complete verse (Matthew 27:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 27:14:

  • Uma: “Not a word did Yesus answer, with the result that the Governor was very amazed.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But Isa did not answer even one word, therefore the governor really wondered.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But Jesus didn’t answer anything, and because of this the governor was very amazed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But Jesus absolutely didn’t answer even one of what they accused him of, so the governor was extremely amazed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But Jesus made no verbal response at all, therefore that governor was amazed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But Jesus continued saying nothing. Therefore the governor was astounded that he said nothing in reply.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 27:14

Gave … no answer implies refusal on the part of Jesus, and so Good News Translation and New English Bible (“refused to answer”) make this meaning explicit. The restructuring of New International Version (“But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge”) is similar to that of Jerusalem Bible (“he offered no reply to any of the charges”).

Both Matthew and Mark (15.5) indicate that the governor (Mark: “Pilate”) wondered (Good News Translation “was … surprised”), to which Matthew adds the adverb greatly.

Barclay has expressed this sentence well: “But to Pilate’s surprise Jesus did not answer even one single word.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .