Discovery BoxMatthew 27:31-32 
Context27:31 When 1 they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then 2 they led him away to crucify him.
27:32 As 3 they were going out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced 4 to carry his cross. 5
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
4 tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”
5 sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon. Mark 15:21 names him as father of two people apparently known to Mark’s audience.
