³ “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

²⁹ They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”

¹⁹ And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth,^[a] the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.

²¹ Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”

²² Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”

³³ Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

²² Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.

²⁸ Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings,^[a] favored woman! The Lord is with you!^[b]”

⁴⁹ So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.