John 18:38
New International Version
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

New Living Translation
“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.

English Standard Version
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.

Berean Standard Bible
“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.

Berean Literal Bible
Pilate says to Him, "What is truth?" And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and says to them, "I find no guilt in Him.

King James Bible
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

New King James Version
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 fault in Him at all.

New American Standard Bible
Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And after saying this, he came out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no grounds at all for charges in His case.

NASB 1995
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 guilt in Him.

NASB 1977
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 guilt in Him.

Legacy Standard Bible
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 guilt in Him.

Amplified Bible
Pilate said to Him [scornfully], “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].

Christian Standard Bible
“What is truth? ” said Pilate. After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging him.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
What is truth?” said Pilate. After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging Him.

American Standard Version
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find no crime in him.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Pilate said to him, “What is the truth?” And when he had said this he went out again to the Judeans and he said to them, “I find not even one fault in him.”

Contemporary English Version
Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?" Pilate went back out and said, "I don't find this man guilty of anything!

Douay-Rheims Bible
Pilate saith to him: What is truth? And when he said this, he went out again to the Jews, and saith to them: I find no cause in him.

English Revised Version
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find no crime in him.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After Pilate said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I don't find this man guilty of anything.

Good News Translation
"And what is truth?" Pilate asked. Then Pilate went back outside to the people and said to them, "I cannot find any reason to condemn him.

International Standard Version
Pilate asked him, "What is 'truth'?" and then he went out to the Jewish leaders again and told them, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

Literal Standard Version
Pilate says to Him, “What is truth?” And having said this, again he went forth to the Jews and says to them, “I find no fault in Him;

Majority Standard Bible
“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.

New American Bible
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in him.

NET Bible
Pilate asked, "What is truth?" When he had said this he went back outside to the Jewish leaders and announced, "I find no basis for an accusation against him.

New Revised Standard Version
Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him.

New Heart English Bible
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" When he had said this, he went out again to the Jewish leaders, and said to them, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

Webster's Bible Translation
Pilate saith to him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and saith to them, I find in him no fault.

Weymouth New Testament
"What is truth?" said Pilate. But no sooner had he spoken the words than he went out again to the Jews and told them, "I find no crime in him.

World English Bible
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

Young's Literal Translation
Pilate saith to him, 'What is truth?' and this having said, again he went forth unto the Jews, and saith to them, 'I do find no fault in him;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jesus Before Pilate
37“Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” 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. 39But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”…

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

John 18:33
Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"

John 19:4
Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him."

John 19:6
As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" "You take Him and crucify Him," Pilate replied, "for I find no basis for a charge against Him."


Treasury of Scripture

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 in him no fault at all.

What.

Acts 17:19,20,32
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? …

Acts 24:25,26
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee…

I find.

John 19:4,6,21,22
Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him…

Matthew 27:18,19,24
For he knew that for envy they had delivered him…

Mark 15:14
Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

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John 18
1. Judas betrays Jesus.
6. The officers fall to the ground.
10. Peter cuts off Malchus' ear.
12. Jesus is taken, and led unto Annas and Caiaphas.
15. Peter's denial.
19. Jesus examined before Caiaphas.
25. Peter's second and third denial.
28. Jesus arraigned before Pilate.
36. His kingdom.
40. The Jews prefer Barabbas.














(38) Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?--"'What is truth?' said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer." Such is Lord Bacon's well-known interpretation of Pilate's well-known question. Others have seen in it the bitterness of a mind that had been tossed to and fro in the troubled sea of contemporaneous thought, and despaired of an anchorage. Others, again; have traced the tone of sarcasm in the governor's words--"Is the son of Roman freedom and Greek thought, which had at this time been welded into one power, to learn truth of a Jewish enthusiast?" while the older interpreters, for the most part, regarded the question as that of an earnest inquirer desiring to be satisfied. These are a few among the many thoughts the passage has suggested; and yet none of them seem to give the natural impression which follows from the words. Bacon's is nearest to it, but Pilate was far from jesting. He seems rather to have been irritated by the refusal of the Jews to furnish a formal accusation (John 18:31), and more so at the question of Jesus in John 18:34, and the subtleties, as he thinks them, of John 18:36. This seems to him to be another, and at all events it is wholly irrelevant to the question at issue. He has neither time nor will to deal with it, and at once goes from the palace again to the Jews.

