Mark 15
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
15 And straightway in the morning, the chief priests holding a consultation with the ancients and the scribes and the whole council, binding Jesus, led him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2 And Pilate asked him: Art thou the king of the Jews? But he answering, saith to him: Thou sayest it.
3 And the chief priests accused him in many things.
4 And Pilate again asked him, saying: Answerest thou nothing? behold in how many things they accuse thee.
5 But Jesus still answered nothing; so that Pilate wondered.
6 Now on the festival day he was wont to release unto them one of the prisoners, whomsoever they demanded.
7 And there was one called Barabbas, who was put in prison with some seditious men, who in the sedition had committed murder.
8 And when the multitude was come up, they began to desire that he would do, as he had ever done unto them.
9 And Pilate answered them, and said: Will you that I release to you the king of the Jews?
10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him up out of envy.
11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas to them.
12 And Pilate again answering, saith to them: What will you then that I do to the king of the Jews?
13 But they again cried out: Crucify him.
14 And Pilate saith to them: Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more: Crucify him.
15 And so Pilate being willing to satisfy the people, released to them Barabbas, and delivered up Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
16 And the soldiers led him away into the court of the palace, and they called together the whole band:
17 And they clothe him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon him.
18 And they began to salute him: Hail, king of the Jews.
19 And they struck his head with a reed: and they did spit on him. And bowing their knees, they adored him.
20 And after they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own garments on him, and they led him out to crucify him.
21 And they forced one Simon a Cyrenian who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take up his cross.
22 And they bring him into the place called Golgotha, which being interpreted is, The place of Calvary.
23 And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh; but he took it not.
24 And crucifying him, they divided his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.
25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26 And the inscription of his cause was written over: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith: And with the wicked he was reputed.
29 And they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying: Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again;
30 Save thyself, coming down from the cross.
31 In like manner also the chief priests mocking, said with the scribes one to another: He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32 Let Christ the king of Israel come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour.
34 And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani? Which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35 And some of the standers by hearing, said: Behold he calleth Elias.
36 And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elias come to take him down.
37 And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost.
38 And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom.
39 And the centurion who stood over against him, seeing that crying out in this manner he had given up the ghost, said: Indeed this man was the son of God.
40 And there were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joseph, and Salome:
41 Who also when he was in Galilee followed him, and ministered to him, and many other women that came up with him to Jerusalem.
42 And when evening was now come, (because it was the Parasceve, that is, the day before the sabbath,)
43 Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counsellor, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
44 But Pilate wondered that he should be already dead. And sending for the centurion, he asked him if he were already dead.
45 And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
46 And Joseph buying fine linen, and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre.
47 And Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of Joseph, beheld where he was laid.
Mark 15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 15
Jesus Before Pilate. 1 (A)As soon as morning came,(B) the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council.[a] They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”[b] He said to him in reply, “You say so.” 3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 Again Pilate questioned him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of.” 5 Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
The Sentence of Death.[c] 6 Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them one prisoner whom they requested.(C) 7 A man called Barabbas[d] was then in prison along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion. 8 The crowd came forward and began to ask him to do for them as he was accustomed. 9 Pilate answered, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12 Pilate again said to them in reply, “Then what [do you want] me to do with [the man you call] the king of the Jews?” 13 [e]They shouted again, “Crucify him.” 14 Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.” 15 [f]So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
Mockery by the Soldiers. 16 [g](D)The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. 17 They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. 18 They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.
The Way of the Cross. 21 They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian,[h] who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.(E)
The Crucifixion. 22 (F)They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated Place of the Skull). 23 They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 [i](G)Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take. 25 It was nine o’clock in the morning[j] when they crucified him. 26 [k]The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left.(H) [28 ][l] 29 [m]Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,(I) “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself by coming down from the cross.” 31 Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.(J)
The Death of Jesus. 33 At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”[n] which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(K) 35 [o]Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” 36 One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.” 37 Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 [p]The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 [q](L)When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 40 [r]There were also women looking on from a distance.(M) Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These women had followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him. There were also many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
The Burial of Jesus. 42 (N)When it was already evening, since it was the day of preparation, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea,[s] a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was amazed that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 And when he learned of it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid.
Footnotes
- 15:1 Held a council: the verb here, poieō, can mean either “convene a council” or “take counsel.” This reading is preferred to a variant “reached a decision” (cf. Mk 3:6), which Mk 14:64 describes as having happened at the night trial; see note on Mt 27:1–2. Handed him over to Pilate: lacking authority to execute their sentence of condemnation (Mk 14:64), the Sanhedrin had recourse to Pilate to have Jesus tried and put to death (Mk 15:15); cf. Jn 18:31.
- 15:2 The king of the Jews: in the accounts of the evangelists a certain irony surrounds the use of this title as an accusation against Jesus (see note on Mk 15:26). While Pilate uses this term (Mk 15:2, 9, 12), he is aware of the evil motivation of the chief priests who handed Jesus over for trial and condemnation (Mk 15:10; Lk 23:14–16, 20; Mt 27:18, 24; Jn 18:38; 19:4, 6, 12).
- 15:6–15 See note on Mt 27:15–26.
- 15:7 Barabbas: see note on Mt 27:16–17.
- 15:13 Crucify him: see note on Mt 27:22.
- 15:15 See note on Mt 27:26.
- 15:16 Praetorium: see note on Mt 27:27.
- 15:21 They pressed into service…Simon, a Cyrenian: a condemned person was constrained to bear his own instrument of torture, at least the crossbeam. The precise naming of Simon and his sons is probably due to their being known among early Christian believers to whom Mark addressed his gospel. See also notes on Mt 27:32; Lk 23:26–32.
- 15:24 See notes on Mt 27:35 and Jn 19:23–25a.
- 15:25 It was nine o’clock in the morning: literally, “the third hour,” thus between 9 a.m. and 12 noon. Cf. Mk 15:33, 34, 42 for Mark’s chronological sequence, which may reflect liturgical or catechetical considerations rather than the precise historical sequence of events; contrast the different chronologies in the other gospels, especially Jn 19:14.
- 15:26 The inscription…the King of the Jews: the political reason for the death penalty falsely charged by the enemies of Jesus. See further the notes on Mt 27:37 and Jn 19:19.
- 15:28 This verse, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘And he was counted among the wicked,’” is omitted in the earliest and best manuscripts. It contains a citation from Is 53:12 and was probably introduced from Lk 22:37.
- 15:29 See note on Mt 27:39–40.
- 15:34 An Aramaic rendering of Ps 22:2. See also note on Mt 27:46.
- 15:35 Elijah: a verbal link with Eloi (Mk 15:34). See note on Mk 9:9–13; cf. Mal 3:23–24. See also note on Mt 27:47.
- 15:38 See note on Mt 27:51–53.
- 15:39 The closing portion of Mark’s gospel returns to the theme of its beginning in the Gentile centurion’s climactic declaration of belief that Jesus was the Son of God. It indicates the fulfillment of the good news announced in the prologue (Mk 1:1) and may be regarded as the firstfruit of the passion and death of Jesus.
- 15:40–41 See note on Mt 27:55–56.
- 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea: see note on Mt 27:57–61.
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