Mark 15:16-20

Expanded Bible

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(A)

¹⁶ The soldiers took Jesus into the [courtyard of the] governor’s palace (called the Praetorium) and called ·all the other soldiers [the whole cohort] together [^Ca cohort was about 500 soldiers; here it may mean those of the cohort on duty]. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe [^Cprobably a scarlet military coat (Matt. 27:28), whose color resembled purple—the color of royalty] on Jesus and used thorny branches to make a crown for his head. ¹⁸ They began to ·call out to [greet; salute] him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ The soldiers beat Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They spit on him and made fun of him by bowing on their knees and worshiping him. ²⁰ After they finished, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him out of the palace to be crucified.