³¹ “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied.

¹⁵ “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!”

“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.

⁶ When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”

⁷ The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”

¹⁸ But the accusations made against him weren’t any of the crimes I expected. ¹⁹ Instead, it was something about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive. ²⁰ I was at a loss to know how to investigate these things, so I asked him whether he would be willing to stand trial on these charges in Jerusalem.

²⁶ This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

⁴ This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests,^[a] or even idols! ⁵ But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king.^[b] In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness.