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¹ Then the whole crowd got up and took him to Pilate.[xr] ² They began to accuse him, "We found this man corrupting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he is the Christ,[fn] a king."[xr] ³ Then Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He answered him, "You say so."[xr] ⁴ Then Pilate said to the high priests and crowds, "I do not find anything blameworthy in this man."[xr] ⁵ But they kept insisting, "He is stirring up the people by teaching all over Judea, beginning in Galilee even to this place." ⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ When he learned with certainty that Jesus[fn] came from Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at that time.[xr] ⁸ Now Herod was very glad to see Jesus, because he had been wanting to see him for a long time on account of what he had heard about him. He was also hoping to see some sign done by him.[xr] ⁹ So he continued to question him for a long time, but Jesus[fn] gave him no answer at all. ¹⁰ Meanwhile, the high priests and the scribes stood by and continued to accuse him vehemently. ¹¹ Even[fn] Herod and his soldiers treated him with contempt and made fun of him. Then he put a magnificent robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.[xr] ¹² So Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day. Before this they had been enemies.[xr]

¹³ Then Pilate called the high priests, the other[fn] leaders, and the people together[xr] ¹⁴ and said to them, "You brought this man to me as one who turns the people against the government. And here in your presence I have examined him and have found him "Not Guilty" of the charges you make against him.[xr] ¹⁵ Nor does Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ So I will punish him and let him go."[xr] ¹⁷ Now he was obligated to release someone for them at the festival.[fn][xr] ¹⁸ But they all shouted out together, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas for us!"[xr] ¹⁹ (This was a man who had been put in prison for a revolt that had taken place in the city and for murder.) ²⁰ But Pilate wanted to let Jesus go, so he appealed to them again, ²¹ but they continued to shout, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" ²² Then he spoke to them a third time: "What has he done wrong? I have found nothing in him worthy of death. So I will punish him and let him go." ²³ But they kept pressing him with loud shouts, demanding that Jesus[fn] be crucified, and their shouts began to prevail. ²⁴ Then Pilate pronounced his sentence that their demand should be carried out.[xr] ²⁵ So he released the man who had been put in prison for revolt and murder - the man they continued to demand - but he let them have their way with Jesus.[fn]

²⁶ As they led him away, they took hold of Simon, a man from Cyrene, as he was coming in from the country, and they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.[xr] ²⁷ A large crowd of people followed him, including some women who kept beating their breasts and wailing for him. ²⁸ But Jesus turned to them and said, "Women[fn] of Jerusalem, stop crying for me, but cry for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the days are surely coming when people[fn] will say, 'How blessed are the women who couldn't bear children and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'[xr] ³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!', and to the hills, 'Cover us up!'[fn][xr] ³¹ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"[xr]

³² Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with him.[xr] ³³ When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.[xr] ³⁴ Jesus kept saying, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing."">[fn] Then they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice.[xr] ³⁵ Meanwhile, the people stood looking on. Even the leaders were mocking him and saying, "He saved others. Let him save himself, if he is the Christ[fn] of God, whom he has chosen!"[xr] ³⁶ The soldiers also made fun of him, coming up and offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!" ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:[fn] "This is the King of the Jews."[xr] ³⁹ Now one of the criminals hanging there kept insulting[fn] him, saying, "You are the Christ,[fn] aren't you? Save yourself and us!"[xr] ⁴⁰ But the other one rebuked him, saying, "Aren't you afraid of God, since you are suffering the same penalty? ⁴¹ We have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." ⁴² Then he went on to say, "Jesus, remember me when you come into[fn] your kingdom!" ⁴³ Jesus[fn] said to him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

⁴⁴ It was already about noon,[fn] and darkness came over the whole land[fn] until three in the afternoon[fn][xr] ⁴⁵ because the sun had stopped shining. And the curtain[fn] in the sanctuary was torn in two.[xr] ⁴⁶ Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, "Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit."[fn] After he said this, he breathed his last.[xr] ⁴⁷ When the centurion[fn] saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "This man certainly was righteous!"[xr] ⁴⁸ When all the crowds who had come together for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they beat their breasts and turned back. ⁴⁹ But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, were standing at a distance watching these things.[xr]

⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and righteous man - [xr] ⁵¹ he had not voted for their plan and action - from the Jewish town of Arimathea; and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.[xr] ⁵² He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut in the rock, in which no one had yet been laid.[xr] ⁵⁴ It was the Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was just beginning.[xr] ⁵⁵ So the women who had come with Jesus[fn] from Galilee, following close behind, saw the tomb and how his body was laid.[xr] ⁵⁶ Then they went back and prepared spices and perfumes, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.[xr]