< Mark 15 >
1 Very early in the morning the chief priests met together with [the rest of] the Jewish council, [in order to decide how to accuse Jesus before the Roman governor. Their guards] tied Jesus’ hands [again]. They took him to [the house of] Pilate, [the governor, and they started to accuse him, saying] “[Jesus is claiming that he is a king!]!”
And forthwith, in the morning, the chief priests with the Elders and the Scribes, and the whole Sanhedrim, held a consultation. And they bound Jesus, and led him away, and delivered him over to Pilate the president.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Do you [claim to be] the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “You yourself have said so.”
And Pilate asked him: Art thou the king of the Jews? He replied and said to him: Thou hast said.
3 Then the chief priests claimed that Jesus had done many bad things.
And the chief priests accused him of many things.
4 So Pilate asked him again, “Don’t you have anything to say? Listen to how many bad things they are saying that you [have done]!”
And Pilate again questioned him, and said to him: Makest thou no reply? See how much they testify against thee!
5 But [even though Jesus was not guilty], he did not say anything more. The result was that Pilate was very much surprised.
But Jesus gave no answer; so that Pilate wondered.
6 It was the governor’s custom [each year] during the [Passover] celebration to release [one person who was in prison. He customarily released] whichever prisoner the people requested.
And it was his custom, at each festival, to release to them one prisoner, whom they might desire.
7 [At that time] there was a man called Barabbas who had been {whom [the soldiers had]} [put in prison with some other men]. Those men had murdered [some soldiers] when they rebelled [against the Roman government].
And there was one named Bar Abas, who was confined with the movers of sedition, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8 A crowd approached [Pilate] and asked him [to release someone], just like he customarily did for them [during the Passover celebration].
And the people clamored, and began to demand, that he should do to them as he was accustomed.
9 Pilate answered them, “Would you like me to release for you the [man whom you] Jewish [people say is your] king?”
And Pilate answered, and said: Will ye, that I release to you the king of the Jews?
10 [He asked this] because he realized what the chief priests were wanting to do. They were accusing Jesus because they were jealous of him [because many people were becoming his disciples].
For Pilate knew that the chief priests, from envy, had delivered him up.
11 But the chief priests urged the crowd [to request] that Pilate release Barabbas for them instead [of Jesus].
But the chief priests further persuaded the multitudes, that Bar Abas should be released to them.
12 Pilate said to them again, “[If I release Barabbas], what do you want me to do with the man whom [some of] you Jews say is [your] king?”
And Pilate said to them: What will ye, therefore, that I do to him whom ye call king of the Jews?
13 Then they shouted again, “[Command that your soldiers] crucify him!”
And they again cried out: Crucify him.
14 Then Pilate said to them, “Why? What crime has he committed?” But they shouted even louder, “[Command your soldiers to] crucify him!”
And Pilate said to them: But what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more: Crucify him.
15 So, because Pilate wanted to please the crowd, he released Barabbas for them. Then, after [his soldiers] had whipped Jesus with leather straps into which they had fastened metal pieces, [Pilate told the soldiers to take him away] in order that he would be crucified {they would crucify him}.
And Pilate was willing to gratify the wishes of the multitudes; and he released to them Bar Abas; and, having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to them to be crucified.
16 The soldiers took Jesus into the [courtyard of the] palace [where Pilate lived]. That place was the government headquarters. Then they summoned the whole (cohort/group of soldiers) [who were on duty there].
And the soldiers led him into the hall which was the Praetorium; and they called together the whole regiment;
17 [After the soldiers gathered together], they put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they placed on his head a crown that they made from [branches of] thornbushes. [They did those things in order to ridicule him by pretending that he was a king].
and they clothed him in purple, and braided a crown of thorns and put upon him;
18 Then they greeted him [like they would greet a king, in order to ridicule him], saying, “Hooray for the King [who rules] the Jews!”
and began to salute him with, " Hail, king of the Jews!"
19 They repeatedly struck his head with a reed and spat on him. By kneeling down, they [pretended to honor] him.
And they smote him on the head with a reed and spit in his face, and bowed upon their knees and worshipped him.
20 When they had finished ridiculing him, they pulled off the purple robe. They put his own clothes on him, and then they led him outside [of the city] in order to nail him to a cross.
And having mocked him, they divested him of the purple, and clothed him in his own garments, and led him forth to crucify him.
21 [After Jesus carried his cross a short distance], a man named Simon from Cyrene [city came along]. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. He was passing by while he was returning [home] from outside [the city. The soldiers] compelled Simon to carry the cross [for Jesus].
And they compelled a passer-by, Simon the Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming from the fields, to bear his cross.
22 They brought them both to a place that they [call] Golgotha. That name means, ‘a place [like] a skull’.
And they brought him to Golgotha, the place which is interpreted a Skull.
23 Then they tried to give Jesus wine that was {that they} mixed with [medicine called] myrrh. [They wanted him to drink it so that he would not feel so much pain when they crucified him]. But he did not drink it.
And they gave him to drink wine in which myrrh was mixed; and he would not receive it.
24 [Some] of the [soldiers took his clothes]. Then they nailed him to a cross. Afterwards, they divided his clothes among themselves by gambling with [something like] dice. They did this [in order to determine] which [piece of clothing] each one would get.
