John 19:8
New International Version
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,

New Living Translation
When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever.

English Standard Version
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.

Berean Standard Bible
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,

Berean Literal Bible
Therefore when Pilate heard this word, he was even more afraid.

King James Bible
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

New King James Version
Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,

New American Standard Bible
Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;

NASB 1995
Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;

NASB 1977
When Pilate therefore heard this statement, he was the more afraid;

Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he became more afraid;

Amplified Bible
So when Pilate heard this said, he was [even] more alarmed and afraid.

Christian Standard Bible
When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever.

American Standard Version
When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;

Contemporary English Version
When Pilate heard this, he was terrified.

English Revised Version
When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When Pilate heard them say that, he became more afraid than ever.

Good News Translation
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid.

International Standard Version
When Pilate heard this, he became even more afraid.

Majority Standard Bible
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,

NET Bible
When Pilate heard what they said, he was more afraid than ever,

New Heart English Bible
When therefore Pilate heard this saying, he was more afraid.

Webster's Bible Translation
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

Weymouth New Testament
More alarmed than ever, Pilate no sooner heard these words than he re-entered the Praetorium and began to question Jesus.

World English Bible
When therefore Pilate heard this saying, he was more afraid.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
When, therefore, Pilate heard this word, he was more afraid,

Berean Literal Bible
Therefore when Pilate heard this word, he was even more afraid.

Young's Literal Translation
When, therefore, Pilate heard this word, he was the more afraid,

Smith's Literal Translation
When Pilate heard this word, he was more afraid:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
When Pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Therefore, when Pilate had heard this word, he was more fearful.

New American Bible
Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid,

New Revised Standard Version
Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
When Pilate heard this saying, he was the more afraid;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
But when Pilate heard this statement he was even more afraid.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
Then, when Pilate heard this word, he was the more afraid;

Godbey New Testament
Then when Pilate heard this word, he feared the more;

Haweis New Testament
When Pilate then heard this saying, he was the more afraid:

Mace New Testament
Pilate upon hearing that, was still more apprehensive.

Weymouth New Testament
More alarmed than ever, Pilate no sooner heard these words than he re-entered the Praetorium and began to question Jesus.

Worrell New Testament
When, therefore, Pilate heard this saying, he was the more afraid;

Worsley New Testament
Now when Pilate heard this he was the more afraid;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
7“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer.…

Cross References
Matthew 27:24
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”

Mark 15:5
But to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply.

Luke 23:4
Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

John 18:38
“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.

John 19:12
From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”

John 7:26
Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying anything to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that this is the Christ?

John 11:47-48
Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. / If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

Acts 3:13
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.

Acts 4:27-28
In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. / They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

Romans 13:3-4
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. / For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

1 Peter 2:22-23
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” / When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

Psalm 2:2
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:

Psalm 82:1-2
A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods: / “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

Daniel 6:14
As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel, and he labored until sundown to rescue him.


Treasury of Scripture

When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

heard.

John 19:13
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

Acts 14:11-19
And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men…

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John 19
1. Jesus is scourged, crowned with thorns, and beaten.
4. Pilate is desirous to release him,
15. but being overcome with the outrage of the crowd, he delivers him to be crucified.
23. They cast lots for his garments.
25. He commends his mother to John.
28. He dies.
31. His side is pierced.
38. He is buried by Joseph and Nicodemus.














When Pilate heard this statement
The phrase refers to the preceding context where the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God. The Greek word for "heard" is "ἀκούω" (akouō), which implies not just hearing but understanding and processing the information. Pilate, a Roman governor, was already in a precarious position, balancing Roman authority with Jewish customs. The statement that Jesus claimed divine sonship would have been alarming, as it introduced a theological dimension to what Pilate likely considered a political issue. Historically, Roman leaders were often superstitious, and claims of divinity could evoke fear of offending the gods or dealing with supernatural forces.

he was even more afraid
The Greek word for "afraid" is "φοβέω" (phobeō), which can mean fear, reverence, or respect. Pilate's fear was compounded by the claim of Jesus' divine nature. This fear was not just political but also spiritual. In the Roman world, the divine and the mortal were often intertwined, and the idea of a god walking among men was not entirely foreign. Pilate's fear could have been a mix of concern over potential divine retribution and the political ramifications of mishandling a case involving a figure with such claims. Scripturally, this fear highlights the tension between earthly authority and divine sovereignty, a theme prevalent throughout the Bible. Pilate's reaction serves as a reminder of the power and authority of Jesus, even in His humility and suffering.

(8) When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid.--That is, as the verses which follow show, he was the more afraid because of his wonder who Jesus really was. He must have heard of some of the current impressions as to His life and words; he had himself heard Him claim a kingdom which is not of this world; his wife's dream (Matthew 27:19) had furnished an evil omen which the superstition of the most educated classes of the Roman empire would interpret as a message from the gods; and now the Jews speak of Him as one who claimed to be the Son of God. (Comp. Notes on the words of the Roman centurion in Matthew 27:54.)

Verses 8-11. - (f) [Within the Praetorium.] The fear of Pilate, and the apportionment of the measures of guilt by the majestic Sufferer. Verse 8. - When therefore Pilate heard this word he was more afraid, implying that John had seen all along that some element of "fear" had moved Pilate, and that now it was augmented. Superstition goes hand in hand with skepticism. Instead of this being (as Keim says) contrary to psychologic laws, the history of skepticism is constantly presenting the same features (cf. Herod Antipas the Sadducee, who would dogmatically have repudiated the idea of resurrection, crying out concerning Jesus, "It is John the Baptist, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead," etc.). We need not suppose that Pilate was suddenly affected by the truth of Jewish monotheism; but he may readily have believed that the wondrous Being before him was enshrouded in a mystery of supernatural portent and pretension that he could not fathom, and before which he trembled. The idea of Divine energy enshrined in and wielded by human beings was not altogether foreign to heathen thought - and one centurion, at least, who was probably present on this very occasion, exclaimed that Jesus was a Son of God (Matthew 27:54).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
When
Ὅτε (Hote)
Adverb
Strong's 3753: When, at which time. From hos and te; at which too, i.e. When.

Pilate
Πιλᾶτος (Pilatos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4091: Pilate. Of Latin origin; close-pressed, i.e. Firm; Pilatus, a Roman.

heard
ἤκουσεν (ēkousen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 191: To hear, listen, comprehend by hearing; pass: is heard, reported. A primary verb; to hear.

this
τοῦτον (touton)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

statement,
λόγον (logon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3056: From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.

he was even more afraid,
ἐφοβήθη (ephobēthē)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5399: From phobos; to frighten, i.e. to be alarmed; by analogy, to be in awe of, i.e. Revere.


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