Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
Parallel translations
- WEB They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
- KJV Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
- ESV Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
- NKJV Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.
- NASB Then they *brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
- NLT Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
Jesus is led from Caiaphas to the Praetorium early in the morning, while his accusers avoid entering to stay ceremonially clean for the Passover. Their concern for ritual purity masks deep injustice.
Overview
The leaders scruple to avoid defilement that would bar them from the Passover, yet they are engineering the death of the innocent Son of God. John highlights this tragic irony: meticulous about ceremony, blind to the gravest sin. The timing near Passover frames Jesus as the true Passover Lamb, about to be sacrificed for his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 28
- John 18:33Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
- John 19:9and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer.
- John 19:14It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
- Mark 15:1–5Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.
- Matt 27:27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him.
- Acts 3:13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.
- John 11:55Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover.
- Isa 1:10–15Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Luke 23:1–5Then the whole council rose and led Jesus away to Pilate.
- Matt 27:1–10When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.
- Acts 11:3and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
- Mic 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Jer 7:8–11But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.
- John 18:39But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
- Acts 10:28He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
- Deut 16:2You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.
- Amos 5:21–23“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Luke 22:66At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, met together. They led Jesus into their Sanhedrin and said,
- 2 Chr 35:17–18The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.
- 2 Chr 30:21–24The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.
- Mark 15:16Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together.
- 2 Chr 35:8–14His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls.
- Prov 4:16For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
- Matt 23:23–28Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
- Mic 3:10–12who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.
- Ps 35:16Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
- Prov 1:16For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- Ezek 45:21On the fourteenth day of the first month you are to observe the Passover, a feast of seven days, during which unleavened bread shall be eaten.
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John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
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Original language
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