19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders 1 ), 2 asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate 3 gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. 4
1 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.
2 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
3 tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
4 tn Grk “took away his body.”