John 18
1 After Jesus finished praying, he went across the Kidron Brook, along with [us] disciples, to a grove [of olive trees].
After saying these things, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he entered along with his disciples.
2 Judas, who was [about to] enable Jesus’ enemies to seize him, knew that [he would probably be] there. [He knew that because] Jesus often gathered there with us.
Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
3 So Judas came to that grove. He was leading a troop of Roman [soldiers] and some Temple guards who had been sent by the Pharisees and chief priests. They were carrying torches and lamps and weapons.
So Judas took a cohort of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, and they went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
4 Jesus knew everything that was about to happen to him. So [as they approached], he stepped forward and asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
Then Jesus, knowing everything that would happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
5 They replied to him, “Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” He replied, “That is who I am.” Judas, the one who was enabling his enemies to seize him, was with them.
They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” (Judas, who betrayed him, was also standing with them.)
6 When Jesus told them, “That is who I am,” they lurched backward and fell down on the ground [because of his power].
When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 He asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus, [the man] from Nazareth.”
So again he asked them, “Whom do you seek?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 Jesus replied, “I told you that I am Jesus. So since I am the one you are looking for, allow these [disciples of mine] to go.”
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are seeking me, let these men go.”
9 [This happened] in order that [when they did what he asked them to do], the words would be fulfilled that he had prayed, “I will never lose any of those whom God has brought to me.”
He said this to fulfill the word he had spoken: “I have not lost a single one of those yoʋ have given me.”
10 Simon Peter had a [long] dagger. So he drew it and [tried to kill] the high priest’s servant, [but he only] cut off the man’s right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)
11 Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword [back] into its sheath! (I must endure what [my] Father wants me to suffer./Do you not think that I must endure what [my] Father wants me to suffer?) [MET, RHQ]”
But Jesus said to Peter, “Put yoʋr sword back in its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
12 Then the troop of soldiers, along with their commander and the Jewish Temple guards, seized Jesus. They tied his hands [behind his back].
Then the cohort of soldiers, along with its commander and the Jewish officers, arrested Jesus, bound him,
13 Then they took him first to Annas, [who was previously the high priest]. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the high priest that year.
and led him away first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
14 Caiaphas was the one who [previously] advised the Jewish [Council] that it would be better if one man died for the sake of the people [than for all the people of the Jewish nation to die].
(It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was better for one man to perish for the people.)
15 Simon Peter and [I] were following Jesus. Because the high priest knew [me], [his doorkeeper permitted me] to enter the courtyard.
Now Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was the other disciple. That disciple was known to the high priest, so he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard,
16 But Peter [had to] wait outside near the doorway. However, since I knew the high priest, I went back to the doorway and spoke to the girl who was guarding the entrance. Then [she allowed] Peter to come in.
but Peter stood outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the gatekeeper, and brought Peter in.
17 The servant girl who was guarding the doorway said to Peter, “Surely you are not another disciple of that man [they have arrested], are you?” He said, “I am not.”
Then the servant girl who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “Yoʋ are not also one of this man's disciples, are yoʋ?” He said, “I am not.”
18 It was cold, so the high priest’s slaves and Temple guards made a charcoal fire and were standing around it to keep warm. Peter was also standing near it, warming himself.
(Now the servants and the officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing there warming themselves. Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.)
19 [While Peter was doing that], the high priest asked Jesus about his disciples and about what he was teaching people.
Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20 Jesus replied, “I have always spoken where many people [MTY, HYP] could hear me. I have taught them in (the synagogues/their meeting places) and in the Temple courtyard, in places where many [HYP] Jews come together. I have spoken nothing secretly.
Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in the synagogues and in the temple courts, where the Jews always assemble together. I have said nothing in secret.
21 [So] (why are you asking me questions [like this illegally]?/you should not be asking me questions [like this illegally]!) [RHQ] Ask the people who heard what I taught! They certainly know what I said!”
Why do yoʋ question me? Question those who heard what I said to them. Behold, they know what I said.”
22 After Jesus said that, one of the Temple guards standing near him slapped him on his face. He said, “(That is not the way you should answer the high priest!/Is that the way you should answer the high priest?) [RHQ]”
When Jesus said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped him and said, “Is that how yoʋ answer the high priest?”
