Mark 15:1–47

¹And immediately at dawn the chief priests with the older men and the scribes, even the whole San′he‧drin, conducted a consultation, and they bound Jesus and led him off and handed him over to Pilate.²So Pilate put the question to him: “Are you the king of the Jews?” In answer to him he said: “You yourself say [it].”³But the chief priests proceeded to accuse him of many things.⁴Now Pilate began questioning him again, saying: “Have you no reply to make? See how many charges they are bringing against you.”⁵But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate began to marvel.

⁶Well, from festival to festival he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they petitioned for.⁷At the time there was the so‐called Bar‧ab′bas in bonds with the seditionists, who in their sedition had committed murder.⁸So the crowd came on up and started to make petition according to what he used to do for them.⁹Pilate responded to them, saying: “Do ​YOU​ want me to release to ​YOU​ the king of the Jews?”¹⁰For he was aware that because of envy the chief priests had handed him over.¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Bar‧ab′bas to them, instead.¹²Again in reply Pilate was saying to them: “What, then, shall I do with him whom ​YOU​ call the king of the Jews?”¹³Once more they cried out: “Impale him!”¹⁴But Pilate went on to say to them: “Why, what bad thing did he do?” Still they cried out all the more: “Impale him!”¹⁵At that Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Bar‧ab′bas to them, and, after having Jesus whipped, he handed him over to be impaled.

¹⁶The soldiers now led him off into the courtyard, that is, into the governor’s palace; and they called the whole body of troops together,¹⁷and they decked him with purple and braided a crown of thorns and put it on him.¹⁸And they started greeting him: “Good day, you King of the Jews!”¹⁹Also, they would hit him on the head with a reed and spit upon him and, bending their knees, they would do obeisance to him.²⁰Finally, when they had made fun of him, they stripped him of the purple and put his outer garments upon him. And they led him out to impale him.²¹Also, they impressed into service a passerby, a certain Simon of Cy‧re′ne, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Ru′fus, that he should lift up his torture stake.

²²So they brought him to the place ​Gol′go‧tha,​ which means, when translated, Skull Place.²³Here they tried to give him wine drugged with myrrh, but he would not take it.²⁴And they impaled him and distributed his outer garments by casting the lot over them as to who takes what.²⁵It was now the third hour, and they impaled him.²⁶And the inscription of the charge against him was written above, “The King of the Jews.”²⁷Moreover, they impaled two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.²⁸——²⁹And those going by would speak abusively to him, wagging their heads and saying: “Bah! You would‐be thrower‐down of the temple and builder of it in three days’ time,³⁰save yourself by coming down off the torture stake.”³¹In like manner also the chief priests were making fun among themselves with the scribes and saying: “Others he saved; himself he cannot save!³²Let the Christ the King of Israel now come down off the torture stake, that we may see and believe.” Even those impaled together with him were reproaching him.

³³When it became the sixth hour a darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus called out with a loud voice: ​“E′li,​ ​E′li,​ ​la′ma​ ​sa‧bach‧tha′ni?”​ which means, when translated: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”³⁵And some of those standing near, on hearing it, began to say: “See! He is calling E‧li′jah.”³⁶But a certain one ran, soaked a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and began giving him a drink, saying: “LET​ [him] be! Let us see whether E‧li′jah comes to take him down.”³⁷But Jesus let out a loud cry and expired.³⁸And the curtain of the sanctuary was rent in two from top to bottom.³⁹Now, when the army officer that was standing by with him in view saw he had expired under these circumstances, he said: “Certainly this man was God’s Son.”

⁴⁰There were also women viewing from a distance, among them Mary Mag′da‧lene as well as Mary the mother of James the Less and of Jo′ses, and Sa‧lo′me,⁴¹who used to accompany him and minister to him when he was in Gal′i‧lee, and many other women who had come up together with him to Jerusalem.

⁴²Now as it was already late in the afternoon, and since it was Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,⁴³there came Joseph of Ar‧i‧ma‧the′a, a reputable member of the Council, who also himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. He took courage to go in before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.⁴⁴But Pilate wondered whether he was already dead, and, summoning the army officer, he asked him whether he had already died.⁴⁵So after making certain from the army officer, he granted the corpse to Joseph.⁴⁶Accordingly he bought fine linen and took him down, wrapped him in the fine linen and laid him in a tomb which was quarried out of a rock‐mass; and he rolled a stone up to the door of the memorial tomb.⁴⁷But Mary Mag′da‧lene and Mary the mother of Jo′ses continued looking at where he had been laid.