Luke 23

their whole assembly
The word translated “assembly” here is πλῆθος (plēthos), which is usually translated as “multitude.” In contexts where it refers specifically to a large group of religious leaders, it is translated as “assembly” (i.e., here and in Acts 23:7). In this case, “their whole assembly” refers back to a few verses earlier in Luke 22:66, where “their Sanhedrin” is mentioned. Luke uses the combination of ἅπας (hapas; “whole”) and πλῆθος (plēthos; a word usually translated “multitude”) to stress the unanimity of the entire Sanhedrin in their desire to bring Jesus before Pilate for execution. The translation “assembly” here helps rightly keep the Sanhedrin in mind when “multitude” could be mistaken for a crowd of the general population.

You yourself say it
This translation reflects Jesus’ double occurrence of the 2nd person singular in Σὺ λέγεις (Su legeis). The Greek pronoun Σὺ (Su) is grammatically unnecessary, since the verb already indicates a second person action. Thus, it appears for emphasis. There is a clear parallel between this statement and what Jesus has just said to the Sanhedrin in 22:70. In both cases, Jesus does not testify about Himself. He neither openly affirms nor denies the charge. Instead, with this kind of statement, He draws attention to the words that are in the mouths of His questioners. His rhetoric shifts the attention to Pilate’s case, and as the next verse indicates, Pilate finds “no guilt in this man.” Thus readers can see that, as with the Sanhedrin, Jesus is condemned for no good reason.

in those days
“In those days” is a literal translation of the Greek phrase ἐν ταύταις ταῖς ἡμέραις (en tautais tais hēmerais). This is common time rhetoric for Luke as he characterizes different periods (cf. 2:1; 5:35; 8:22).

Now when Herod saw
Some translations render the main verb first and the participle second (i.e. “Herod was very glad [ἐχάρη λίαν; echarē lian] when he saw Jesus [ἰδὼν; idōn]”). However, the Greek word order has the participle first. The importance of this is that Luke sometimes uses a participle as a literary device to change scenes (cf. 20:27; 22:54), and that is why it has been rendered first in this translation.

rejoiced greatly
“Rejoiced greatly” translates the phrase ἐχάρη λίαν (exarēn lian), which is consistent with other occurrences (cf. 2 John 4; 3 John 3). And since John will make wordplays on “joy” between this verb and the noun “joy,” it has been translated consistently even here in Luke as “rejoiced greatly” rather than “was very glad.” In the context of Luke, the detail of Herod’s joy at the prospect of a sign from Jesus helps to accentuate the irony of how some people’s joy extended simply to the miracles of Christ, and not to Christ Himself (cf. Luke 11:16).

vehemently accusing Him
The translation, “vehemently accusing Him” preserves the word order of the Greek phrase (εὐτόνως κατηγοροῦντες αὐτοῦ; eutonōs katēgorountes autou). This word order fronts, and therefore stresses, the vehemence with which the accusations were coming. The chief priests and scribes were invested in their antagonism against Jesus emotionally and wholeheartedly.

bright
While often rendered in other translations with something like “gorgeous,” “splendid,” or “elegant,” the core meaning of the Greek word λαμπρός (lampros) is “bright” or “shining,” communicating the idea of radiating light (note similarity to the English word “lamp”). In the New Testament, though sometimes used to communicate something rich and lavish (e.g., Jas 2:2, 3; Rev 18:14), it usually has brilliant heavenly connotations. The only places λαμπρός (lampros) is used together with the noun ἐσθής (esthēs; clothing of either angels or dignitaries [cf. Luke 24:4; Acts 12:21]) are here in this verse and later also in Acts 10:30, where “shining garments” clothe the man in Cornelius’ vision. Λαμπρός (lampros) is used repeatedly in Revelation (consistently translated as “bright”), describing the shining clothing of angels in 15:6, the shining vestments of Christ’s bride in 19:8, the glistening heavenly river in 22:1, and the glorified Jesus Himself as the “bright morning star” in 22:16. Thus, in the New Testament, the term is not only beautifully descriptive but also theologically rich. Luke points out an amazing and providential irony here in that while Jesus’ accusers simply seek to mock Him with “rich” clothing, He is truly the one who deserves to be clothed in glorious heavenly vestments!

I have found in this man no guilt of what you are accusing Him.
This wording follows the Greek grammatical construction and word order as closely as possible. It also provides consistent translations of “guilt” (αἴτιος; aitios) and “accuse” (κατηγορέω; katēgoreō) to help readers better track with the theme that Jesus was not guilty (v. 4; αἴτιος [aitios]) of anything He was accused of (v. 10; κατηγορέω [katēgoreō]; cf. v. 2).

He
The simple translation, “He,” rather than something like “He was one who,” gives a closer rendering of the Greek text by providing a single English word for the single Greek relative pronoun ὅστις (hostis; lit. “Who”). This relative pronoun is translated as “He” rather than “Who” for a smoother reading. The sense of the relative clause is communicated with the use of parentheses surrounding the entire sentence. These translation choices accurately portray Luke’s intent to communicate background information about Barabbas.

