19:39a

Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought: This clause indicates that Nicodemus came to the cross and helped Joseph take Jesus’ body down and away for burying.

who had previously come to Jesus at night: This clause re-introduces Nicodemus by referring to John 3:1–21. In that earlier passage Nicodemus came to Jesus after dark to ask him questions. Refer back to that incident in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

the man who had come to Jesus at night (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
This was the man who had earlier come to Jesus in the night.

19:39b

also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes: Nicodemus brought with him good-smelling powders or spices. (Servants may have carried the spices rather than Nicodemus.) It was the Jewish custom to put these on a dead body and the cloths that they wrapped the body in. It may be natural to translate this as a separate sentence with an independent verb. For example:

He brought about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloe. (New Century Version)

myrrh and aloes: Both myrrh and aloes have a good strong smell that helps hide bad smells like the smell of dead bodies. For translation advice, see the General Comment at the end of the notes on 19:39b.

myrrh: The word myrrh refers to a good-smelling resin (a sticky substance) from a bush. It was made into a powder and used to make dead bodies smell better. It is also mentioned in Matthew 2:11.

aloes: The word aloes probably refers to the powder made from the wood of a sandalwood tree. See Proverbs 7:17; Psalm 45:8.

about seventy-five pounds: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates about seventy-five pounds is more literally “about 100 litpas.” The litpa is the Roman weight measure. It was the same as about 325 grams or less than a pound, about 11 ½ ounces. The Berean Standard Bible refers to a Roman pound, which is about ¾ of the pound that people use now. Translate this in the way that is most natural in your language. For example:

over thirty kilograms in weight
-or-
weighing about seventy-five pounds (NET Bible)

General Comment on 19:39b

In some cultures myrrh and aloes are not known. If that is true in your culture, you may need to translate this phrase in one of the following ways:

• Indicate that there was a mixture of spices without including the names of the spices. You may want to put the names of the spices in a footnote. For example:

Nicodemus brought a large quantity of sweet-smelling powders/spices ⌊to put on the body for burial⌋ . Footnote: One of the powders/spices was called myrrh and the other was called aloes.

• Include the names of the spices in the text. You may want to tell more about these spices in a footnote. For example:

Nicodemus brought about thirty (30) kilograms of ⌊good smelling powders/spices⌋ called myrrh and aloe. Footnote: People made myrrh from the sticky resin of a small bush. Aloes was a powder that people made from the wood of the sandalwood tree.

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