[1] And as soon as it was morning the chief priests, with the elders and
scribes, and the whole council held a consultation; and they bound Jesus
and led him away and delivered him to Pilate. [2] And Pilate asked him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so."
[3] And the chief priests accused him of many things. [4] And Pilate again
asked him, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring
against you." [5] But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate
wondered. [6] Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for
whom they asked. [7] And among the rebels in prison, who had committed
murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barab'bas. [8] And the
crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he was wont to do for them.
[9] And he answered them, "Do you want me to release for you the King of
the Jews?" [10] For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief
priests had delivered him up. [11] But the chief priests stirred up the
crowd to have him release for them Barab'bas instead. [12] And Pilate again
said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of
the Jews?" [13] And they cried out again, "Crucify him." [14] And Pilate
said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more,
"Crucify him." [15] So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for
them Barab'bas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be
crucified. [16] And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is,
the praetorium); and they called together the whole battalion. [17] And
they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put
it on him. [18] And they began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
[19] And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they
knelt down in homage to him. [20] And when they had mocked him, they
stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they
led him out to crucify him. [21] And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of
Cyre'ne, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and
Rufus, to carry his cross. [22] And they brought him to the place called
Gol'gotha (which means the place of a skull). [23] And they offered him
wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it. [24] And they crucified
him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide
what each should take. [25] And it was the third hour, when they crucified
him. [26] And the inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of
the Jews." [27] And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right
and one on his left. [28] And those who passed by derided him, wagging
their heads, and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build
it in three days, [29] save yourself, and come down from the cross!" [30]
So also the chief priests mocked him to one another with the scribes,
saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. [31] Let the Christ, the
King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe."
Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. [32] And when the sixth
hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
[33] And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "E'lo-i, E'lo-i,
la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" which means, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?" [34] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "Behold, he is
calling Eli'jah." [35] And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar,
put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see
whether Eli'jah will come to take him down." [36] And Jesus uttered a loud
cry, and breathed his last. [37] And the curtain of the temple was torn in
two, from top to bottom. [38] And when the centurion, who stood facing him,
saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of
God!" [39] There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary
Mag'dalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and
Salo'me, [40] who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered to
him; and also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. [41] And
when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the
day before the sabbath, [42] Joseph of Arimathe'a, a respected member of
the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took
courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. [43] And
Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he
asked him whether he was already dead. [44] And when he learned from the
centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. [45] And he
bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen
shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he
rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. [46] Mary Mag'dalene and Mary
the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
