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Tuesday, August 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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The NET Bible®

Luke 23:17

Jesus Brought Before Pilate Then the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay the tribute tax to Caesar and claiming that he himself is Christ, a king." So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He replied, "You say so." Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man." But they persisted in saying, "He incites the people by teaching throughout all Judea. It started in Galilee and ended up here!" Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. When he learned that he was from Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who also happened to be in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign. So Herod questioned him at considerable length; Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the experts in the law were there, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, dressing him in elegant clothes, Herod sent him back to Pilate. That very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other, for prior to this they had been enemies. Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. When I examined him before you, I did not find this man guilty of anything you accused him of doing. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing deserving death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Complicity;   Criminals;   Demagogism;   Jesus, the Christ;   Opinion, Public;   Passover;   Politics;   Priest;   Prisoners;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Feast of the Passover, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Pilate or Pontius Pilate;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Exhortation;   Humiliation of Christ;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Capital Punishment;   Luke, Gospel of;   Trial of Jesus;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Gospels, Apocryphal;   Pilate;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Barabbas ;   Prisoner;   Trial of Jesus;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
[For according to the festival he had to release someone to them.]
King James Version (1611)
For of necessitie hee must release one vnto them at the Feast.
King James Version
(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)
English Standard Version
Jesus Before Pilate Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king." And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so." Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no guilt in this man." But they were urgent, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place." When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him."
New American Standard Bible
[Now he was obligated to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]
New Century Version
[Every year at the Passover Feast, Pilate had to release one prisoner to the people.]
Amplified Bible
Now he was obligated to release to them one prisoner at the Feast.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
[Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]
Legacy Standard Bible
[Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]
Complete Jewish Bible
Darby Translation
( Now he was obliged to release one for them at the feast.)
Easy-to-Read Version
Geneva Bible (1587)
(For of necessitie hee must haue let one loose vnto them at the feast.)
George Lamsa Translation
For there was a custom to release to them one at the feast.
Good News Translation
Lexham English Bible
Jesus Brought Before Pilate And the whole assembly of them rose up and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying he himself is Christ, a king!" And Pilate asked him, saying, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And he answered him and said, "You say so." So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man." But they insisted, saying, "He incites the people, teaching throughout the whole of Judea and beginning from Galilee as far as here." Now when Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. And when he found out that he was from the jurisdiction of Herod, he sent him over to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem in those days. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by him. So he questioned him at considerable length, but he answered nothing to him. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers also treated him with contempt, and after mocking him and dressing him in glistening clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And both Herod and Pilate became friends with one another on that same day, for they had previously been enemies of one another. So Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people, and behold, when I examined him before you, I found nothing in this man as basis for the accusation which you are making against him. But neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. And behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him. Therefore I will punish him and release him."
Literal Translation
And he had to release to them one at the Feast.
American Standard Version
And the whole company of them rose up, and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest. And Pilate said unto the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no fault in this man. But they were the more urgent, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee even unto this place. But when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. And when he knew that he was of Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him unto Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem in these days. Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was of a long time desirous to see him, because he had heard concerning him; and he hoped to see some miracle done by him. And he questioned him in many words; but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers set him at nought, and mocked him, and arraying him in gorgeous apparel sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day: for before they were at enmity between themselves. And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said unto them, Ye brought unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I, having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: no, nor yet Herod: for he sent him back unto us; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him.
Bible in Basic English
[] Brackets are used for marking additions made by later writers.
Hebrew Names Version
Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast.
International Standard Version
Now he was obligated to release someone for them at the festival.[fn]Matthew 27:15; Mark 15:6; John 18:39;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
For a custom had he to release to them one at the festival.
Murdock Translation
For it was a custom, that he should release one at the festival.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For of necessitie he must haue let one loose vnto them at the feast.
World English Bible
Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For he was under a necessity of releasing one to them at the feast.
Weymouth's New Testament
[]
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But he moste nede delyuer to hem oon bi the feest dai.
Webster's Bible Translation
(For of necessity he must release one to them at the feast.)
New King James Version
(for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast). Luke 23:17.">[fn]
New Living Translation
New Life Bible
*Every year at the time of the special supper, Pilate would let one person who was in prison go free.
New Revised Standard
Jesus before Pilate Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king." Then Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He answered, "You say so." Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man." But they were insistent and said, "He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place." When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies. Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him."
Douay-Rheims Bible
Now of necessity he was to release unto them one upon the feast day.
Revised Standard Version
* [No text]
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For of necessite he must have let one lowse vnto them at that feast.
Young's Literal Translation
for it was necessary for him to release to them one at every feast,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For he must haue let one lowse vnto them after the custome of the feast.
Mace New Testament (1729)
now as it was customary for the governor to release one of the prisoners at the feast;
THE MESSAGE
Pilate Then they all took Jesus to Pilate and began to bring up charges against him. They said, "We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King." Pilate asked him, "Is this true that you're ‘King of the Jews'?" "Those are your words, not mine," Jesus replied. Pilate told the high priests and the accompanying crowd, "I find nothing wrong here. He seems harmless enough to me." But they were vehement. "He's stirring up unrest among the people with his teaching, disturbing the peace everywhere, starting in Galilee and now all through Judea. He's a dangerous man, endangering the peace." When Pilate heard that, he asked, "So, he's a Galilean?" Realizing that he properly came under Herod's jurisdiction, he passed the buck to Herod, who just happened to be in Jerusalem for a few days. Herod was delighted when Jesus showed up. He had wanted for a long time to see him, he'd heard so much about him. He hoped to see him do something spectacular. He peppered him with questions. Jesus didn't answer—not one word. But the high priests and religion scholars were right there, saying their piece, strident and shrill in their accusations. Mightily offended, Herod turned on Jesus. His soldiers joined in, taunting and jeering. Then they dressed him up in an elaborate king costume and sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became thick as thieves. Always before they had kept their distance. Then Pilate called in the high priests, rulers, and the others and said, "You brought this man to me as a disturber of the peace. I examined him in front of all of you and found there was nothing to your charge. And neither did Herod, for he has sent him back here with a clean bill of health. It's clear that he's done nothing wrong, let alone anything deserving death. I'm going to warn him to watch his step and let him go."
Simplified Cowboy Version

