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Luke 23:26-56
Contemporary English Version
Luke 23:26-56
Contemporary English Version
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross
(Matthew 27.31-44; Mark 15.21-32; John 19.17-27)
26 As Jesus was being led away, some soldiers grabbed hold of a man named Simon who was from Cyrene. He was coming in from the fields, but they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
27 A large crowd was following Jesus, and in the crowd a lot of women were crying and weeping for him. 28 Jesus turned to the women and said:
Women of Jerusalem, don't cry for me! Cry for yourselves and for your children. 29 Someday people will say, “Women who never had children are really fortunate!” 30 (A) At that time everyone will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” They will say to the hills, “Hide us!” 31 If this can happen when the wood is green, what do you think will happen when it is dry?[a]
32 Two criminals were led out to be put to death with Jesus. 33 When the soldiers came to the place called “The Skull,”[b] they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also nailed the two criminals to crosses, one on each side of Jesus.
34-35 (B) Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don't know what they're doing.”[c]
While the crowd stood there watching Jesus, the soldiers gambled for his clothes. The leaders insulted him by saying, “He saved others. Now he should save himself, if he really is God's chosen Messiah!”
36 (C) The soldiers made fun of Jesus and brought him some wine. 37 They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 Above him was a sign that said, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals hanging there also insulted Jesus by saying, “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and save us!”
40 But the other criminal told the first one off, “Don't you fear God? Aren't you getting the same punishment as this man? 41 We got what was coming to us, but he didn't do anything wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into power!”
43 Jesus replied, “I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.”[d]
The Death of Jesus
(Matthew 27.45-56; Mark 15.33-41; John 19.28-30)
44 Around noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until the middle of the afternoon. 45 (D) The sun stopped shining, and the curtain in the temple[e] split down the middle. 46 (E) Jesus shouted, “Father, I put myself in your hands!” Then he died.
47 When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Jesus must really have been a good man!”
48 A crowd had gathered to see the terrible sight. Then after they had seen it, they felt brokenhearted and went home. 49 (F) All of Jesus' close friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched.
Jesus Is Buried
(Matthew 27.57-61; Mark 15.42-47; John 19.38-42)
50-51 There was a man named Joseph, who was from Arimathea in Judea. Joseph was a good and honest man, and he was eager for God's kingdom to come. He was also a member of the council, but he did not agree with what they had decided.
52 Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 53 He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used. 54 It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.[f]
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and watched how Jesus' body was placed in the tomb. 56 (G) Then they went to prepare some sweet-smelling spices for his burial. But on the Sabbath they rested, as the Law of Moses commands.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 23.31 If this can happen when the wood is green, what do you think will happen when it is dry: This saying probably means, “If this can happen to an innocent person, what do you think will happen to one who is guilty?”
- 23.33 “The Skull”: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull.
- 23.34,35 Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don't know what they're doing”: These words are not in some manuscripts.
- 23.43 paradise: In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this word is used for the Garden of Eden. In New Testament times it was sometimes used for the place where God's people are happy and at rest, as they wait for the final judgment.
- 23.45 curtain in the temple: There were two curtains in the temple. One was at the entrance, and the other separated the holy place from the most holy place that the Jewish people thought of as God's home on earth. The second curtain is probably the one which is meant.
- 23.54 the Sabbath was about to begin: The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday.
Luke 23:26-56
New International Version
Luke 23:26-56
New International Version
The Crucifixion of Jesus(A)
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene,(B) who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.(C) 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed(D) for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.(E) 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’(F) 30 Then
31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”(H)
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.(I) 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father,(J) forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[b](K) And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.(L)
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.(M) They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”(N)
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him.(O) They offered him wine vinegar(P) 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews,(Q) save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.(R)
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”(S)
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”(T)
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[c]”(U)
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”(V)
The Death of Jesus(W)
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,(X) 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple(Y) was torn in two.(Z) 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice,(AA) “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[d](AB) When he had said this, he breathed his last.(AC)
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God(AD) and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts(AE) and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee,(AF) stood at a distance,(AG) watching these things.
The Burial of Jesus(AH)
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God.(AI) 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day,(AJ) and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee(AK) followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.(AL) But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.(AM)
Footnotes
- Luke 23:30 Hosea 10:8
- Luke 23:34 Some early manuscripts do not have this sentence.
- Luke 23:42 Some manuscripts come with your kingly power
- Luke 23:46 Psalm 31:5
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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