Luke 23:13-23

Jesus Brought Before the Crowd

23:13 Then ¹  Pilate called together the chief priests, the ²  rulers, and the people, 23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading ³  the people. When I examined him before you, I ⁴  did not find this man guilty ⁵  of anything you accused him of doing. 23:15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing ⁶  deserving death. ⁷  23:16 I will therefore have him flogged ⁸  and release him.”

23:17 [[EMPTY]] ⁹ 

23:18 But they all shouted out together, ¹⁰  “Take this man ¹¹  away! Release Barabbas for us!” 23:19 (This ¹²  was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection ¹³  started in the city, and for murder.) ¹⁴  23:20 Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted ¹⁵  to release Jesus. 23:21 But they kept on shouting, ¹⁶  “Crucify, crucify ¹⁷  him!” 23:22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty ¹⁸  of no crime deserving death. ¹⁹  I will therefore flog ²⁰  him and release him.” 23:23 But they were insistent, ²¹  demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified. And their shouts prevailed.

[23:13]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:13]  ² tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[23:14]  ³ tn This term also appears in v. 2.

[23:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

[23:14]  ⁵ tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.

[23:15]  ⁶ sn With the statement “he has done nothing,” Pilate makes another claim that Jesus is innocent of any crime worthy of death.

[23:15]  ⁷ 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.

[23:16]  ⁸ tn Or “scourged” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). This refers to a whipping Pilate ordered in an attempt to convince Jesus not to disturb the peace. It has been translated “flogged” to distinguish it from the more severe verberatio.

[23:17]  ⁹ tc Many of the best mss, as well as some others (Ì⁷⁵ A B K L T 070 1241 pc sa), lack 23:17 “(Now he was obligated to release one individual for them at the feast.)” This verse appears to be a parenthetical note explaining the custom of releasing someone on amnesty at the feast. It appears in two different locations with variations in wording, which makes it look like a scribal addition. It is included in א (D following v. 19) W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat. The verse appears to be an explanatory gloss based on Matt 27:15 and Mark 15:6, not original in Luke. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[23:18]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “together, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated here.

[23:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “this one.” The reference to Jesus as “this man” is pejorative in this context.

[23:19]  ¹² tn Grk “who” (a continuation of the previous sentence).

[23:19]  ¹³ sn Ironically, what Jesus was alleged to have done, started an insurrection, this man really did.

[23:19]  ¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[23:20]  ¹⁵ sn The account pictures a battle of wills – the people versus Pilate. Pilate is consistently portrayed in Luke’s account as wanting to release Jesus because he believed him to be innocent.

[23:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated here.

[23:21]  ¹⁷ tn This double present imperative is emphatic.

[23:22]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “no cause of death I found in him.”

[23:22]  ¹⁹ sn The refrain of innocence comes once again. Pilate tried to bring some sense of justice, believing Jesus had committed no crime deserving death.

[23:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “scourge” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). See the note on “flogged” in v. 16.

[23:23]  ²¹ tn Though a different Greek term is used here (BDAG 373 s.v. ἐπίκειμαι), this remark is like 23:5.