However, in some parts of the world where there is no cultural equivalent of gambling, a parallel type of behavior can be described, for example, “let us play a game to see who wins and therefore gets the robe.”

This happened in order to make the scripture come true is literally “so that the scripture may be fulfilled.” That is, in Greek this sentence is introduced by a conjunction (hina) which means “so that” (the same construction found in 18.9). This happened to make the scriptures come true may be rendered in some languages as “This happened so as to cause to become true what was written in the holy writings.” The scripture referred to is Psalm 22.18. and the Septuagint is quoted exactly.

Gambled for is literally “cast a lot for,” but the Good News Translation uses a more generic expression, avoiding the less familiar expression “to cast lots.”

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 19:24

19:24a

So: This conjunction indicates a result. The soldiers spoke as they did as a result of how the tunic was made. Because the tunic was more valuable as a whole than torn into pieces, they decided not to tear it. It also indicates a return to the main story after the background information in 19:23e.

they said to one another: The pronouns they and one another refer to the soldiers.

Let us not tear it: Because each soldier already got one part of the clothes, there was no easy way to decide who should get the tunic. If they tore it into four parts, it would lose most of its value and use. So they decided not to tear it. Translate this in a way that is natural for making a suggestion about what not to do. For example:

Instead of tearing it (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Rather than tearing it apart (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
We should not tear this into parts. (New Century Version)

19:24b

Instead: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Instead here connects a negative statement (19:24a) to a positive statement (19:24b). This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement. Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis. Here are some ways to show the emphasis:

• Use the conjunction “but” as in the New Revised Standard Version.

Let’s not tear it, but throw dice to see who will get it. (NET Bible)

• Use a conjunction other than “but.” This is a common way in English to show this type of emphasis. For example:

Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
We should not tear this piece. Instead, let us decide by lot who will get it.

• Do not use a conjunction. For example:

Let’s not tear it; let’s throw dice to see who will get it. (Good News Translation)

• Change the order of the clauses. For example:

Let us throw lots to decide who gets this piece rather than tearing it into pieces.

You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.

let us cast lots to see who will get it: In order to see who would get the tunic, the soldiers decided to cast lots. That means that they would throw or select small stones to see who should get it. The man whose stone was chosen would receive the whole tunic.

There are implied words here: “let us….” The soldiers continued to make suggestions. This is a positive suggestion that contrasts to the negative suggestion in 19:24a. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

Let’s throw lots to see who will get it (New Century Version)
-or-
Let’s decide by lot who will get it (New International Version)

cast lots: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cast lots refers to the custom of throwing or picking lots to decide something. The soldiers may have used small stones with a soldier’s name on each stone. They probably threw the lots in a certain way or picked one from a container that held them all. A soldier would get the tunic if his lot fell a certain way or someone picked it from the container. People cast lots because they believed that it would reveal their god’s (or gods’) will. Believers in God did the same thing (see Proverbs 16:33; Luke 1:9; and Acts 1:24–26).

In your language, you may need to make this phrase clearer or explain what the soldiers did. For example:

gamble (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
throw ⌊marked⌋ stones and let them decide who should get the whole tunic
-or-
throw small stones to show us who should get the shirt

If your readers know a specific form of gambling, you may want to use that. For example:

throw dice (NET Bible)

General Comment on 19:24a–b

These are suggestions, one positive, one negative, that one or more of the soldiers made to the others. Translate this in a way that is natural for making a suggestion to one’s peers (co-workers, people equal in status). For example:

Let us not…Let us…
-or-
I think we should not…we should…
-or-
It would not be good to…it would be good to….

19:24c

This was to fulfill the Scripture: This clause is a standard expression in the New Testament. It indicates that an Old Testament author said that something would happen and now God caused it to happen. The Scriptures said that men would divide and cast lots for the Messiah’s clothes, and this is what happened.

There is a textual issue here.

(1) Many Greek manuscripts say “so that the scripture might be fulfilled that says.” For example:

This took place to fulfill the scripture that says (NET Bible)

(English Standard Version, King James Version, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) Many other Greek manuscripts say simply “so that the scripture might be fulfilled.” For example:

This happened in order to make the scripture come true (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option 1, as in the UBS Handbook Greek New Testament. However, both options mean the same, and you should introduce the scripture in the most natural way in your language. For example:

So this text of scripture came true:…

This: This pronoun refers to the soldiers’ actions of dividing up Jesus’ clothes and casting lots for the tunic.

to fulfill: The verb fulfill in this context means “complete a prophecy” so that what was prophesied happens. What the Old Testament said did actually happen. See how you translated this idea in 12:38.

the Scripture: Some Greek manuscripts and English translations have “says,” which refers to what has been written down in a book. In some languages it is more natural to speak of what was written down or what can be read. For example:

the Holy Writings
-or-
what ⌊long ago⌋ ⌊God⌋ caused to be written down

Scripture: The word Scripture refers to the Jewish holy book, what Christians now call the Old Testament. See how you translated this word in 2:22 and 10:35. In this context Scripture refers to a specific place or text in the writings in the Old Testament. For example:

this place/text in the Holy Book

19:24d

They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing: This is a quotation of Psalm 22:18. The psalmist, King David, was writing about a righteous person who would suffer, the Messiah. He wrote these words about a thousand years before Jesus died on the cross.

In some languages it is more natural to translate 19:24d–e as indirect speech. For example:

the scripture that said that they would divide his clothes among themselves and throw stones to decide who should get his clothing

They divided My garments among them: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as garments is the same word that was used in 19:23b.

and cast lots for My clothing: This clause prophesied that the soldiers would throw or pick stones to see who would get Jesus’ tunic.

cast lots: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cast lots refers to the custom that 19:24b also refers to. It is not the word that is used in 19:24b but in this context it refers to the same activity. See the note there for more explanation. Also see how you translated the idea there and make it clear here that it is the same activity.

for My clothing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as clothing is the singular form of the word “clothes.” It can refer to one item of something that a person wears. Here it is good to use a term that can refer to one item, the tunic.

19:24e

So that is what the soldiers did: The Greek sentence that the Berean Standard Bible translates as that is what the soldiers did concludes the part of the story that tells what the soldiers’ did. The Greek text includes a word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as So, and most English translations translate it that way. However, here it probably just indicates a return to the story after the parenthetical information in 19:24c–d.

The sentence indicates that the soldiers did what the prophecy said that they would do. However, the soldiers did not do that in order to fulfill the prophecy. They probably did not even know about the prophecy. Using a word like So could imply that the soldiers’ purpose in doing what they did was to fulfill prophecy. So it is recommended that you do not use a word like So. For example:

That is what the soldiers did. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
And this is what the soldiers did. (Good News Translation)
-or-
The soldiers then did what they had decided. (Contemporary English Version)

that is what the soldiers did: This clause refers to the soldiers dividing Jesus’ clothes and casting lots for the tunic.

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