Mark 15
1599 Geneva Bible
15 1 Of the things Christ suffered under Pilate. 11 Barabbas is preferred before Christ. 15 Pilate delivereth Christ to be crucified. 17 He is crowned with thorns. 19 They spit on him, and mock him. 21 Simon of Cyrene carrieth Christ’s cross. 27 Christ is crucified between two thieves. 26 He is railed at. 37 He giveth up the ghost. 43 Joseph burieth him.
1 And (A)[a]anon in the dawning, the high Priests held a Council with the Elders, and the Scribes, and the whole Council, and bound Jesus, and led him away, and [b]delivered him to Pilate.
2 Then Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered, and said unto him, Thou sayest it.
3 And the high Priests accused him of many things.
4 (B)Wherefore Pilate asked him again, saying, Answered thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.
5 But Jesus answered no more at all, so that Pilate marveled.
6 Now at the feast, Pilate [c]did deliver a prisoner unto them, whomsoever they would desire.
7 Then there was one named Barabbas, which was bound with his fellows, that had made insurrection, who in the insurrection had committed murder.
8 And the people cried aloud, and began to desire that he would do as he had ever done unto them.
9 Then Pilate answered them, and said, Will ye that I let loose unto you the King of the Jews?
10 For he knew that the high Priests had delivered him of envy.
11 But the high Priests had moved the people to desire that he would rather deliver Barabbas unto them.
12 And Pilate answered, and said again unto them, What will ye then that I do with him, whom ye call the King of the Jews?
13 And they cried again, Crucify him.
14 Then Pilate said unto them, But what evil hath he done? And they cried the more fervently, Crucify him.
15 So Pilate willing to content the people, loosed them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, that he might be crucified.
16 Then the soldiers led him away into the hall, which is the common hall, and called together the whole band,
17 [d]And clad him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,
18 And began to salute him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews.
19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and spat upon him, and bowed the knees, and did him reverence.
20 And when they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.
21 (C)And they [e]compelled one that passed by, called Simon of Cyrene (which came out of the country, and was father of Alexander and Rufus) to bear his cross.
22 (D)[f]And they brought him to a place named Golgotha, which is by interpretation, the place of dead mens’ skulls.
23 And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.
24 (E)[g]And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots for them, what every man should have.
25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him.
26 And the title of his cause was written above, THAT KING OF THE JEWS.
27 They crucified also with him two thieves, the one on the right hand, and the other on his left.
28 Thus the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith, (F)And he was counted among the wicked.
29 And they that went by, railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, (G)Hey, thou that destroyest the Temple, and buildest it in three days,
30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross.
31 Likewise also even the high Priests mocking, said among themselves with the Scribes, He saved other men, himself he cannot save.
32 Let Christ the king of Israel now come down from the cross, that we may see, and believe. They also that were crucified with him, reviled him.
33 ¶ Now when the sixth hour was come, [h]darkness arose over [i]all the land until the ninth hour.
34 And at the [j]ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, (H)Eloi, Eloi, lama-sabachthani? which is by interpretation, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah.
36 And one ran, and filled a (I)sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let him alone: let us see if Elijah will come, and take him down.
37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38 And the veil of the Temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom.
39 Now when the Centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he thus crying gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
40 ¶ [k]There were also women which beheld afar off, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less, and of Joses, and Salome,
41 Which also when he was in Galilee, (J)followed him, and ministered unto him, and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
42 (K)And now when the night was come (because it was the day of the preparation that is before the Sabbath)
43 (L)Joseph of Arimathea, an [l]honorable counselor, which also looked for the kingdom of God, came, and went in [m]boldly unto Pilate, and asked the body of Jesus.
44 And Pilate marveled, if he were already dead, and called unto him the Centurion, and asked of him whether he had been any while dead.
45 And when he knew the truth of the Centurion, he gave the body to Joseph:
46 Who bought a linen cloth, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulcher:
47 And Mary Magdalene, and Mary Joses’ mother, beheld where he should be laid.
Footnotes
- Mark 15:1 Christ being bound before the judgment seat of an earthly judge, in open assembly is condemned as guilty unto the death of the cross, not for his own sins, (as appeareth by the judge’s own words) but for all ours, that we most guilty creatures being delivered from the guiltiness of our sins, might be quitted before the judgment seat of God, even in the open assembly of the Angels.
- Mark 15:1 It was not lawful for them to put any man to death, for all causes of life and death were taken away from them, first by Herod the great, and afterward by the Romans, about forty years before the destruction of the Temple, and therefore they deliver Jesus to Pilate.
- Mark 15:6 Used Pilate to deliver.
- Mark 15:17 Christ going about to take away the sins of men, who went about to usurp the throne of God himself, is condemned as one that hunted after the kingdom, and mocked with a false show of a kingdom, that we on the other side, who shall indeed be eternal kings, might receive the crown of glory at God’s own hand.
