Passage

John 18.20

Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"18. Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals; for it was cold; and they were warming themselves: and Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. 19. The high priest therefore asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his teaching."

"20. Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world; I ever taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and in secret spake I nothing."

"21. Why askest thou me? Ask them that have heard me, what I spake unto them: behold, these know the things which I said. 22. And when he had said this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?" (John 18:18-22, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"18. Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, for it was cold. They were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming himself. 19. The high priest therefore asked Jesus about his disciples, and about his teaching."

"20. Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret."

"21. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Behold, these know the things which I said.” 22. When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?”" (John 18:18-22, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"18. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself. 19. The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine."

"20. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing."

"21. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. 22. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? ^{with: or, with a rod}" (John 18:18-22, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"18. and the servants and the officers were standing, having made a fire of coals, because it was cold, and they were warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, and warming himself. 19. The chief priests, therefore, questioned Jesus concerning his disciples, and concerning his teaching;"

"20. Jesus answered him, 'I spake freely to the world, I did always teach in a synagogue, and in the temple, where the Jews do always come together; and in secret I spake nothing;"

"21. why me dost thou question? question those having heard what I spake to them; lo, these have known what I said.' 22. And he having said these things, one of the officers standing by did give Jesus a slap, saying, 'Thus dost thou answer the chief priest?'" (John 18:18-22, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: John the Apostle (traditionally) / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
Audience: later Christian audience (high-Christological emphasis; against early gnosticism)
Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Ephesus (composition)
Time period: events c. 26-33 AD (3-Passover chronology); composed c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

Key words

G2424 - Iesous, Iesous (Strong's G2424). Also appears in: Matthew 1.1, Matthew 1.16, Matthew 1.18.
G2889 - kosmos, kosmos (Strong's G2889). Also appears in: Mark 14, John 1.1-14, John 1.10.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.