Luke 23
All 56 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.
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- 1Then the entire assembly rose and brought Jesus before Pilate.
- 2They began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, claiming that he himself is Christ, a king."
- 3Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "You say it."
- 4Pilate turned to the chief priests and the crowd and said, "I find nothing wrong with this man."
- 5But they pressed harder, insisting, "He stirs up the people with his teaching all across Judea — starting in Galilee and now here!"
- 6When Pilate heard the word "Galilee," he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
- 7Once he learned that Jesus fell under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.
- 8Herod was thrilled to see Jesus. He had wanted to meet him for a long time because he'd heard so much about him, and he was hoping to watch him perform some kind of miracle.
- 9Herod questioned him at length, but Jesus did not answer him at all.
- 10Meanwhile, the chief priests and the scribes stood nearby, hurling fierce accusations at him.
- 11Herod and his soldiers disregarded Jesus, mocked him, dressed him in a splendid robe, and sent him back to Pilate.
- 12That very day, Herod and Pilate became friends — before this, they had been enemies.
- 13Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people.
- 14He told them, "You brought this man to me, claiming he was leading the people astray. I've examined him right here in front of you, and I find no basis for any of the charges you're bringing against him."
- 15"Neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. Clearly, this man has done nothing that deserves death."
- 16"So I'll have him flogged and then let him go."
- 17(It was customary for Pilate to release one prisoner to the people during the feast.)
- 18But the whole crowd shouted together, "Get rid of this man! Release Barabbas to us!"
- 19Barabbas had been thrown in prison for starting a revolt in the city and for murder.
- 20Pilate wanted to release Jesus, so he appealed to the crowd again.
- 21But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
- 22A third time Pilate spoke to them: "Why? What crime has he committed? I've found no reason to execute him. I'll have him flogged and release him."
- 23But they kept screaming louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified. Eventually their voices — along with those of the chief priests — won out.
- 24Pilate gave in and handed down the ruling they wanted.
- 25He released the man they asked for — the one imprisoned for revolt and murder — and handed Jesus over to be dealt with as they wished.
- 26As they led Jesus away, they grabbed a man named Simon from Cyrene who was coming in from the countryside. They put the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus.
- 27A huge crowd followed, including women who were weeping and mourning for him.
- 28Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children."
- 29"Because the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the women who never had children — the wombs that never carried a baby and the breasts that never nursed.'"
- 30"Then people will beg the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and plead with the hills, 'Cover us!'"
- 31"For if they do this when the tree is green, what will happen when it's dry?"
- 32Two criminals were also led out with him to be executed.
- 33When they arrived at the place called Calvary, they crucified him there along with the two criminals—one on his right and one on his left.
- 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing." Meanwhile, the soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots.
- 35The people stood watching. The rulers sneered at him, saying, "He saved others — let him save himself if he really is Christ, God's chosen one!"
- 36The soldiers joined in the mockery too, coming up to him and offering him sour wine.
- 37They taunted, "If you're the King of the Jews, save yourself!"
- 38Above him was a sign written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- 39One of the criminals who were hanged insulted him, saying, "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us."
- 40But the other criminal rebuked him: "Don't you even fear God? You're facing the same death sentence he is."
- 41"We deserve what we're getting — we earned this punishment. But this man has done nothing wrong."
- 42Then he said, "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
- 43Jesus said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
- 44It was about the sixth hour, and darkness covered all the earth until the ninth hour.
- 45The sun stopped shining, and the curtain in the temple was torn right down the middle.
- 46Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!" After saying this, he breathed his last.
- 47When the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly, this was a righteous man.”
- 48The crowds who had gathered to watch, after seeing everything that took place, beat their chests in grief and went home.
- 49All those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.
- 50Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Jewish council, who was a good and righteous man.
- 51He had not agreed with the council's decision or their actions. He was from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.
- 52Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.
- 53He took it down from the cross, wrapped it in linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb carved out of rock where no one had ever been buried.
- 54It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
- 55The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was placed inside.
- 56Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments. But when the Sabbath came, they rested as the commandment required.