John 19:21

International Standard Version

Then the Jewish high priests told Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that this fellow said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”

King James Version (1611)
Then said the chiefe Priests of the Iewes to Pilate, Write not, The king of the Iewes: but that he said, I am King of the Iewes.

King James Version
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.

English Standard Version
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,' but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"

New American Standard Bible
So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; rather, write that He said, 'I am King of the Jews.'"

New Century Version
The leading priests said to Pilate, "Don't write, ‘The King of the Jews.' But write, ‘This man said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"

Amplified Bible
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but, 'He said, "I am King of the Jews."'"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but that He said, 'I am King of the Jews.'"

Legacy Standard Bible
So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews;' but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.'"

Berean Standard Bible
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but only that He said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"

Contemporary English Version
So the chief priests went to Pilate and said, "Why did you write that he is King of the Jews? You should have written, ‘He claimed to be King of the Jews.'"

Complete Jewish Bible
The Judeans' head cohanim therefore said to Pilate, "Don't write, ‘The King of the Jews,' but ‘He said, "I am King of the Jews."'"

Darby Translation
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Do not write, The king of the Jews, but that *he* said, I am king of the Jews.

Easy-to-Read Version
The leading Jewish priests said to Pilate, "Don't write, ‘The King of the Jews.' But write, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.'"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide the hie Priests of the Iewes to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Iewes, but that he sayd, I am King of the Iewes.

George Lamsa Translation
The high priests then said to Pilate, Do not write that he is the king of the Jews; but that he said, I am the king of the Jews.

Good News Translation
The chief priests said to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,' but rather, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.'"

Lexham English Bible
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The king of the Jews,' but, ‘He said, I am king of the Jews.'"

Literal Translation
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but that One said, I am King of the Jews.

American Standard Version
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but, that he said, I am King of the Jews.

Bible in Basic English
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not put, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am the King of the Jews.

Hebrew Names Version
The chief Kohanim of the Yehudim therefore said to Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Yehudim,' but that, 'he said, I am King of the Yehudim.'"

Etheridge Translation
And the chief priests said to Pilatos, Do not write that he is king of the Jihudoyee, but that he said, I am the king of the Jihudoyee.

Murdock Translation
And the chief priests said to Pilate: Write not that he is king of the Jews, but that he said I am king of the Jews.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayde the hye priestes of the Iewes to Pilate, Write not kyng of the Iewes: but, that he sayde, I am kyng of the Iewes.

English Revised Version
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but, that he said, I am King of the Jews.

World English Bible
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that, 'he said, I am King of the Jews.'"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Then said the chief priests to Pilate, Write not, the king of the Jews; but that he said, I am the king of the Jews.

Weymouth's New Testament
This led the Jewish High Priests to remonstrate with Pilate. "You should not write `The King of the Jews,'" they said, "but that he claimed to be King of the Jews."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the bischops of the Jewis seiden to Pilat, Nyle thou write kyng of Jewis, but for he seide, Y am king of Jewis.

Update Bible Version
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.

New English Translation
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The king of the Jews,' but rather, ‘This man said, I am king of the Jews.'"

New King James Version
Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, "The King of the Jews,' but, "He said, "I am the King of the Jews.""'

New Living Translation
Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, "Change it from ‘The King of the Jews' to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.'"

New Life Bible
Then the head religious leaders of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews'! Write, ‘He said, I am the King of the Jews.'"

New Revised Standard
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,' but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The High-priests of the Jews, therefore, were saying unto Pilate - Do not be writing, The King of the Jews; but that, he, said: King of the Jews, I am.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not: The King of the Jews. But that he said: I am the King of the Jews.

Revised Standard Version
The chief priests of the Jews then said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Then sayde the hye prestes of ye Iewes to Pylate: wryte not kynge of the Iewes: but that he sayde I am kynge of the Iewes.

Young's Literal Translation
The chief priests of the Jews said, therefore, to Pilate, `Write not -- The king of the Jews, but that one said, I am king of the Jews;'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde the hye prestes of the Iewes vnto Pilate: Wryte not kynge of the Iewes, but yt he sayde, I am kynge of the Iewes.

Mace New Testament (1729)
thereupon the chief priests of the Jews went to Pilate, saying, don't write, "The king of the Jews;" but that he said, I am king of the Jews.

Simplified Cowboy Version
The religious leaders objected and asked the sign be changed to, "He said he was the king of the Jews."

Contextual Overview

¹⁹ Pilate wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus from Nazareth,Jesus the Nazarene; the Gk. Nazoraios may be a word play between Heb. netser, meaning branch (see Isaiah 11:1), and the name">[fn] the King of the Jews."Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38;">[xr] ²⁰ Many Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. It was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. ²¹ Then the Jewish high priests told Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that this fellow said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'" ²² Pilate replied, "What I have written I have written." ²³ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier, and took his cloakand his tunic">[fn] as well. The cloak was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34;">[xr] ²⁴ So they said to each other, "Let's not tear it. Instead, let's throw dice to see who gets it." This was to fulfill the Scripture that says,Psalm 22:18;">[xr] "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they threw dice."Psalm 22:18">[fn] So that is what the soldiers did. ²⁵ Meanwhile, standing near Jesus' cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.Matthew 27:55; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:49; 24:18;">[xr] ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he kept loving standing there, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son."John 2:4; 13:23; 20:2;">[xr] ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.John 1:11; 16:32;">[xr] ²⁸ After this, when Jesus realized that everything was now completed, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), "I'm thirsty."Psalm 69:21;">[xr]

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Luke 23:49 - the women John 18:38 - I find

Cross-References

Matthew 12:20
He will not snap off a broken reedor snuff out a smoldering wickuntil he brings justicejudgment">[fn] to victory.

Luke 11:8
I tell you, even though he doesn't want to get up and give him anything because he is his friend, he will get up and give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.Luke 18:1;">[xr]

Hebrews 2:17
Thus he had to become like his brothers in every way, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and could atone for the people's sins.Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 4:15; 5:1-2;">[xr]

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate,.... Who were not only informed of this inscription, but might read it themselves, for they were present at the crucifying of Christ, and mocked at him as he hung on the tree; these, when they read the title, were greatly offended at it, partly because it was doing too great an honour to Jesus to call him the King of the Jews: and partly because it fixed a public brand of infamy upon their nation, that a king of theirs should be crucified: wherefore they went to Pilate and addressed him, saying,

write not the King of the Jews: because they did not own him for their king, which this title seemed to suggest, nor had he in their opinion any right to such a character; wherefore they desired that in the room of these words he would be pleased to put the following,

but that he said, I am King of the Jews; that so he might be thought to be a seditious person and a traitor; one that laid claim to the temporal crown and kingdom of Israel, and one that suffered justly for attempts of that kind.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 27:32-37.

John 19:22

What I have written ... - This declaration implied that he would make no change. He was impatient, and weary of their solicitations. He had yielded to them contrary to the convictions of his own conscience, and he now declared his purpose to yield no further.