And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments; and cast the lot upon them, what each should take.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.
And it was the third hour when they crucified him.
26 They [attached to the cross above Jesus’ head] a sign on which it had been written {someone had written} the reason why [they were nailing him to the cross]. [But all] that it said was, “The King of the Jews.”
And the cause of his death was written in the inscription: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 They also nailed to crosses two men who were bandits. They nailed one to a cross at the right side [of Jesus] and one to a cross at the left side [of Jesus].
And they crucified with him two robbers, the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith: He was accounted among the wicked.
29 The people who were passing by insulted him by shaking their heads as [if here were an evil man]. They said, “Aha! You said that you would destroy the Temple and then you would build it again within three days.
And they also that passed by, reviled him; and, nodding their heads, they said: Aha, thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days,
30 [If you could do that, then] rescue yourself by coming down from the cross!”
rescue thyself, and come down from the cross.
31 The chief priests, along with the men who taught the [Jewish] laws, also [wanted to] make fun of Jesus. So they said to each other, “He [claims to have] saved others [from their sicknesses] [IRO] but he cannot save himself!
And so also the chief priests, jeering one with another, and the Scribes, said: He gave life to others, his own life he cannot save.
32 He said, ‘I am the Messiah, I am the King who [rules the people of] Israel.’ [If his words are true], he should come down now from the cross! Then we will believe [him]!” The [two] men who were crucified beside him also insulted him.
Let Messiah, the king of the Jews, now descend from the cross, that we may see it and believe in him. And those also who were crucified with him, derided him.
33 At noon the whole land became dark, [and it stayed dark] until three o’clock in the afternoon.
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
34 At three o’clock Jesus shouted loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” That means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”
And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, and said: Il, Il, lemono shebakthone; that is: My God, my God; why hast thou forsaken me?
35 When some of the people who were standing there heard [the word ‘Eloi’, misunderstanding it], they said, “Listen! He is calling for [the prophet] Elijah!”
And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said: He calleth for Elijah.
36 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He placed it on [the tip of] a reed, and then he [held it] up for [Jesus] to suck out [the wine that was in] it. [While he was doing that, someone] said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah will come to take him down [from the cross]!”
And one ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, and tied it on a reed, to offer him drink. And they said: Desist; let us see if Elijah will come to take him down.
37 And then, after Jesus shouted loudly, he stopped breathing [and died].
And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and expired.
38 [At that moment] the [heavy thick] curtain that closed off [the most holy place in] the Temple split into two pieces from top to bottom. [That showed that ordinary people could now go into the presence of God].
And the curtain of the door of the temple was rent, from the top to the bottom.
39 The officer who supervised the soldiers [who nailed Jesus to the cross] was standing in front of Jesus. When he saw how Jesus died, he exclaimed, “Truly, this man was the man who was also God!”
And when the centurion, who was standing near him, saw that he so cried and expired, he said: Verily, this was the Son of God.
40 There were also some women there, watching these events from a distance. They had accompanied Jesus when he was in Galilee [district], and they had provided what he needed. They had come with him to Jerusalem. Among those women was Mary from Magdala [town]. There was [another] Mary, who was the mother of the younger James and of Joses. There was also Salome.
And there were women looking on, from a distance, Mary Magdalena, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
who, when he was in Galilee adhered to him, and ministered to him; and many other women, who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42 When evening was near, [a man named] Joseph from Arimathea [town came there]. He was a member of the [Jewish] council, one whom everyone respected. He was also one of those who had been waiting expectantly for the [time when] God [would send] his king to begin to rule. [He knew that, according to Jewish law, people’s bodies had to be buried] {[someone had to bury people’s bodies]} [on the day they died. He also realized that] it was the day when [people] prepared [things for] ([the Jewish day of rest/the Sabbath]), [and that the Sabbath would start when the sun set]. So he became courageous and went to Pilate and asked Pilate [to permit him to take] the body of Jesus [down from the cross and bury it immediately].
And, as it was the eve of preparation, which precedeth the sabbath,
Joseph of Ramath, an honorable counsellor, who also himself waited for the kingdom of God, came, and assuming courage, went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
44 Pilate was surprised [when he heard that] Jesus was already dead. So he summoned the officer who was in charge of the soldiers [who crucified Jesus], and he asked him if [Jesus] had already died.
And Pilate wondered that he should be already dead. And he called the centurion, and inquired if he had been any time dead.
45 When the officer told [Pilate that Jesus was dead], Pilate allowed Joseph [to take away] the body.
And when he learned it, he gave his body to Joseph.
46 After Joseph bought a linen cloth, he [and others] took [Jesus’ body down from the cross]. They wrapped it in the linen cloth and laid it in a tomb that [previously] had been dug out of the rock [cliff]. Then they rolled a [huge flat] stone in front of the entrance to the tomb.
And Joseph bought fine linen, and took it down, and wrapped it in the linen, and deposited it in a sepulchre that was hewed in a rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the sepulchre.
47 Mary [from] Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where Jesus’ [body] was placed {where they placed Jesus’ [body]}.
And Mary Magdalena and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.