The messengers, who had been sent by the Pharisees is the meaning given this verse in Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and the Anchor Bible. Others (New English Bible, Goodspeed, Good News Translation margin) take this with a meaning similar to Moffatt: “Now some Pharisees had been sent to him.” Both translations are possible on the basis of the Greek, but the translation represented by Good News Translation has in its favour that it represents the more difficult translation in the context. The difficulty is that priests and Levites would normally not have belonged to the Pharisaic group, but would have been Sadducees. However, by the time this Gospel was written, these distinctions were no longer important, because the Pharisees were then the only representatives of Judaism. In fact, for John the Pharisees have become synonymous with the religious leaders of the Jewish people, who have the right to pass judgment. Generally they are connected with Jerusalem as here (see 3.1; 7.32,47f; 9.13,15f,40; 11.46f,57; 18.3).

The passive expression had been sent can, of course, be made active by inversion, for example, “The Pharisees were the ones who had sent the messengers.” It is important, moreover, that a glossary note identify the Pharisees as a strict religious sect of Judaism. In publications containing other books of the New Testament, cross references can be given to other places where the Pharisees and their beliefs are mentioned.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .