Matthew 27:30

27:30 They ¹  spat on him and took the staff ²  and struck him repeatedly ³  on the head.

Matthew 11:7

11:7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ⁴  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁵ 

Matthew 12:20

12:20 He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,

until he brings justice to victory.

Matthew 27:48

27:48 Immediately ⁶  one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, ⁷  put it on a stick, ⁸  and gave it to him to drink.

Matthew 27:29

27:29 and after braiding ⁹  a crown of thorns, ¹⁰  they put it on his head. They ¹¹  put a staff ¹²  in his right hand, and kneeling down before him, they mocked him: ¹³  “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁴ 

[27:30]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:30]  ² tn Or “the reed.”

[27:30]  ³ tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Or “desert.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.

[27:48]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:48]  ⁸ sn Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca, a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.

[27:48]  ⁹ tn Grk “a reed.”

[27:29]  ¹⁰ tn Or “weaving.”

[27:29]  ¹¹ sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.

[27:29]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:29]  ¹³ tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[27:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “they mocked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[27:29]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”