Luke 23
Complete Jewish Bible
23 With that, the whole Sanhedrin got up and brought Yeshua before Pilate, 2 where they started accusing him. “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the Messiah — a king!” 3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And he answered him, “The words are yours.” 4 Pilate said to the head cohanim and the crowds, “I find no ground for a charge against this man.” 5 But they persisted. “He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Y’hudah — he started in the Galil, and now he’s here!” 6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was from the Galil; 7 and when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who at that time happened to be in Yerushalayim too.
8 Herod was delighted to see Yeshua, because he had heard about him and for a long time had been wanting to meet him; indeed, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. 9 He questioned him at great length, but Yeshua made no reply. 10 However, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers stood there, vehemently pressing their case against him. 11 Herod and his soldiers treated Yeshua with contempt and made fun of him. Then, dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; previously they had been enemies.
13 Pilate summoned the head cohanim, the leaders and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought this man before me on a charge of subverting the people. I examined him in your presence and did not find the man guilty of the crime you are accusing him of. 15 And neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. Clearly, he has not done anything that merits the death penalty. 16 Therefore, what I will do is have him flogged and release him.” 17 [a] 18 But with one voice they shouted, “Away with this man! Give us Bar-Abba!” 19 (He was a man who had been thrown in prison for causing a riot in the city and for murder.) 20 Pilate appealed to them again, because he wanted to release Yeshua. 21 But they yelled, “Put him to death on the stake! Put him to death on the stake!” 22 A third time he asked them, “But what has this man done wrong? I haven’t found any reason to put him to death. So I’m going to have him flogged and set free.” 23 But they went on yelling insistently, demanding that he be executed on the stake; and their shouting prevailed. 24 Pilate decided to grant their demand; 25 he released the man who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder, the one they had asked for; and Yeshua he surrendered to their will.
26 As the Roman soldiers led Yeshua away, they grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene named Shim‘on, who was on his way in from the country. They put the execution-stake on his back and made him carry it behind Yeshua. 27 Large numbers of people followed, including women crying and wailing over him. 28 Yeshua turned to them and said, “Daughters of Yerushalayim, don’t cry for me; cry for yourselves and your children! 29 For the time is coming when people will say, ‘The childless women are the lucky ones — those whose wombs have never borne a child, whose breasts have never nursed a baby! 30 Then
They will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’
and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’[b]
31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what is going to happen when it’s dry?”
32 Two other men, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they nailed him to a stake; and they nailed the criminals to stakes, one on the right and one on the left. 34 Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them; they don’t understand what they are doing.”
They divided up his clothes by throwing dice.[c] 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at him.[d] “He saved others,” they said, “so if he really is the Messiah, the one chosen by God, let him save himself!” 36 The soldiers too ridiculed him; they came up, offered him vinegar[e] 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 And there was a notice over him which read,
THIS IS
THE KING OF THE JEWS
39 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other one spoke up and rebuked the first, saying, “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same punishment as he is. 41 Ours is only fair; we’re getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man did nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Yeshua, remember me when you come as King.” 43 Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-‘Eden.”
44 It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole Land until three o’clock in the afternoon; 45 the sun did not shine. Also the parokhet in the Temple was split down the middle. 46 Crying out with a loud voice, Yeshua said, “Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit.”[f] With these words he gave up his spirit.
47 When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he began to praise God and said, “Surely this man was innocent!” 48 And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts. 49 All his friends, including the women who had accompanied him from the Galil, had been standing at a distance; they saw it all.
50 There was a man named Yosef, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good man, a tzaddik; 51 and he had not been in agreement with either the Sanhedrin’s motivation or their action. He came from the town of Ramatayim, a town of the Judeans; and he looked forward to the Kingdom of God. 52 This man approached Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. 53 He took it down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, that had never been used.
54 It was Preparation Day, and a Shabbat was about to begin. 55 The women who had come with Yeshua from the Galil followed; they saw the tomb and how his body was placed in it. 56 Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments.
On Shabbat the women rested, in obedience to the commandment;
Footnotes
- Luke 23:17 Some manuscripts have verse 17: For he was required to release one man to them at the festival.
- Luke 23:30 Hosea 10:8
- Luke 23:34 Psalm 22:19(18)
- Luke 23:35 Psalm 22:8(7)
- Luke 23:36 Psalm 69:22(21)
- Luke 23:46 Psalm 31:6(5)
Luke 23
International Children’s Bible
Governor Pilate Questions Jesus
23 Then the whole group stood up and led Jesus to Pilate.[a] 2 They began to accuse Jesus. They told Pilate, “We caught this man telling things that were confusing our people. He says that we should not pay taxes to Caesar. He calls himself the Christ, a king.”
3 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, that is right.”
4 Pilate said to the leading priests and the people, “I find nothing wrong with this man.”
5 They said again and again, “But Jesus is making trouble with the people! He teaches all around Judea. He began in Galilee, and now he is here!”
