15:1  AND IMMEDIATELY when it was morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the whole council, held a consultation; and when they had bound Jesus, they took Him away [violently] and handed Him over to Pilate.

15:2  And Pilate inquired of Him, Are You the King of the Jews? And He replied, It is as you say.

15:3  And the chief priests kept accusing Him of many things.

15:4  And Pilate again asked Him, Have You no answer to make? See how many charges they are bringing against You!

15:5  But Jesus made no further answer at all, so that Pilate wondered {and} marveled.

15:6  Now at the Feast he [was accustomed to] set free for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

15:7  And among the rioters in the prison who had committed murder in the insurrection there was a man named Barabbas.

15:8  And the throng came up and began asking Pilate to do as he usually did for them.

15:9  And he replied to them, Do you wish me to set free for you the King of the Jews?

15:10  For he was aware that it was [because they were prompted] by envy that the chief priests had delivered Him up.

15:11  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release for them Barabbas instead.

15:12  And again Pilate said to them, Then what shall I do with the Man Whom you call the King of the Jews?

15:13  And they shouted back again, Crucify Him!

15:14  But Pilate said to them, Why? What has He done that is evil? But they shouted with all their might all the more, Crucify Him [at once]!

15:15  So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, set Barabbas free for them; and after having Jesus whipped, he handed [Him] over to be crucified.

15:16  Then the soldiers led Him away to the courtyard inside the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and they called the entire detachment of soldiers together.

15:17  And they dressed Him in [a] purple [robe], and, weaving together a crown of thorns, they placed it on Him.

15:18  And they began to salute Him, Hail (greetings, good health to You, long life to You), King of the Jews!

15:19  And they struck His head with a staff made of a [bamboo-like] reed and spat on Him and kept bowing their knees in homage to Him.

15:20  And when they had [finished] making sport of Him, they took the purple [robe] off of Him and put His own clothes on Him. And they led Him out [of the city] to crucify Him.

15:21  And they forced a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the field (country), to carry His cross.

15:22  And they led Him to Golgotha [in Latin: Calvary], meaning The Place of a Skull.

15:23  And they [attempted to] give Him wine mingled with myrrh, but He would not take it.

15:24  And they crucified Him; and they divided His garments {and} distributed them among themselves, throwing lots for them to decide who should take what.

15:25  And it was the third hour (about nine o'clock in the morning) when they crucified Him.

15:26  And the inscription of the accusation against Him was written above, The King of the Jews.

15:27  And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on [His] right hand and one on His left.

15:28  {And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, He was counted among the transgressors.}

15:29  And those who passed by kept reviling Him {and} reproaching Him abusively in harsh {and} insolent language, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You Who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,

15:30  Now rescue Yourself [from death], coming down from the cross!

15:31  So also the chief priests, with the scribes, made sport of Him to one another, saying, He rescued others [from death]; Himself He is unable to rescue.

15:32  Let the Christ (the Messiah), the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see [it] and trust in {and} rely on Him {and} adhere to Him! Those who were crucified with Him also reviled {and} reproached Him [speaking abusively, harshly, and insolently].

15:33  And when the sixth hour (about midday) had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (about three o'clock).

15:34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?--which means, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me [deserting Me and leaving Me helpless and abandoned]?

15:35  And some of those standing by, [and] hearing it, said, See! He is calling Elijah!

15:36  And one man ran, and, filling a sponge with vinegar (a mixture of sour wine and water), put it on a staff made of a [bamboo-like] reed and gave it to Him to drink, saying, Hold off! Let us see whether Elijah [does] come to take Him down.

15:37  And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed out His life.

15:38  And the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

15:39  And when the centurion who stood facing Him saw Him expire this way, he said, Really, this Man was God's Son!

15:40  Now some women were there also, looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome,

15:41  Who, when [Jesus] was in Galilee, were in the habit of accompanying and ministering to Him; and [there were] also many other [women] who had come up with Him to Jerusalem.

15:42  As evening had already come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, [the day] before the Sabbath,

15:43  Joseph, he of Arimathea, noble {and} honorable in rank {and} a respected member of the council (Sanhedrin), who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, daring the consequences, took courage {and} ventured to go to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

15:44  But Pilate wondered whether He was dead so soon, and, having called the centurion, he asked him whether [Jesus] was already dead.

15:45  And when he learned from the centurion [that He was indeed dead], he gave the body to Joseph.

15:46  And Joseph bought a [fine] linen cloth [for swathing dead bodies], and, taking Him down from the cross, he rolled Him up in the [fine] linen cloth and placed Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock. Then he rolled a [very large] stone against the door of the tomb.

15:47  And Mary Magdalene and Mary [the mother] of Joses were [attentively] observing where He was laid.