Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
Parallel translations
- WEB Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
- BSB Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
- NKJV Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
- NASB Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
- NLT Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”
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 refuses to change the inscription: 'What I have written, I have written.' His stubbornness preserves a true confession of Jesus' kingship.
Overview
Having yielded on the verdict, Pilate now holds firm on the wording, perhaps out of spite toward the leaders. His fixed declaration ironically guards the truth that Jesus is King. In God's providence, even a vacillating governor's obstinacy serves to publish the kingship of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 76:10Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
- Prov 8:29When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
- Ps 65:7Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
- John 19:12And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
- Esth 4:16Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
- Gen 43:14And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
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.
How John 19:22 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.