We do not know is rendered in conversational style by Good News Translation: “We don’t know.” The response may require a more complete expression: “We do not know who gave John his authority.”

Neither will … these things may also be restructured: “So then I will not tell you who gave me the right to do these things.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “Then I will not tell you who authorized me.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .