So Pilate *said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Pilate therefore said to him, “Aren’t you speaking to me? Don’t you know that I have power to release you, and have power to crucify you?”
- KJV Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
- BSB So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
- NKJV Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
- NLT “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”
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 boasts that he holds the power of life and death over Jesus. He misunderstands where true authority lies.
Overview
Offended by the silence, Pilate asserts his Roman power to crucify or release. His words reveal pride, but also his attempt to coax Jesus into self-defense. The claim sets up Jesus' reply, which corrects Pilate's view of authority and reminds readers that no human power operates outside of God's sovereign permission.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Dan 5:19and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he killed, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down.
- John 18:39But 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?”
- Dan 3:14–15Nebuchadnezzar answered them, Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
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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.