Isaiah 53:9

53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals, ¹ 

but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, ² 

because ³  he had committed no violent deeds,

nor had he spoken deceitfully.

Matthew 27:4

27:4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!”

Matthew 27:19

27:19 As ⁴  he was sitting on the judgment seat, ⁵  his wife sent a message ⁶  to him: ⁷  “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; ⁸  I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream ⁹  about him today.”

Matthew 27:24

Jesus is Condemned and Mocked

27:24 When ¹⁰  Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves!” ¹¹ 

Matthew 27:54

27:54 Now when the centurion ¹²  and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were extremely terrified and said, “Truly this one was God’s Son!”

Luke 23:4

23:4 Then ¹³  Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation ¹⁴  against this man.”

Luke 23:14-15

23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading ¹⁵  the people. When I examined him before you, I ¹⁶  did not find this man guilty ¹⁷  of anything you accused him of doing. 23:15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing ¹⁸  deserving death. ¹⁹ 

Luke 23:21

23:21 But they kept on shouting, ²⁰  “Crucify, crucify ²¹  him!”

Luke 23:41

23:41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing ²²  wrong.”

Luke 23:47

23:47 Now when the centurion ²³  saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ²⁴ 

John 18:38

18:38 Pilate asked, ²⁵  “What is truth?” ²⁶ 

When he had said this he went back outside to the Jewish leaders ²⁷  and announced, ²⁸  “I find no basis for an accusation ²⁹  against him.

John 19:6

19:6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify ³⁰  him! Crucify him!” ³¹  Pilate said, ³²  “You take him and crucify him! ³³  Certainly ³⁴  I find no reason for an accusation ³⁵  against him!”

Hebrews 7:26

7:26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

Hebrews 7:1

The Nature of Melchizedek’s Priesthood

7:1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. ³⁶ 

Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ³⁷  in various portions ³⁸  and in various ways ³⁹  to our ancestors ⁴⁰  through the prophets,

[53:9]  ¹ tn Heb “one assigned his grave with criminals.” The subject of the singular is impersonal; English typically uses “they” in such constructions.

[53:9]  ² tn This line reads literally, “and with the rich in his death.” בְּמֹתָיו (bÿmotayv) combines a preposition, a plural form of the noun מוֹת (mot), and a third masculine singular suffix. The plural of the noun is problematic and the יו may be the result of virtual dittography. The form should probably be emended to בָּמָתוֹ (bamato, singular noun). The relationship between this line and the preceding one is uncertain. The parallelism appears to be synonymous (note “his grave” and “in his death”), but “criminals” and “the rich” hardly make a compatible pair in this context, for they would not be buried in the same kind of tomb. Some emend עָשִׁיר (’ashir, “rich”) to עָשֵׂי רָע (’ase ra’, “doers of evil”) but the absence of the ayin (ע) is not readily explained in this graphic environment. Others suggest an emendation to שְׂעִירִים (sÿ’irim, “he-goats, demons”), but the meaning in this case is not entirely transparent and the proposal assumes that the form suffered from both transposition and the inexplicable loss of a final mem. Still others relate עָשִׁיר (’ashir) to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “mob.” See HALOT 896 s.v. עָשִׁיר. Perhaps the parallelism is antithetical, rather than synonymous. In this case, the point is made that the servant’s burial in a rich man’s tomb, in contrast to a criminal’s burial, was appropriate, for he had done nothing wrong.

[53:9]  ³ tn If the second line is antithetical, then עַל (’al) is probably causal here, explaining why the servant was buried in a rich man’s tomb, rather than that of criminal. If the first two lines are synonymous, then עַל is probably concessive: “even though….”

[27:19]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:19]  ⁵ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

[27:19]  ⁶ tn The word “message” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[27:19]  ⁷ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:19]  ⁸ tn The Greek particle γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated here.

[27:19]  ⁹ tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.

[27:24]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:24]  ¹¹ sn You take care of it yourselves! Compare the response of the chief priests and elders to Judas in 27:4. The expression is identical except that in 27:4 it is singular and here it is plural.

[27:54]  ¹² sn See the note on the word centurion in Matt 8:5.

[23:4]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “find no cause.”

[23:14]  ¹⁵ tn This term also appears in v. 2.

[23:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

[23:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.

[23:15]  ¹⁸ sn With the statement “he has done nothing,” Pilate makes another claim that Jesus is innocent of any crime worthy of death.

[23:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “nothing deserving death has been done by him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

[23:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated here.

[23:21]  ²¹ tn This double present imperative is emphatic.

[23:41]  ²² sn This man has done nothing wrong is yet another declaration that Jesus was innocent of any crime.

[23:47]  ²³ sn See the note on the word centurion in 7:2.

[23:47]  ²⁴ tn Or “righteous.” It is hard to know whether “innocent” or “righteous” is intended, as the Greek term used can mean either, and both make good sense in this context. Luke has been emphasizing Jesus as innocent, so that is slightly more likely here. Of course, one idea entails the other.

[18:38]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Pilate said.”

[18:38]  ²⁶ sn With his reply “What is truth?” Pilate dismissed the matter. It is not clear what Pilate’s attitude was at this point, as in 18:33. He may have been sarcastic, or perhaps somewhat reflective. The author has not given enough information in the narrative to be sure. Within the narrative, Pilate’s question serves to make the reader reflect on what truth is, and that answer (in the narrative) has already been given (14:6).

[18:38]  ²⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12. The term also occurs in v. 31, where it is clear the Jewish leaders are in view, because they state that they cannot legally carry out an execution. Although it is likely (in view of the synoptic parallels) that the crowd here in 18:38 was made up not just of the Jewish leaders, but of ordinary residents of Jerusalem and pilgrims who were in Jerusalem for the Passover, nevertheless in John’s Gospel Pilate is primarily in dialogue with the leadership of the nation, who are expressly mentioned in 18:35 and 19:6.

[18:38]  ²⁸ tn Grk “said to them.”

[18:38]  ²⁹ tn Grk “find no cause.”

[19:6]  ³⁰ sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman statesman and orator Cicero (106-43 b.c.) called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.

[19:6]  ³¹ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from context.

[19:6]  ³² tn Grk “said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because they are unnecessary in contemporary English style.

[19:6]  ³³ sn How are Pilate’s words “You take him and crucify him” to be understood? Was he offering a serious alternative to the priests who wanted Jesus crucified? Was he offering them an exception to the statement in 18:31 that the Jewish authorities did not have the power to carry out a death penalty? Although a few scholars have suggested that the situation was at this point so far out of Pilate’s control that he really was telling the high priests they could go ahead and crucify a man he had found to be innocent, this seems unlikely. It is far more likely that Pilate’s statement should be understood as one of frustration and perhaps sarcasm. This seems to be supported by the context, for the Jewish authorities make no attempt at this point to seize Jesus and crucify him. Rather they continue to pester Pilate to order the crucifixion.

[19:6]  ³⁴ tn On this use of γάρ (gar) used in exclamations and strong affirmations, see BDAG 190 s.v. γάρ 3.

[19:6]  ³⁵ tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”

[7:1]  ³⁶ sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ³⁹ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “to the fathers.”