Lukas 22:63-65

22:63 Now ¹  the men who were holding Jesus ²  under guard began to mock him and beat him. 22:64 They ³  blindfolded him and asked him repeatedly, ⁴  “Prophesy! Who hit you?” ⁵  22:65 They also said many other things against him, reviling ⁶  him.

Lukas 23:11

23:11 Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, ⁷  dressing him in elegant clothes, ⁸  Herod ⁹  sent him back to Pilate.

Lukas 23:35

23:35 The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed ¹⁰  him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save ¹¹  himself if ¹²  he is the Christ ¹³  of God, his chosen one!”

Yesaya 50:6

50:6 I offered my back to those who attacked, ¹⁴ 

my jaws to those who tore out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from insults and spitting.

Yesaya 52:14

52:14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you) ¹⁵ 

he was so disfigured ¹⁶  he no longer looked like a man; ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 53:3

53:3 He was despised and rejected by people, ¹⁸ 

one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;

people hid their faces from him; ¹⁹ 

he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. ²⁰ 

Mikha 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ²¹  But now slash yourself, ²²  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ²³ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ²⁴  they strike Israel’s ruler ²⁵ 

on the side of his face.

Matius 26:67

26:67 Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. And some slapped him,

Matius 27:28-30

27:28 They ²⁶  stripped him and put a scarlet robe ²⁷  around him, 27:29 and after braiding ²⁸  a crown of thorns, ²⁹  they put it on his head. They ³⁰  put a staff ³¹  in his right hand, and kneeling down before him, they mocked him: ³²  “Hail, king of the Jews!” ³³  27:30 They ³⁴  spat on him and took the staff ³⁵  and struck him repeatedly ³⁶  on the head.

Markus 14:65

14:65 Then ³⁷  some began to spit on him, and to blindfold him, and to strike him with their fists, saying, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat ³⁸  him.

Markus 15:17-20

15:17 They put a purple cloak ³⁹  on him and after braiding ⁴⁰  a crown of thorns, ⁴¹  they put it on him. 15:18 They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” ⁴²  15:19 Again and again ⁴³  they struck him on the head with a staff ⁴⁴  and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. 15:20 When they had finished mocking ⁴⁵  him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then ⁴⁶  they led him away to crucify him. ⁴⁷ 

Yohanes 18:22

18:22 When Jesus ⁴⁸  had said this, one of the high priest’s officers who stood nearby struck him on the face and said, ⁴⁹  “Is that the way you answer the high priest?”

Yohanes 19:1-5

Pilate Tries to Release Jesus

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely. ⁵⁰  19:2 The soldiers ⁵¹  braided ⁵²  a crown of thorns ⁵³  and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. ⁵⁴  19:3 They ⁵⁵  came up to him again and again ⁵⁶  and said, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ⁵⁷  And they struck him repeatedly ⁵⁸  in the face.

19:4 Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, ⁵⁹  “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation ⁶⁰  against him.” 19:5 So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. ⁶¹  Pilate ⁶²  said to them, “Look, here is the man!” ⁶³ 

[22:63]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[22:63]  ² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:64]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:64]  ⁴ tn The verb ἐπηρώτων (ephrwtwn) has been translated as an iterative imperfect. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.

[22:64]  ⁵ tn Grk “Who is the one who hit you?”

[22:64]  sn Who hit you? This is a variation of one of three ancient games that involved blindfolds.

[22:65]  ⁶ tn Or “insulting.” Luke uses a strong word here; it means “to revile, to defame, to blaspheme” (L&N 33.400).

[23:11]  ⁷ tn This is a continuation of the previous Greek sentence, but because of its length and complexity, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying “then” to indicate the sequence of events.

[23:11]  ⁸ sn This mockery involved putting elegant royal clothes on Jesus, either white or purple (the colors of royalty). This was no doubt a mockery of Jesus’ claim to be a king.

[23:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:35]  ¹⁰ tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).

[23:35]  ¹¹ sn The irony in the statement Let him save himself is that salvation did come, but later, not while on the cross.

[23:35]  ¹² tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[23:35]  ¹³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[23:35]  sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.

[50:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “who beat [me].”

[52:14]  ¹⁵ tn Some witnesses read “him,” which is more consistent with the context, where the servant is spoken about, not addressed. However, it is possible that the Lord briefly addresses the servant here. The present translation assumes the latter view and places the phrase in parentheses.

[52:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “such was the disfigurement.” The noun מִשְׁחַת (mishkhat) occurs only here. It may be derived from the verbal root שָׁחַת (shakhat, “be ruined”; see BDB 1007-8 s.v. שָׁחַת). The construct form appears here before a prepositional phrase (cf. GKC 421 §130.a).

[52:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from a man his appearance.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.” See BDB 583 s.v.

[53:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lacking of men.” If the genitive is taken as specifying (“lacking with respect to men”), then the idea is that he lacked company because he was rejected by people. Another option is to take the genitive as indicating genus or larger class (i.e., “one lacking among men”). In this case one could translate, “he was a transient” (cf. the use of חָדֵל [khadel] in Ps 39:5 HT [39:4 ET]).

[53:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “like a hiding of the face from him,” i.e., “like one before whom the face is hidden” (see BDB 712 s.v. מַסְתֵּר).

