Matthew 27:35-46

27:35 When ¹  they had crucified ²  him, they divided his clothes by throwing dice. ³  27:36 Then they sat down and kept guard over him there. 27:37 Above ⁴  his head they put the charge against him, ⁵  which read: ⁶  “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” 27:38 Then two outlaws were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 27:39 Those ⁷  who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads 27:40 and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ⁸  If you are God’s Son, come down ⁹  from the cross!” 27:41 In ¹⁰  the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law ¹¹  and elders ¹²  – were mocking him: ¹³  27:42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down ¹⁴  now from the cross, we will believe in him! 27:43 He trusts in God – let God, if he wants to, deliver him now ¹⁵  because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’!” 27:44 The ¹⁶  robbers who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. ¹⁷ 

Jesus’ Death

27:45 Now from noon until three, ¹⁸  darkness came over all the land. ¹⁹  27:46 At ²⁰  about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, ²¹  “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ²² 

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¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

³ tn Grk “by throwing the lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throwing dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling. According to L&N 6.219 a term for “dice” is particularly appropriate.

sn An allusion to Ps 22:18.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁵ sn Mention of the inscription is an important detail, because the inscription would normally give the reason for the execution. It shows that Jesus was executed for claiming to be a king. It was also probably written with irony from the executioners’ point of view.

⁶ tn Grk “was written.”

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ sn There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “save yourself!” and “come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.

⁹ tc ‡ Many important witnesses (א* A D pc it sy^[s],p) read καί (kai, here with the force of “then”) before κατάβηθι (katabhqi, “come down”). The shorter reading may well be due to homoioarcton, but judging by the diverse external evidence (א² B L W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) it is equally possible that the shorter reading is original (and is so considered for this translation). NA²⁷ puts the καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

¹¹ tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

¹² tn Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

¹³ tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said.”

¹⁴ tn Here the aorist imperative καταβάτω (katabatw) has been translated as a conditional imperative. This fits the pattern of other conditional imperatives (imperative + καί + future indicative) outlined by ExSyn 489.

¹⁵ sn An allusion to Ps 22:8.

¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁷ sn Matthew’s wording suggests that both of the criminals spoke abusively to him. If so, one of them quickly changed his attitude toward Jesus (see Luke 23:40-43).

¹⁸ tn Grk “from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.”

¹⁹ sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.

²⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²¹ tn Grk “with a loud voice, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

²² sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.