Matthew 27:32-66
English Standard Version
The Crucifixion
32 (A)(B)As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to (C)carry his cross. 33 (D)And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 (E)they offered him wine to drink, mixed with (F)gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, (G)they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and (H)kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, (I)the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two (J)robbers were crucified with him, (K)one on the right and one on the left. 39 And (L)those who passed by (M)derided him, (N)wagging their heads 40 and saying, (O)“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! (P)If you are (Q)the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 (R)“He saved others; (S)he cannot save himself. (T)He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 (U)He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 (V)And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
The Death of Jesus
45 Now from the sixth hour[a] there was darkness over all the land[b] until the ninth hour.[c] 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus (W)cried out with a loud voice, saying, (X)“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with (Y)sour wine, and put it on a reed and (Z)gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus (AA)cried out again with a loud voice and (AB)yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, (AC)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And (AD)the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of (AE)the saints (AF)who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into (AG)the holy city and appeared to many. 54 (AH)When the centurion and those who were with him, (AI)keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, (AJ)“Truly this was the Son[d] of God!”
55 There were also (AK)many women there, looking on (AL)from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, (AM)ministering to him, 56 among whom were (AN)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and (AO)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Jesus Is Buried
57 (AP)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and (AQ)laid it in his own new tomb, (AR)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled (AS)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and (AT)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The next day, that is, after the day of (AU)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how (AV)that impostor said, while he was still alive, (AW)‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, (AX)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have (AY)a guard[e] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by (AZ)sealing the stone and setting a guard.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 27:45 That is, noon
- Matthew 27:45 Or earth
- Matthew 27:45 That is, 3 p.m.
- Matthew 27:54 Or a son
- Matthew 27:65 Or Take a guard
Matthew 27:32-66
International Standard Version
Jesus is Crucified(A)
32 As they were leaving, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced to carry Jesus’[a] cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means “Skull Place”), 34 they offered him a drink of wine mixed with gall. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. 35 After they had crucified him, they determined who would get his clothes by throwing dice for them.[b] 36 Then they sat down there and continued guarding him. 37 Above his head they placed the charge against him. It read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”
38 At that time two bandits[c] were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. 39 Those who passed by kept insulting[d] him, shaking their heads, 40 and saying, “You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days—save yourself! If you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
41 In the same way the high priests, along with the scribes and elders, were also making fun of him. They kept saying, 42 “He saved others but can’t save himself! He is the king of Israel. Let him[e] come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God[f] rescue him, if he wants to do so now. After all, he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
44 In a similar way, the bandits[g] who were being crucified with him kept insulting him.
Jesus Dies on the Cross(B)
45 From noon[h] on, darkness came over the whole land[i] until three in the afternoon.[j] 46 About three o’clock,[k] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, eli,[l] lema sabachthani?”,[m] which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[n]
47 When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.”[o] 48 So one of the men ran off at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus[p] a drink.
49 But the others kept saying, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.”[q]
50 Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice again and died.[r] 51 Suddenly, the curtain[s] in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, rocks were split open, 52 tombs were opened, and many[t] saints who had died[u] were brought back to life. 53 After his resurrection, they came out of their tombs, went into the Holy City,[v] and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion[w] and those guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things that were taking place, they were terrified and said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”
55 Now many women were also there, watching from a distance. They had accompanied Jesus from Galilee and had ministered to[x] him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene,[y] Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Jesus is Buried(C)
57 Later that evening, a rich man arrived from Arimathea. His name was Joseph, and he had become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered it to be done. 59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 Then he placed it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock. After rolling a large stone across the door of the tomb, he left, 61 but Mary Magdalene[z] and the other Mary remained there, sitting in front of the tomb.
The Tomb is Secured
62 The following day (that is, after the Day of Preparation), the high priests and Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘I will be raised after three days.’ 64 Therefore, order the tomb to be secured until the third day, or his disciples may go and steal him and then tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ Then the last deception would be worse than the first one.”
65 Pilate told them, “You have[aa] a military guard. Go and make the tomb[ab] as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and secured the tomb by putting a seal on the stone in the presence of the guards.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 27:32 Lit. his
- Matthew 27:35 The Gk. lacks for them
- Matthew 27:38 Or revolutionaries
- Matthew 27:39 Or blaspheming
- Matthew 27:42 Other mss. read If he is the king of Israel, let him
- Matthew 27:43 Lit. him
- Matthew 27:44 Or revolutionaries
- Matthew 27:45 Lit. the sixth hour
- Matthew 27:45 Or earth
- Matthew 27:45 Lit. the ninth hour
- Matthew 27:46 Lit. the ninth hour
- Matthew 27:46 Eli, eli are Gk. transliterations for the Heb. My God, my God in Ps 22:1
- Matthew 27:46 lema sabachthani is a Gk. transliteration for the Aram. rendering of the Heb. in Ps 22:1, which means Why have you forsaken me?
- Matthew 27:46 Cf. Ps 22:1
- Matthew 27:47 Elijah in Heb. sounds like Eli
- Matthew 27:48 Lit. him
- Matthew 27:49 Other mss. read save him.” And another took a spear and pierced his side, and water and blood came out.
- Matthew 27:50 Or and gave up his spirit
- Matthew 27:51 This curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- Matthew 27:52 Lit. and the corpses of many
- Matthew 27:52 Lit. fallen asleep
- Matthew 27:53 I.e. Jerusalem
- Matthew 27:54 A Roman centurion commanded about 100 men.
- Matthew 27:55 Or provided for
- Matthew 27:56 Or Mary of Magdala
- Matthew 27:61 Or Mary of Magdala
- Matthew 27:65 Or Take
- Matthew 27:65 Lit. it
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

