Matthew 27:45-50

Jesus’ Death

27:45 Now from noon until three, ¹  darkness came over all the land. ²  27:46 At ³  about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, ⁴  “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁵  27:47 When ⁶  some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 27:48 Immediately ⁷  one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, ⁸  put it on a stick, ⁹  and gave it to him to drink. 27:49 But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to save him.” ¹⁰  27:50 Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.

[27:45]  ¹ tn Grk “from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.”

[27:45]  ² sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.

[27:46]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:46]  ⁴ tn Grk “with a loud voice, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:46]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.

[27:47]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[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.”

[27:49]  ¹⁰ tc Early and important mss (א B C L Γ pc) have another sentence at the end of this verse: “And another [soldier] took a spear and pierced him in the side, and water and blood flowed out.” This comment finds such a strong parallel in John 19:34 that it was undoubtedly lifted from the Fourth Gospel by early, well-meaning scribes and inserted into Matt 27:49. Consequently, even though the support for the shorter reading (A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy sa bo) is not nearly as impressive, internal considerations on its behalf are compelling.