I find in him no fault at all.--Better, I find no crime in Him. St. John uses the word rendered "fault" only in this phrase. (Comp. John 19:4; John 19:6.) It is used by St. Matthew (Matthew 27:37) for the technical "accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews," and this seems to be the sense here. "I find no ground for the legal charge (John 18:33). Whatever He may be, there is no proof of treason against the majesty of Caesar." . . .

Verse 38. - Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? The aphorism of Lord Bacon, "'What is truth?' said jesting Pilate, and did not wait for an answer," scarcely represents the reality oft-he case. Pilate was not scornfully jesting with a metaphysical problem, nor professing himself hopelessly baffled in search for it. The language was not the utterance of irrepressible homage to his mysterious Prisoner, or heartfelt sympathy with him. For on this supposition why did he not wait for some more words of strange unearthly wisdom? Nor does he go so far in his skepticism as Pliny the Eider did when he said, "that there is only one thing certain, viz. that there is nothing certain;" but as a man of the world having to do with Roman authority or intrigue and Jewish fanaticism, Pilate despised earnestness and zeal, and was utterly unable to believe in the existence of a world or region where any higher reality than force prevailed. But the governor was now, with his narrow range of thought, strongly convinced that Jesus was utterly innocent of the charge brought against him. The unanswered question is equivalent to this - What has truth to do with kingship? What has the vague shadowy region over which this poor king reigns to do with plots against Caesar? He saw enough to induce him to break off the interview within the Praetorium, and he proceeded, though vainly, to deliver a verdict on the case. When he had said this, he went out to the Jews, and said, I find no crime in him. Here, however, must be introduced the scenes described by Matthew, Mark, and especially by Luke - scenes of loud and angry dispute and renewed and fierce accusation (Matthew 27:12-14; Mark 15:3-5; Luke 23:4-12). In all three accounts, after the admission that he was King of the Jews, the loud, fierce accusations followed in which our Lord, notwithstanding the repeated summons of Pilate, "answered nothing." At this the governor marveled greatly (Matthew and Mark). It is not impossible that the first question which Pilate put to him within the Praetorium was renewed and laconically answered with the Σὺ λέγεις, as before I but all the wild roar of the chief priests and people could extract nothing more. This silence in face of the accusation of the mob astonished Pilate, and made him more than ever convinced of the innocence of his Prisoner. B. Weiss shows conclusively how much light this interview with Pilate throws on the synoptic narrative; that, in fact, Pilate's whole conduct is only explicable on the supposition that he had received cogent reasons to disarm all political mistrust (see 'Life of Jesus,' vol. 3. pp. 348, 349). Westcott says, "It is of great interest to compare this confession before Pilate with the corresponding confession before the high priest (Matthew 26:64). The one addressed to the Jews is in the language of prophecy, the other addressed to a Roman appeals to the verdict of universal conscience. The one speaks of a future manifestation of glory, the other of a present manifestation of truth."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
“What
Τί (Ti)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what.

is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

truth?”
ἀλήθεια (alētheia)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 225: From alethes; truth.

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

asked.
Λέγει (Legei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

And
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

having said
εἰπὼν (eipōn)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

this,
τοῦτο (touto)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

he went out
ἐξῆλθεν (exēlthen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1831: To go out, come out. From ek and erchomai; to issue.

again
πάλιν (palin)
Adverb
Strong's 3825: Probably from the same as pale; anew, i.e. back, once more, or furthermore or on the other hand.

to
πρὸς (pros)
Preposition
Strong's 4314: To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.

the
τοὺς (tous)
Article - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Jews
Ἰουδαίους (Ioudaious)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2453: Jewish. From Iouda; Judaean, i.e. Belonging to Jehudah.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

told
λέγει (legei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

them,
αὐτοῖς (autois)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

“I
Ἐγὼ (Egō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

find
εὑρίσκω (heuriskō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2147: A prolonged form of a primary heuro, which heureo is used for it in all the tenses except the present and imperfect to find.

no
οὐδεμίαν (oudemian)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3762: No one, none, nothing.

basis for a charge
αἰτίαν (aitian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 156: From the same as aiteo; a cause, i.e. reason, crime.

against
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

Him.
αὐτῷ (autō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.


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