23 Jesus replied to him, “If I said something that was contrary [to your laws], you could tell [me that what I said that] was wrong. But because I said only what was right, (you should not be striking me!/why are you striking me?) [RHQ]”
Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify as to what was wrong; but if I have spoken well, why are yoʋ hitting me?”
24 Then after Jesus’ hands were tied {after they tied Jesus hands} [again], Annas sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
25 As Simon Peter was standing warming himself [at the fire], someone else said to him, “You are not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” He denied [that he was], and said, “I am not.”
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “Yoʋ are not also one of his disciples, are yoʋ?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”
26 [Later] one of the high priest’s servants, a man who was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off [before], said to him, “I saw you with that man in the grove [of olive trees], did I not?”
But one of the servants of the high priest, who was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Did I not see yoʋ with him in the garden?”
27 Peter again denied it. Immediately a rooster crowed, [as Jesus had said would happen].
Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
28 Then the [Jewish leaders] [SYN] led Jesus from the [home of] Caiaphas to the headquarters [of Pilate, the Roman governor]. It was before dawn. [Pilate was a non-Jew], [and they thought that if they entered his headquarters], they would become unacceptable to God {God would reject them}, [and as a result] they would not be able to eat [the food during] the Passover [celebration]. [Because of that, they did not want to enter Pilate’s headquarters].
Then the Jews led Jesus away from Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was now early in the morning. They themselves did not go into the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
29 So Pilate came out to [talk to] them. He said, “What law do you say that this man has disobeyed?”
So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
30 [They knew that Jesus had not disobeyed any Roman law, so they did not want to answer him. Instead], they said, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have brought him to you!”
They answered him, “If he were not an evildoer, we would not have handed him over to yoʋ.”
31 Then Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your own laws!” Then the Jewish [leaders] [SYN] said, “[No! We want him executed, but we want you Romans to execute him, because] we Jews have no right to execute anyone!”
Pilate said to them, “You take him and judge him according to your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”
32 [The Romans executed people by nailing them to a cross]. [So], as a result of what [the Jewish leaders said], it was fulfilled {[the Romans] would fulfill} what Jesus had said previously about the way he was going to die.
(This happened to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was going to die.)
33 Pilate then went back inside his headquarters. He summoned Jesus. [Because the Jewish leaders had said that Jesus claimed to be a king], Pilate said to Jesus [scornfully], “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Then Pilate went into his headquarters again, called Jesus over, and said to him, “Are yoʋ the king of the Jews?”
34 Jesus replied, “Are you asking that because you yourself [want to know if I claim to be a king], or because (someone else/Caiaphas) said [that I claim to be their king]?”
Jesus answered him, “Do yoʋ say this of yoʋr own accord, or have others spoken to yoʋ about me?”
35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, [so] ([I cannot understand these matters!/how can I understand these matters]?) [RHQ] It was your fellow Jews and your chief priests who brought you to me! What have you done [to make them want to execute you]?”
Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Yoʋr own nation and the chief priests have handed yoʋ over to me. What have yoʋ done?”
36 Jesus replied, “It is not people in [MTY] this world who are [making me] king. If it was people in this world who were making me a king, my disciples would have fought in order that the Jewish [leaders] [SYN] would be prevented {to prevent the Jewish [leaders] [SYN]} from seizing me. But it is not [someone here in] this world who is making me a king.”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being delivered up to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So [are you saying that] you are a king?” Jesus replied, “[Yes], what you have said about my being a king [is correct]. I was born to become a king, and I came into this world to tell people the truth [about God]. Everyone who [believes] the truth pays attention to what I say.”
Pilate said to him, “So yoʋ are a king?” Jesus answered, “Yoʋ have said yoʋrself that I am a king. The reason I was born and the reason I came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
38 Pilate said to him, “[How can anyone know] what the truth is?” After he said that, he went outside and talked to the Jewish [leaders] [SYN] again. He said to them, “I do not find that he has done anything at all for which I should punish him.
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no fault in him.
39 But you [Jews] customarily, [every year] during the Passover [celebration], ask me to release for you [someone who is in prison]. So would you like for me to release for you the [man who you] Jews [say is your] king?”
But you have a custom that I release for you one man at the Passover. So do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?”
40 They shouted again, “No, do not [release] this man! Instead, [release] Barrabas!” But Barrabas was [in prison because he was] a revolutionist!
They all cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)
