And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.
- KJV And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
- BSB And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.
- NKJV And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.
- NLT They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Though they found no grounds for death, they demanded Pilate execute him. Jesus suffered though innocent.
Overview
Paul stresses Jesus' innocence: no valid charge warranted his death, yet his accusers pressed Pilate to kill him. The note of injustice underscores that Jesus died not for his own sin but as the spotless one. His unjust death prepares the way for the message of his resurrection and the salvation it secures.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 27:22–25Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do to Jesus, who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let him be crucified!”
- Luke 23:14–16and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and see, I have examined him before you, and found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him.
- Luke 23:21–25but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!”
- John 19:4Then Pilate went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”
- Luke 23:4–5Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
- Mark 15:13–15They cried out again, “Crucify him!”
- Acts 3:13–14The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.
- John 18:38Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
- Matt 27:19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.”
- John 19:12–16At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 13:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.