Pilate Sends Jesus to Herod
6 Pilate heard this and asked if Jesus was from Galilee. 7 If so, Jesus was under Herod’s authority. Herod was in Jerusalem at that time; so Pilate sent Jesus to him. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad. He had heard about Jesus and had wanted to meet him for a long time. Herod was hoping to see Jesus work a miracle. 9 Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus said nothing. 10 The leading priests and teachers of the law were standing there. They were shouting things against Jesus. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus. They dressed him in a kingly robe and then sent him back to Pilate. 12 In the past, Pilate and Herod had always been enemies. But on that day they became friends.
Jesus Must Die
13 Pilate called all the people together with the leading priests and the Jewish leaders. 14 He said to them, “You brought this man to me. You said that he was making trouble among the people. But I have questioned him before you all, and I have not found him guilty of the things you say. 15 Also, Herod found nothing wrong with him; he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing for which he should die. 16 So, after I punish him, I will let him go free.” 17 [Every year at the Passover Feast, Pilate had to release one prisoner to the people.][b]
18 But all the people shouted, “Kill him! Let Barabbas go free!” 19 (Barabbas was a man who was in prison because he started a riot in the city. He was guilty of murder.)
20 Pilate wanted to let Jesus go free. So he told this to the crowd. 21 But they shouted again, “Kill him! Kill him on a cross!”
22 A third time Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I can find no reason to kill him. So I will have him punished and set him free.”
23 But they continued to shout. They demanded that Jesus be killed on the cross. Their yelling became so loud that 24 Pilate decided to give them what they wanted. 25 They wanted Barabbas to go free, the man who was in jail for starting a riot and for murder. Pilate let Barabbas go free and gave Jesus to them to be killed.
Jesus Is Killed on a Cross
26 The soldiers led Jesus away. At that time, there was a man coming into the city from the fields. His name was Simon, and he was from the city of Cyrene. The soldiers forced Simon to carry Jesus’ cross and walk behind him.
27 A large crowd of people was following Jesus. Some of the women were sad and crying. 28 But Jesus turned and said to them, “Women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children too! 29 The time is coming when people will say, ‘Happy are the women who cannot have children! Happy are the women who have no babies to nurse.’ 30 Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ And they will say to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 31 If they act like this now when life is good, what will happen when bad times come?”[c]
32 There were also two criminals led out with Jesus to be killed. 33 Jesus and the two criminals were taken to a place called the Skull. There the soldiers nailed Jesus to his cross. They also nailed the criminals to their crosses, one beside Jesus on the right and the other beside Jesus on the left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”[d]
The soldiers threw lots to decide who would get his clothes. 35 The people stood there watching. The leaders made fun of Jesus. They said, “If he is God’s Chosen One, the Christ, then let him save himself. He saved other people, didn’t he?”
36 Even the soldiers made fun of him. They came to Jesus and offered him some vinegar. 37 They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 (At the top of the cross these words were written: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”)
39 One of the criminals began to shout insults at Jesus: “Aren’t you the Christ? Then save yourself! And save us too!”
40 But the other criminal stopped him. He said, “You should fear God! You are getting the same punishment as he is. 41 We are punished justly; we should die. But this man has done nothing wrong!” 42 Then this criminal said to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!”
43 Then Jesus said to him, “Listen! What I say is true: Today you will be with me in paradise!”[e]
Jesus Dies
44 It was about noon, and the whole land became dark until three o’clock in the afternoon. 45 There was no sun! The curtain in the Temple[f] was torn into two pieces. 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, I give you my life.” After Jesus said this, he died.
47 The army officer there saw what happened. He praised God, saying, “I know this was a good man!”
48 Many people had gathered there to watch this thing. When they saw what happened, they returned home. They beat their chests because they were so sad. 49 Those who were close friends of Jesus were there. Some were women who had followed Jesus from Galilee. They all stood far away from the cross and watched.
Joseph of Arimathea
50-51 A man from the Jewish town of Arimathea was there, too. His name was Joseph. He was a good, religious man. He wanted the kingdom of God to come. Joseph was a member of the Jewish council, but he had not agreed when the other leaders decided to kill Jesus. 52 Joseph went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. 53 So Joseph took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in cloth. Then he put Jesus’ body in a tomb that was cut in a wall of rock. This tomb had never been used before. 54 This was late on Preparation Day. When the sun went down, the Sabbath day would begin.
55 The women who had come from Galilee with Jesus followed Joseph. They saw the tomb and saw inside where the body of Jesus was laid. 56 Then the women left to prepare perfumes and spices.
On the Sabbath day they rested, as the law of Moses commanded.
Footnotes
- 23:1 Pilate Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from a.d. 26 to a.d. 36.
- 23:17 Every . . . people. Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
- 23:31 If . . . come? Literally, “If they do these things in the green tree, what will happen in the dry?”
- 23:34 Jesus . . . doing. Some Greek copies do not have this part of verse 34.
- 23:43 paradise A place where good people go when they die.
- 23:45 curtain in the Temple A curtain divided the Most Holy Place from the other part of the Temple. This was the special building in Jerusalem where God commanded the Jews to worship him.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.