Matthew 27:45-56
New English Translation
Jesus’ Death
45 Now from noon until three,[a] darkness came over all the land.[b] 46 At[c] about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice,[d] “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[e] 47 When[f] some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 Immediately[g] one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine,[h] put it on a stick,[i] and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to save him.”[j] 50 Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. 51 Just then[k] the temple curtain[l] was torn in two, from top to bottom. The[m] earth shook and the rocks were split apart. 52 And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died[n] were raised. 53 (They[o] came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.) 54 Now when the centurion[p] and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were extremely terrified and said, “Truly this one was God’s Son!” 55 Many[q] women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and given him support[r] were also there, watching from a distance. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
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- Matthew 27:45 tn Grk “from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.”
- Matthew 27:45 sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.
- Matthew 27:46 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 27:46 tn Grk “with a loud voice, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
- Matthew 27:46 sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.
- Matthew 27:47 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 27:48 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
- Matthew 27:48 sn Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca, a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.
- Matthew 27:48 tn Grk “a reed.”
- Matthew 27:49 tc Early and significant witnesses, including the chief Alexandrian mss (א B C L Γ 1010 and some versional witnesses) add a sentence at the end of this verse: “And another [soldier] took a spear and pierced him in the side, and water and blood flowed out.” This comment finds such a strong parallel in John 19:34 that it was undoubtedly lifted from the Fourth Gospel by some early, well-meaning scribe and inserted into Matt 27:49. The alternative—that this sentence was part of Matthew’s Ausgangstext—has serious difficulties, as Metzger notes: “It might be thought that the words were omitted because they represent the piercing as preceding Jesus’ death, whereas John makes it follow; but that difference would have only been a reason for moving the passage to a later position (perhaps at the close of ver. 50 or 54 or 56), or else there would have been some tampering with the passage in John, which is not the case. It is probable that the Johannine passage was written by some reader in the margin of Matthew from memory (there are several minor differences, such as the sequence of ‘water and blood’), and a later copyist awkwardly introduced it into the text” (TCGNT, 59). Consequently, even though the support for the shorter reading (A D W Θ ƒ1,13 33 565 579 700 1241 1424 M lat sy sa bo) is not as impressive, internal considerations on its behalf are compelling.
- Matthew 27:51 tn Grk “And behold.”
- Matthew 27:51 tn The referent of this term, καταπέτασμα (katapetasma), is not entirely clear. It could refer to the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.5 [5.219]), or it could refer to one at the entrance of the temple court (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.4 [5.212]). Many argue that the inner curtain is meant because another term, κάλυμμα (kalumma), is also used for the outer curtain. Others see a reference to the outer curtain as more likely because of the public nature of this sign. Either way, the symbolism means that access to God has been opened up.
- Matthew 27:51 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
- Matthew 27:52 tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaō) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.
- Matthew 27:53 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
- Matthew 27:54 sn See the note on the word centurion in Matt 8:5.
- Matthew 27:55 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 27:55 tn Grk “and ministered to him.”sn Cf. Luke 8:3.
Matthew 27:45-56
Common English Bible
Death
45 From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. 46 At about three Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”[a]
47 After hearing him, some standing there said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 One of them ran over, took a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink.
49 But the rest of them said, “Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.”
50 Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died.
51 Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, 52 and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised. 53 After Jesus’ resurrection they came out of their graves and went into the holy city where they appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what had just happened, they were filled with awe and said, “This was certainly God’s Son.”
55 Many women were watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
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