Then Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped is literally “Then, therefore (Greek oun), Pilate took Jesus and whipped him.” The context makes clear that “whipped” is causative in meaning, that is, Pilate ordered the soldiers to whip Jesus (compare verse 2). This explains the rendering of Good News Translation (had him whipped), New English Bible (“had him flogged”) and New American Bible (“have him scourged”). It is less certain whether the Greek verb “took” is also to be understood in a causative sense, that is, “caused Jesus to be taken.” Such an interpretation is the basis for Jerusalem Bible‘s rendering (“Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged”), which is similar to Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. A variation of this translation would be “Pilate ordered the soldiers, ‘Take Jesus away and whip him’ ” If the Greek verb “took” is not understood in a causative sense, it is really redundant and can be omitted in translation: “Then Pilate had Jesus whipped.”

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 .