Mark 15:24-32

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  15:29 Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 15:30 save yourself and come down from the cross!” ⁷  15:31 In the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law ⁸  – were mocking him among themselves: ⁹  “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! 15:32 Let the Christ, ¹⁰  the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. ¹¹ 

Luke 23:34

23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] ¹²  Then ¹³  they threw dice ¹⁴  to divide his clothes. ¹⁵ 

John 19:23-24

19:23 Now when the soldiers crucified ¹⁶  Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, ¹⁷  and the tunic ¹⁸  remained. (Now the tunic ¹⁹  was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.) ²⁰  19:24 So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice ²¹  to see who will get it.” ²²  This took place ²³  to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.” ²⁴  So the soldiers did these things.

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.

⁷ sn There is rich irony in the statement of those who were passing by, “Save yourself and come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life. There is a similar kind of irony in the statement made by the chief priests and experts in the law in 15:31.

⁸ tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22. Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

⁹ tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said among themselves.”

¹⁰ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

¹¹ sn Mark’s wording suggests that both of the criminals spoke abusively to him. If so, one of them quickly changed his attitude toward Jesus (see Luke 23:40-43).

¹² tc Many important mss (Ì⁷⁵ א¹ B D* W Θ 070 579 1241 pc sy^s sa) lack v. 34a. It is included in א*^,2 (A) C D² L Ψ 0250 Ë^1,(13) 33 Ï lat sy^c,p,h. It also fits a major Lukan theme of forgiving the enemies (6:27-36), and it has a parallel in Stephen’s response in Acts 7:60. The lack of parallels in the other Gospels argues also for inclusion here. On the other hand, the fact of the parallel in Acts 7:60 may well have prompted early scribes to insert the saying in Luke’s Gospel alone. Further, there is the great difficulty of explaining why early and diverse witnesses lack the saying. A decision is difficult, but even those who regard the verse as inauthentic literarily often consider it to be authentic historically. For this reason it has been placed in single brackets in the translation.

¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁴ tn Grk “cast lots” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent “threw dice” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.

¹⁵ sn An allusion to Ps 22:18, which identifies Jesus as the suffering innocent one.

¹⁶ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

¹⁷ sn Four shares, one for each soldier. The Gospel of John is the only one to specify the number of soldiers involved in the crucifixion. This was a quaternion, a squad of four soldiers. It was accepted Roman practice for the soldiers who performed a crucifixion to divide the possessions of the person executed among themselves.

¹⁸ tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.

¹⁹ tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). See the note on the same word earlier in this verse.

²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

²¹ tn Grk “but choose by lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throw dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.

²² tn Grk “to see whose it will be.”

²³ tn The words “This took place” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

²⁴ tn Grk “cast lots.” See the note on “throw dice” earlier in the verse.