Matthew 27:41-44

27:41 In ¹  the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law ²  and elders ³  – were mocking him: ⁴  27:42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down ⁵  now from the cross, we will believe in him! 27:43 He trusts in God – let God, if he wants to, deliver him now ⁶  because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’!” 27:44 The ⁷  robbers who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. ⁸ 

[27:41]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:41]  ² tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[27:41]  ³ tn Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

[27:41]  ⁴ tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said.”

[27:42]  ⁵ tn Here the aorist imperative καταβάτω (katabatw) has been translated as a conditional imperative. This fits the pattern of other conditional imperatives (imperative + καί + future indicative) outlined by ExSyn 489.

[27:43]  ⁹ sn An allusion to Ps 22:8.

[27:44]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:44]  ¹⁴ sn Matthew’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).