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And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
John 19:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple garment.
  • BSB The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
  • NKJV And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.
  • NASB And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple cloak on Him;
  • NLT The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.

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

The soldiers mock Jesus' kingship with a crown of thorns and a purple robe. Their cruel parody unwittingly proclaims a deeper truth about who he is.

Overview

Purple was the color of royalty, and the soldiers dress Jesus as a mock king to ridicule the charge that he claimed kingship. The crown of thorns recalls the curse of thorns that came with sin (Genesis 3:18), which Jesus now bears on his own head. What the soldiers intend as scorn, God uses to display the true King wearing the marks of the curse he came to remove.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Mark 15:16–20And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.
  • Isa 53:3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
  • Ps 22:6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
  • Matt 27:27–31Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
  • Luke 23:11And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.
  • Isa 49:7Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
  • John 19:5Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 19:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 19:2 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.