But again Pilate addressed them
The word order here matches the word order of the Greek text for rhetorical emphasis and clarity (πάλιν δὲ ὁ Πιλᾶτος προσεφώνησεν αὐτοῖς; palin de ho Pilatos prosephōnēsen autois). In this construction, Luke has placed “again” at the front to emphasize Pilate’s repeated attempts to persuade the Jews of Jesus’ innocence.

a third time
Some translations have “the third time,” making this phrase definite. However, “third” (τρίτον; triton) here lacks the article in Greek (the article at the beginning of this verse [ὁ; ho] is nominative, referring to Pilate and functioning as a personal pronoun [“he”]). Translating τρίτον (triton; “third”) as definite in English adds undue emphasis that is not communicated by the Greek, and thus, the anarthrous translation here provides a more precise rendering.

took hold of
The verb ἐπιλαμβάνομαι (epilambanomai) is sometimes rendered with “took” or “took hold” (cf. Luke 9:47; 14:4) as well, and sometimes with “seize.” This comes from the Greek verb λαμβάνω (lambanō; “take/receive”), intensified by the added prefix ἐπι- (epi-). The difference in the translation relates to the individual context, as “seize” communicates implied violence. Since the present context is less violent, “took hold” is an appropriate rendering here.

AND THEY CAST LOTS, DIVIDING UP HIS GARMENTS AMONG THEMSELVES
The caps formatting indicates a quotation from or allusion to the Old Testament. Thus, the phrase here has been formatted in caps because it is an allusion to Psalm 22:18. Thus, this rendering makes clearer that Luke sees the soldiers’ actions here as specifically fulfilling what was predicted of the Messiah in Psalm 22.

scoffing
The word translated “scoffing” here is ἐκμυκτηρίζω (ekmyktērizō), which, with the prefix εκ- (ek-), is an intensified form of μυκτηρίζω (myktērizō) which describes turning up one’s nose in mockery. It is translated as “scoffing” here for consistency with the one other occurrence in Luke 16:14, since “mocking” is used to translate the more common Greek word ἐμπαίζω (empaizō). With the use of ἐκμυκτηρίζω (ekmyktērizō) here, Luke is clearly referring to Psalm 22:7 (v. 8 in Heb.), since this Greek word is the best translation of the Hebrew לעג (la’ag; cf. LXX/OG Ps 21:7). Luke is portraying Jesus’ crucifixion as the fulfillment of Psalm 22 (compare Luke 23:34b with Ps 22:18[19]; Luke 23:35b with Ps 22:8[9]).

hanging
Many translations render this as “who were hanged” or “who hung.” The translation here as “hanging” helps to more simply communicate the participial form of the verb (κρεμασθέντων; kremasthentōn), using a single English word for the single Greek word. This translation seeks to give the clearest window to the underlying Greek text without adding unnecessary words.

blaspheming
While many translations communicate something like “hurling abuse,” “hurling insults,” or “reviling” here, the Greek word is βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō), in which the derivative English word “blasphemy” can be clearly recognized. Luke’s intent is not simply to convey that their words were hurtful and abusive, but even blatantly blasphemous against God’s Messiah.

done
Both times that “done” occurs in this verse it translates πράσσω (prassō). This translation brings out the contrasting parallelism between what the thieves have done, and what Jesus has done.

sanctuary
The word for “sanctuary” here is νάος (naos). It is an important and specific word in the New Testament referring to the innermost and most sacred part of the temple where the altar, holy place, and holy of holies were located. As such, it is more specific than the term ἱερόν (hieron; “temple”), which refers to the entire temple complex. Thus, the translation “sanctuary” accurately captures the meaning of νάος (naos) and properly differentiates it from ἱερόν (hieron). As this relates to which veil was torn (i.e., the outer veil or the inner veil), it has been noted that the book of Hebrews uses this term when referring to the inner veil (Heb 6:19; 9:3; 10:20), and the Septuagint has translated the term used here for “veil” when referring to the inner veil (Exod 26:31–37; cf. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, 478). The significance of this, as Hebrews says, is that the way to God has been opened through Jesus Christ (10:20).

righteous
Some translations render this as “innocent,” but the Greek term here is δίκαιος (dikaios; “righteous”). It is not only Jesus’ innocence in view, which would simply communicate that He did nothing wrong, but also His total approval and uprightness before God in a positive sense as well. The centurion recognized that Jesus was uniquely in right standing before God, having perfectly fulfilled the requirement of God’s law.

watching
While the Greek verb ὁράω (horaō) here is most often translated as “see,” the translation “watching” more vividly communicates the meaning in this context in keeping with the more active and ongoing observance communicated by the present tense participial form of the verb (ὁρῶσαι; horōsai). Jesus’ acquaintances and the women were actively taking in the scene.

And behold
This Greek interjection ἰδοὺ (idou; “behold”) functions to arrest the attention of the reader and alert of something important, a transition in scene, or a new element or development within a scene (similar to a new character emerging onto the stage for the first time in a play). Here, it introduces a new character into the narrative, Joseph, who will be instrumental in Jesus’ burial.

Council member
Some translations read “member of the council,” but since the Greek simply has one word, βουλευτὴς (bouleutēs), it is better translated as “Council member.” The rhetoric of the present translation more accurately conveys his office, whereas the former would draw more attention to the larger group of which he is a part.

Preparation day
The day called “Friday” in modern language was called “Preparation day” (παρασκευή; paraskeuē) by Greek-speaking Jews in New Testament times because it was the day to prepare for the Sabbath, on which they could do no laborious work. It was their technical name for Friday, and this term has even carried into contemporary usage as it is still the way to say “Friday” in Modern Greek.

from
“From” translates the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek), and provides a simpler and more natural expression than “out of,” since it is more common to describe movement from one place to another with “from.” This translation also keeps one English word for the single Greek word.