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John 19 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULB does this with the poetry in 19:24, which are words from the OT.
Special concepts in this chapter
"Purple garment"
The color purple was a sign of royalty in the ancient Near East. Jesus was mockingly dressed to look like a king.
"You are not Caesar's friend"
Pilate did not want to sentence Jesus to death, but the Jews forced him. They did this to make it seem as if allowing Jesus to live would betray the Roman government.
Important figures of speech in this chapter
Sarcasm
The following phrases are intended to be taken sarcastically: "Hail, King of the Jews," "Should I crucify your king?" and "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Sarcasm is the use of irony to insult someone. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-irony)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
Gabbatha, Golgotha
These are two Hebrew words. After translating the meanings of these words ("The Pavement" and "The Place of a Skull"), the author transliterates their sounds by writing them with Greek letters.