New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
1
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped with cords.
2 And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe.
2
And the men of the army made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
3 They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face.
3
And they kept coming and saying, Long life to the King of the Jews! And they gave him blows with their hands.
4 Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him."
4
And Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I let him come out to you to make it clear to you that I see no wrong in him.
5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
5
Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man!
6 When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him."
6
So when the chief priests and the police saw him they gave a loud cry, To the cross! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and put him on the cross: I see no crime in him.
7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God."
7
And the Jews made answer, We have a law, and by that law it is right for him to be put to death because he said he was the Son of God.
8 Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever.
8
When this saying came to Pilate's ears his fear became greater;
9 He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer.
9
And he went again into the Praetorium and said to Jesus, Where do you come from? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?"
10
Then Pilate said to him, You say nothing to me? is it not clear to you that I have power to let you go free and power to put you to death on the cross?
11 Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
11
Jesus gave this answer: You would have no power at all over me if it was not given to you by God; so that he who gave me up to you has the greater sin.
12 From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor."
12
Hearing this, Pilate had a desire to let him go free, but the Jews said in a loud voice, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: everyone who makes himself a king goes against Caesar.
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha.
13
So when these words came to Pilate's ear, he took Jesus out, seating himself in the judge's seat in a place named in Hebrew, Gabbatha, or the Stone Floor.
14 Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!"
14
(It was the day when they made ready for the Passover; and it was about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, There is your King!
15 They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor."
15
Then they gave a loud cry, Away with him! away with him! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Am I to put your King to death on the cross? The chief priests said in answer, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus;
16
So then he gave him up to them to be put to death on the cross. And they took Jesus away;
17 and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
17
And he went out with his cross on him to the place which is named Dead Man's Head (in Hebrew, Golgotha):
18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them.
18
Where they put him on the cross with two others, one on this side and one on that, and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
19
And Pilate put on the cross a statement in writing. The writing was: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
20
The writing was seen by a number of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was put to death on the cross was near the town; and the writing was in Hebrew and Latin and Greek.
21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, "The King of the Jews,' but, "This man said, I am King of the Jews.' "
21
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not put, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am the King of the Jews.
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."
22
But Pilate made answer, What I have put in writing will not be changed.
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.
23
And when Jesus was nailed to the cross, the men of the army took his clothing, and made a division of it into four parts, to every man a part, and they took his coat: now the coat was without a join, made out of one bit of cloth.
24 So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots."
24
So they said among themselves, Let this not be cut up, but let us put it to the decision of chance and see who gets it. (They did this so that the Writings might come true, which say, They made a distribution of my clothing among them, and my coat they put to the decision of chance.) This was what the men of the army did.
25 And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
25
Now by the side of the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son."
26
So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple who was dear to him, he said to his mother, Mother, there is your son!
27 Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
27
Then he said to the disciple, There is your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his house.
28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty."
28
After this, being conscious that all things had now been done so that the Writings might come true, Jesus said, Give me water.
29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.
29
Now there was a vessel ready, full of bitter wine, and they put a sponge full of it on a stick and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
30
So when Jesus had taken the wine he said, All is done. And with his head bent he gave up his spirit.
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed.
31
Now it was the day of getting ready for the Passover, and so that the bodies might not be on the cross on the Sabbath (because the day of that Sabbath was a great day), the Jews made a request to Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him.
32
So the men of the army came, and the legs of the first were broken and then of the other who was put to death on the cross with Jesus:
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
33
But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was dead by this time, and so his legs were not broken;
34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.
34
But one of the men made a wound in his side with a spear, and straight away there came out blood and water.
35 (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.)
35
And he who saw it has given witness (and his witness is true; he is certain that what he says is true) so that you may have belief.
36 These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken."
36
These things came about so that the Writings might be true, No bone of his body will be broken.
37 And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced."
37
And again another verse says, They will see him who was wounded by their spears.
38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body.
38
After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, made a request to Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate said he might do so. So he went and took away his body.
39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.
39
And Nicodemus came (he who had first come to Jesus by night) with a roll of myrrh and aloes mixed, about a hundred pounds.
40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews.
40
Then they took the body of Jesus, folding linen about it with the spices, as is the way of the Jews when they put the dead to rest.
41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid.
41
Now there was a garden near the cross, and in the garden a new place for the dead in which no man had ever been put.
42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
42
So they put Jesus there, because it was the Jews' day of getting ready for the Passover, and the place was near.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.