John 19:1

Pilate Tries to Release Jesus

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely.

Proverbs 12:10

12:10 A righteous person cares for the life of his animal,

but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel.

Micah 3:3

3:3 You devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot

like meat in a kettle.


tn Or “had him flogged,” or (traditional), “scourged him.” The verb should be read as causative. Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged. A Roman governor would not carry out such a sentence in person. BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1. states, “If J refers to the ‘verberatio’ given those condemned to death (TMommsen, Röm. Strafrecht 1899, 938f; Jos., Bell. 2, 308; 5, 449), it is odd that Pilate subsequently claims no cause for action (vs. 6); but if the latter statement refers only to the penalty of crucifixion, μ. vs. 1 may be equivalent to παιδεύω (q.v. 2bγ) in Lk 23:16, 22 (for μ. of a non-capital offense PFlor I, 61, 61 [85ad]=Mitt-Wilck. II/2, 80 II, 61).”

tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” The righteous take care of animals, not just people.

tn Heb “but the mercies.” The additional words appear in the translation for the sake of clarification. The line can be interpreted in two ways: (1) when the wicked exhibit a kind act, they do it in a cruel way, or (2) even the kindest of their acts is cruel by all assessments, e.g., stuffing animals with food to fatten them for market – their “kindness” is driven by ulterior motives (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 129).

tn Heb “who.”

tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (kaasher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kisher, “like flesh”).