- Mark 15:21 The rage of the wicked hath no measure, but in the mean season, even the weakness of Christ, being in pain under the heavy burden of the cross, doth manifestly show that a lamb is led to be sacrificed.
- Mark 15:22 Christ is led out of the walls of the earthly Jerusalem, into a foul place of dead men’s carcasses, as a man most unclean, not touching himself, but touching our sins, which were laid upon him, to the end that we being made clean by his blood, might be brought into the heavenly Sanctuary.
- Mark 15:24 Christ hangeth naked upon the cross, and as the most wickedest caitiff that ever was, most vilely reproved: that we being clothed with his righteousness, and blessed with his curses, and sanctified by his only oblation, may be taken up into heaven.
- Mark 15:33 How angry God was against our sin, which he punished in our surety, his son, it appeareth by this horrible darkness.
- Mark 15:33 By this word, land, he meaneth Palestine: so that the strangeness of the wonder, is so much the more set forth in that, that at the feast of the Passover, and in the full moon, when the Sun shined over all the rest of the world and at midday that corner of the world, wherein so wicked an act was committed, was overcovered with most gross darkness.
- Mark 15:34 Christ striving mightily with Satan, with sin, and with death, all three armed with the horrible curse of God, grievously tormented in body hanging upon the cross, and in soul plunged in the depth of hell, yet he riddeth himself, crying with a mighty voice: and notwithstanding the wound which he received of death in that that he died, yet by smiting both things above and things beneath, by renting of the veil of the Temple, and by the testimony wrung out of them which murdered him, he showeth evidently unto the rest of his enemies which are as yet obstinate, and mock at him, that he shall be known out of hand to be conqueror and Lord of all.
- Mark 15:40 Christ to the great shame of men which forsook the Lord, chose women for his witnesses, which beheld all this whole action.
- Mark 15:43 A man of great authority, of the counsel of the Sanhedrin, or else taken into counsel by Pilate.
- Mark 15:43 If we consider what danger Joseph cast himself into, we shall perceive how bold he was.
Mark 15
English Standard Version
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
15 (A)And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests (B)held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And (C)they bound Jesus and (D)led him away and (E)delivered him over to (F)Pilate. 2 (G)And Pilate asked him, (H)“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, (I)“You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, (J)“Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus (K)made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
6 (L)Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had (M)committed murder (N)in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that (O)it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with (P)the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? (Q)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having (R)scourged[a] Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
16 (S)And the soldiers led him away inside (T)the palace (that is, (U)the governor's headquarters),[b] and they called together the whole (V)battalion.[c] 17 And they clothed him in (W)a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, (X)“Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and (Y)spitting on him and (Z)kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had (AA)mocked him, they stripped him of (AB)the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they (AC)led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
21 (AD)And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 (AE)And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with (AF)myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and (AG)divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And (AH)it was the third hour[d] when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, (AI)“The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two (AJ)robbers, (AK)one on his right and one on his left.[e] 29 And (AL)those who passed by derided him, (AM)wagging their heads and saying, (AN)“Aha! (AO)You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, (AP)“He saved others; (AQ)he cannot save himself. 32 Let (AR)the Christ, (AS)the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may (AT)see and believe.” (AU)Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
The Death of Jesus
33 And when the sixth hour[f] had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.[g] 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus (AV)cried with a loud voice, (AW)“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with (AX)sour wine, put it on a reed (AY)and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus (AZ)uttered a loud cry and (BA)breathed his last. 38 And (BB)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 (BC)And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he[h] breathed his last, he said, (BD)“Truly this man was the Son[i] of God!”
40 There were also (BE)women looking on (BF)from a distance, among whom were (BG)Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and (BH)Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and (BI)ministered to him, and there were also many other women who (BJ)came up with him to Jerusalem.
Jesus Is Buried
42 (BK)And when evening had come, since it was (BL)the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, (BM)a respected member of the council, who (BN)was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.[j] And summoning (BO)the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from (BP)the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph[k] bought (BQ)a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and (BR)laid him in a tomb (BS)that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled (BT)a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 (BU)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
Footnotes
- Mark 15:15 A Roman judicial penalty, consisting of a severe beating with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal
- Mark 15:16 Greek the praetorium
- Mark 15:16 Greek cohort; a tenth of a Roman legion, usually about 600 men
- Mark 15:25 That is, 9 a.m.
- Mark 15:27 Some manuscripts insert verse 28: And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “He was numbered with the transgressors”
- Mark 15:33 That is, noon
- Mark 15:33 That is, 3 p.m.
- Mark 15:39 Some manuscripts insert cried out and
- Mark 15:39 Or a son
- Mark 15:44 Or Pilate wondered whether he had already died
- Mark 15:46 Greek he
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.