[53:3]  ²⁰ sn The servant is likened to a seriously ill person who is shunned by others because of his horrible disease.

[5:1]  ²¹ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ²² tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).

[5:1]  sn Slash yourself. Slashing one’s body was a form of mourning. See Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5.

[5:1]  ²³ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  sn The daughter surrounded by soldiers is an image of the city of Jerusalem under siege (note the address “Daughter Jerusalem” in 4:8).

[5:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  sn Striking a king with a scepter, a symbol of rulership, would be especially ironic and humiliating.

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[27:28]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:28]  ²⁷ sn The scarlet robe probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king.

[27:29]  ²⁸ tn Or “weaving.”

[27:29]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:29]  ³¹ tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[27:29]  ³² tn Grk “they mocked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[27:29]  ³³ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[27:29]  sn The statement Hail, King of the Jews! is a mockery patterned after the Romans’ cry of Ave, Caesar (“Hail, Caesar!”).

[27:30]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:30]  ³⁵ tn Or “the reed.”

[27:30]  ³⁶ tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[14:65]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:65]  ³⁸ tn For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.

[15:17]  ³⁹ sn The purple cloak probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king (cf. 15:2).

[15:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “weaving.”

[15:17]  ⁴¹ 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.

[15:18]  ⁴² tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[15:18]  sn The statement Hail, King of the Jews! is a mockery patterned after the Romans’ cry of Ave, Caesar (“Hail, Caesar!”).

[15:19]  ⁴³ tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[15:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[15:20]  ⁴⁵ tn The aorist tense is taken consummatively here.

[15:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:20]  ⁴⁷ sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.

[18:22]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:22]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “one of the high priest’s servants standing by gave Jesus a strike, saying.” For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.

[19:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “had him flogged,” or (traditional), “scourged him.” The verb should be read as causative. Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged. A Roman governor would not carry out such a sentence in person. BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1. states, “If J refers to the ‘verberatio’ given those condemned to death (TMommsen, Röm. Strafrecht 1899, 938f; Jos., Bell. 2, 308; 5, 449), it is odd that Pilate subsequently claims no cause for action (vs. 6); but if the latter statement refers only to the penalty of crucifixion, μ. vs. 1 may be equivalent to παιδεύω (q.v. 2bγ) in Lk 23:16, 22 (for μ. of a non-capital offense PFlor I, 61, 61 [85ad]=Mitt-Wilck. II/2, 80 II, 61).”

[19:1]  sn This severe flogging was not administered by Pilate himself but his officers, who took Jesus at Pilate’s order and scourged him. The author’s choice of wording here may constitute an allusion to Isa 50:6, “I gave my back to those who scourge me.” Three forms of corporal punishment were employed by the Romans, in increasing degree of severity: (1) fustigatio (beating), (2) flagellatio (flogging), and (3) verberatio (severe flogging, scourging). The first could be on occasion a punishment in itself, but the more severe forms were part of the capital sentence as a prelude to crucifixion. The most severe, verberatio, is what is indicated here by the Greek verb translated flogged severely (μαστιγόω, mastigow). People died on occasion while being flogged this way; frequently it was severe enough to rip a person’s body open or cut muscle and sinew to the bone. It was carried out with a whip that had fragments of bone or pieces of metal bound into the tips.

[19:2]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “And the soldiers.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:2]  ⁵² tn Or “wove.”

[19:2]  ⁵³ sn The crown of thorns was a crown plaited of some thorny material, intended as a mockery of Jesus’ “kingship.” Traditionally it has been regarded as an additional instrument of torture, but it seems more probable the purpose of the thorns was not necessarily to inflict more physical suffering but to imitate the spikes of the “radiant corona,” a type of crown portrayed on ruler’s heads on many coins of the period; the spikes on this type of crown represented rays of light pointing outward (the best contemporary illustration is the crown on the head of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor).

[19:2]  ⁵⁴ sn The purple color of the robe indicated royal status. This was further mockery of Jesus, along with the crown of thorns.

[19:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:3]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “again and again” are implied by the (iterative) imperfect verb ἤρχοντο (hrconto).

[19:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[19:3]  sn The greeting used by the soldiers, “Hail, King of the Jews!”, is a mockery based on the standard salutation for the Roman emperor, “Ave, Caesar!” (“Hail to Caesar!”).

[19:3]  ⁵⁸ tn The word “repeatedly” is implied by the (iterative) imperfect verb ἐδιδοσαν (edidosan).

[19:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “to them.” The words “the Jewish leaders” are supplied from John 18:38 for clarity.

[19:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”

[19:5]  ⁶¹ sn See the note on the purple robe in 19:2.

[19:5]  ⁶² tn Grk “He”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:5]  ⁶³ sn Look, here is the man! Pilate may have meant no more than something like “Here is the accused!” or in a contemptuous way, “Here is your king!” Others have taken Pilate’s statement as intended to evoke pity from Jesus’ accusers: “Look at this poor fellow!” (Jesus would certainly not have looked very impressive after the scourging). For the author, however, Pilate’s words constituted an unconscious allusion to Zech 6:12, “Look, here is the man whose name is the Branch.” In this case Pilate (unknowingly and ironically) presented Jesus to the nation under a messianic title.