But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
Parallel translations
- WEB But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
- BSB But 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?”
- NKJV “But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
- NASB However, you have a custom that I release one prisoner for you at the Passover; therefore do you wish that I release for you the King of the Jews?”
- NLT But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”
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
Pilate, citing the Passover custom of releasing a prisoner, offers to free 'the King of the Jews.' He seeks a way to release the man he has just declared innocent.
Overview
Pilate tries to use the Passover amnesty to set Jesus free, perhaps hoping to satisfy the crowd while sparing an innocent man. His reference to 'the King of the Jews' carries irony, as Jesus truly is that King. The offer will be rejected in favor of Barabbas (v. 40), so that the guilty goes free while the innocent is condemned, a vivid picture of the substitution at the heart of the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Matt 27:15–18Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
- Mark 15:6–14Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
- Luke 23:16–23I will therefore chastise him, and release him.
- Matt 27:20–23But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
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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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