New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council —met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
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At dawn's first light, the high priests, with the religious leaders and scholars, arranged a conference with the entire Jewish Council. After tying Jesus securely, they took him out and presented him to Pilate.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
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Pilate asked him, "Are you the 'King of the Jews'?"
3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes,
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The high priests let loose a barrage of accusations.
4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?”
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Pilate asked again, "Aren't you going to answer anything? That's quite a list of accusations."
5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.
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Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed.
6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested.
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It was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, anyone the people asked for.
7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising.
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There was one prisoner called Barabbas, locked up with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the uprising against Rome.
8 The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.
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As the crowd came up and began to present its petition for him to release a prisoner,
9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked.
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Pilate anticipated them: "Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?"
10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.)
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Pilate knew by this time that it was through sheer spite that the high priests had turned Jesus over to him.
11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus.
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But the high priests by then had worked up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas.
12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
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Pilate came back, "So what do I do with this man you call King of the Jews?"
13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
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They yelled, "Nail him to a cross!"
14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
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Pilate objected, "But for what crime?" But they yelled all the louder, "Nail him to a cross!"
15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
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Pilate gave the crowd what it wanted, set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion.
16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment.
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The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade.
17 They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head.
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They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thorn bush on his head.
18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”
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Then they began their mockery: "Bravo, King of the Jews!"
19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship.
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They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship.
20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
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After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.
21 A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)
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There was a man walking by, coming from work, Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made him carry Jesus' cross.
22 And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”).
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The soldiers brought Jesus to Golgotha, meaning "Skull Hill."
23 They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.
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They offered him a mild painkiller (wine mixed with myrrh), but he wouldn't take it.
24 Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece.
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And they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes and threw dice to see who would get them.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.
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They nailed him up at nine o'clock in the morning.
26 A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.”
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The charge against him - the king of the jews - was printed on a poster.
27 Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
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Along with him, they crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left.
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29 The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.
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People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: "You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days -
30 Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
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so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you're really God's Son, come down from that cross!"
31 The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself!
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The high priests, along with the religion scholars, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: "He saved others - but he can't save himself!
32 Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.
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Messiah, is he? King of Israel? Then let him climb down from that cross. We'll all become believers then!" Even the men crucified alongside him joined in the mockery.
33 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.
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At noon the sky became extremely dark.
34 Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
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The darkness lasted three hours. At three o'clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
35 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.
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Some of the bystanders who heard him said, "Listen, he's calling for Elijah."
36 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!”
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Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down."
37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last.
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But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath.
38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
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At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle.
39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
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When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, "This has to be the Son of God!"
40 Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph ), and Salome.
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There were women watching from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joses, and Salome.
41 They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there.
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When Jesus was in Galilee, these women followed and served him, and had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42 This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached,
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Late in the afternoon, since it was the Day of Preparation (that is, Sabbath eve),
43 Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.)
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Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Jewish Council, came. He was one who lived expectantly, on the lookout for the kingdom of God. Working up his courage, he went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.
44 Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet.
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Pilate questioned whether he could be dead that soon and called for the captain to verify that he was really dead.
45 The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body.
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Assured by the captain, he gave Joseph the corpse.
46 Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance.
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Having already purchased a linen shroud, Joseph took him down, wrapped him in the shroud, placed him in a tomb that had been cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the opening.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.
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Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses, watched the burial.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.