John 19:16-18

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 19:16 tn Grk “Then he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2. John 19:16 tn Or “delivered him over.”
3. John 19:17 tn Or “carrying the cross by himself.”sn As was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion, the prisoner was made to carry his own cross. In all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution. According to Matt 27:32 and Mark 15:21, the soldiers forced Simon to take the cross; Luke 23:26 states that the cross was placed on Simon so that it might be carried behind Jesus. A reasonable explanation of all this is that Jesus started out carrying the cross until he was no longer able to do so, at which point Simon was forced to take over.
4. John 19:17 sn Jesus was led out to the place called “The Place of the Skull” where he was to be crucified. It is clear from v. 20 that this was outside the city. The Latin word for the Greek κρανίον (kranion) is calvaria. Thus the English word “Calvary” is a transliteration of the Latin rather than a NT place name (cf. Luke 23:33 in the KJV).
5. John 19:17 tn Grk “in Hebrew.”
6. John 19:17 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
7. John 19:18 tn Grk “where they.” This is a continuation of the previous verse in Greek, but contemporary English style tends toward shorter sentences. A literal translation would result in a lengthy and awkward English sentence.
8. John 19:18 sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.
9. John 19:18 tn Grk “and with him two others.”