14:44

Verse 44 provides background information. It describes the plan that Judas had previously made with the Jewish leaders to identify Jesus so that they could arrest him.

14:44a

Now: In this context the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now introduces background information. It is not a time word here. It explains what Judas had already told the crowd that came to arrest Jesus.

the betrayer: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the betrayer is literally “the one giving him over.” In this context it refers to someone who puts someone else into the power of his enemies. He causes that person’s enemies to gain control over him.

Mark uses the phrase the betrayer as another way to refer to Judas. See 14:42b for more discussion of the word betrayer.

In this verse Judas had not yet actually betrayed Jesus. In some languages it might be necessary to indicate that. For example:

the one intending to betray him
-or-
the person who was planning to betray him

In some languages it might be necessary to specify who the betrayer was. So you could say:

Judas, the betrayer

had arranged a signal with them: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as had arranged a signal with them is literally “had given a sign to them.” In this context it indicates that Judas had previously told the crowd what he would do to show them which man they should arrest.

a signal: A signal refers to something that people do or say to communicate a special meaning. Before they do it or say it, they agree on what it will mean. Judas had earlier told the crowd that they should watch for him to greet one man in a certain way. Greeting him with a kiss would be a signal. It would mean that Jesus was the man whom the crowd should arrest.

14:44b

This part of the verse gives the words that Judas said to the crowd when he arranged the signal with them. In some languages it may be necessary to supply an introduction to these words. For example:

He had said to them, “The one I kiss…”

See the General Comment on 14:44a–c for a suggestion about indirect speech.

The One I kiss is the man: Judas said these words because he knew that there would be other people with Jesus. Judas planned to kiss Jesus to show the crowd that Jesus was the man whom they wanted to arrest. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

The one I kiss is the man you are looking for
-or-
The man I kiss is the person whom you want to arrest

The One: The One means “the person” or “the man.”

kiss: The word kiss means “to touch someone with the lips on one cheek or on both cheeks.” In some cultures it is unusual or inappropriate for a man to kiss another man. If that is true in your culture, here are some options to consider:

• Use an appropriate term for “kiss” and indicate the purpose of the kiss. For example:

whom I greet according to custom with a kiss
-or-
whom I greet by touching his cheek with my lips

• Use a more general expression for an appropriate greeting. For example:

to whom I give an affectionate greeting
-or-
whom I greet as my rabbi
-or-
whom I embrace respectfully

14:44c

arrest: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates arrest is literally “seize,” as in the Revised Standard Version. See 14:1c for further discussion of arrest.

lead Him away securely: In this context securely means to watch a prisoner carefully.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

guard him closely as you take him away (God’s Word)
-or-
get him safely away (Revised English Bible)
-or-
lead him away under guard (New International Version)

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that this is the end of what Judas said to the crowd before they came to Jesus. For example:

“…lead him away under guard,” Judas told the crowd

General Comment on 14:44a–c

In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech in these verse parts. For example, you could say:

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them. He had told them that the one he kissed was the man they were looking for. They should arrest him and lead him away under guard.

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.