John 19:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 19:3 tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
2. John 19:3 tn The words “again and again” are implied by the (iterative) imperfect verb ἤρχοντο (ērchonto).
3. John 19:3 tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”sn The greeting used by the soldiers, “Hail, King of the Jews!”, is a mockery based on the standard salutation for the Roman emperor, “Ave, Caesar!” (“Hail to Caesar!”).
4. John 19:3 tn The word “repeatedly” is implied by the (iterative) imperfect verb ἐδιδοσαν (edidosan).
5. John 19:4 tn Grk “to them.” The words “the Jewish leaders” are supplied from John 18:38 for clarity.
6. John 19:4 tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”
7. John 19:5 sn See the note on the purple robe in 19:2.
8. John 19:5 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9. John 19:5 sn Look, here is the man! Pilate may have meant no more than something like “Here is the accused!” or in a contemptuous way, “Here is your king!” Others have taken Pilate’s statement as intended to evoke pity from Jesus’ accusers: “Look at this poor fellow!” (Jesus would certainly not have looked very impressive after the scourging). For the author, however, Pilate’s words constituted an unconscious allusion to Zech 6:12, “Look, here is the man whose name is the Branch.” In this case Pilate (unknowingly and ironically) presented Jesus to the nation under a messianic title.