John 18:33-40

Pilate Questions Jesus

33 Then Pilate entered again into the governor's residence and summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

34 Jesus replied, "Do you say this from yourself, or have others said [this] to you about me?"

35 Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, [am I]? Your people and the chief priests handed you over to me! What have you done?"

36 Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here."

37 Then Pilate said to him, "So then you are a king!" Jesus replied, "You say that I am a king. For this [reason] I was born, and for this reason I have come into the world: in order that I can testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice."

38 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" And [when he] had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no basis for an accusation against him.

39 But it is your custom that I release for you one [prisoner] at the Passover. So do you want [me] to release for you the king of the Jews?"

40 Then they shouted again, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" (Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [b]. *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase "[am I]"
• [c]. *The word "[prisoner]" is not in the Greek text, but is implied
• [d]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [e]. Or perhaps "robber"