The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power; ¹¹ put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, ¹² for our^[a] struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present^[b] darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.^{[c](A) 13} Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm.^{(B) 14} Stand, therefore, and belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness^{(C) 15} and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ With all of these,^[d] take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.^{(D) 17} Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.^{(E) 18} Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.^{(F) 19} Pray also for me, so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,^{[e](G) 20} for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.^(H)

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

¹⁶ Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole cohort.^{(A) 17} And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and after twisting some thorns into a crown they put it on him. ¹⁸ And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. ²⁰ After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

²¹ They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.^{(B) 22} Then they brought Jesus^[a] to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). ²³ And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.^(C)

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ And with him they crucified two rebels, one on his right and one on his left.^{[b] 29} Those who passed by derided^[c] him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,^{(D) 30} save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.^{(E) 32} Let the Messiah,^[d] the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.^(F)