Contextual Overview

13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, 14 and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. When I examined him before you, I did not find this man guilty of anything you accused him of doing. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing deserving death. 16 I will therefore have him flogged and release him." But they all shouted out together, "Take this man away! Release Barabbas for us!" (This was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.) Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted to release Jesus. But they kept on shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" A third time he said to them, "Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty of no crime deserving death. I will therefore flog him and release him." But they were insistent, demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified. And their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will. As they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country. They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, among them women who were mourning and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!' and to the hills, ‘Cover us!' For if such things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him. So when they came to the place that is called "The Skull," they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes. The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed him, saying, "He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the king of the Jews." One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, because the sun's light failed. The temple curtain was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit! " And after he said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent!" And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all those who knew Jesus stood at a distance, and the women who had followed him from Galilee saw these things. Now there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man. (He had not consented to their plan and action.) He was from the Judean town of Arimathea, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock, where no one had yet been buried. It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. 17Jesus Brought Before Pilate Then the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay the tribute tax to Caesar and claiming that he himself is Christ, a king." So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He replied, "You say so." Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man." But they persisted in saying, "He incites the people by teaching throughout all Judea. It started in Galilee and ended up here!" Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. When he learned that he was from Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who also happened to be in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign. So Herod questioned him at considerable length; Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the experts in the law were there, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, dressing him in elegant clothes, Herod sent him back to Pilate. That very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other, for prior to this they had been enemies. Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. When I examined him before you, I did not find this man guilty of anything you accused him of doing. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing deserving death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him." 18 But they all shouted out together, "Take this man away! Release Barabbas for us!" 19 (This was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted to release Jesus. 21 But they kept on shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" 22 A third time he said to them, "Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty of no crime deserving death. I will therefore flog him and release him."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Matthew 27:15, Mark 15:6, John 18:39

Cross-References

Genesis 23:7
Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, the sons of Heth.
Genesis 23:10
(Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth—before all who entered the gate of his city—
Genesis 23:14
Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
Genesis 23:20
So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site from the sons of Heth.
Genesis 25:9
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite.
Genesis 50:13
His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.
Psalms 112:5
It goes well for the one who generously lends money, and conducts his business honestly.
Matthew 10:16
"I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Acts 7:16
and their bones were later moved to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a certain sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
Ephesians 5:15
Therefore be very careful how you live—not as unwise but as wise,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For of necessity he must release one,.... And therefore proposed to release Jesus

unto them at the feast; of passover, which now was; not that there was any law that obliged to it, but it having been customary with the Roman governor to do so, the people expected it; custom had made it necessary: and so the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions render it, "it was a custom to release", &c. not at each feast, or every feast, as the last of these versions read, only at the passover, as is expressed, John 18:39.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 27:15.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 23:17. For of necessity he must release one — That is, he was under the necessity of releasing one at this feast. The custom, however it originated, had now been so completely established that Pilate was obliged to attend to it. Matthew 27:15; Matthew 27:15.


 
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