25:1 If controversy arises between people, 1 they should go to court for judgment. When the judges 2 hear the case, they shall exonerate 3 the innocent but condemn 4 the guilty. 25:2 Then, 5 if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, 6 the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves. 7
1 tn Heb “men.”
2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”
4 tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”
5 tn Heb “and it will be.”
6 tn Heb “if the evil one is a son of smiting.”
7 tn Heb “according to his wickedness, by number.”
8 tn Grk “judge.”
9 tn Grk “knows.”
10 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does it?”).
11 tn Or “still bound.”
12 sn Where was Caiaphas the high priest located? Did he have a separate palace, or was he somewhere else with the Sanhedrin? Since Augustine (4th century) a number of scholars have proposed that Annas and Caiaphas resided in different wings of the same palace, which were bound together by a common courtyard through which Jesus would have been led as he was taken from Annas to Caiaphas. This seems a reasonable explanation, although there is no conclusive evidence.