Matthew 27:22-23

27:22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?” ¹  They all said, “Crucify him!” ²  27:23 He asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!”

Matthew 27:26

27:26 Then he released Barabbas for them. But after he had Jesus flogged, ³  he handed him over ⁴  to be crucified. ⁵ 

[27:22]  ¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[27:22]  ² tn Grk “Him – be crucified!” The third person imperative is difficult to translate because English has no corresponding third person form for the imperative. The traditional translation “Let him be crucified” sounds as if the crowd is giving consent or permission. “He must be crucified” is closer, but it is more natural in English to convert the passive to active and simply say “Crucify him.”

[27:26]  ³ tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”

[27:26]  ⁴ tn Or “delivered him up.”

[27:26]  ⁵ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.