²⁰ Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus.

¹⁵ So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

¹² Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’^[a] Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”

¹⁹ Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”

⁸ At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!” ⁹ Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.