Mark 15:24-28

15:24 Then ¹  they crucified ²  him and divided his clothes, throwing dice ³  for them, to decide what each would take. 15:25 It was nine o’clock in the morning ⁴  when they crucified him. 15:26 The inscription ⁵  of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” 15:27 And they crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left. 15:28 [[EMPTY]] ⁶ 

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.

³ tn Grk “by throwing the lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throwing dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling. According to L&N 6.219 a term for “dice” is particularly appropriate.

⁴ tn Grk “It was the third hour.” This time would have been approximate, and could refer to the beginning of the process, some time before Jesus was lifted on the cross.

⁵ sn Mention of the inscription is an important detail, because the inscription would normally give the reason for the execution. It shows that Jesus was executed for claiming to be a king. It was also probably written with irony from the executioners’ point of view.

⁶ tc Most later mss add 15:28 “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘He was counted with the lawless ones.’” Verse 28 is included in L Θ 083 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat, but is lacking in important Alexandrian and Western mss and some others (א A B C D Ψ pc). The addition of the verse with its quotation from Isa 53:12 probably represents a scribal assimilation from Luke 22:37. It was almost certainly not an original part of Mark’s Gospel. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.