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Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.
John 19:32 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Therefore the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him;
  • KJV Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
  • BSB So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.
  • NASB So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was crucified with Him;
  • NLT So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus.

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 break the legs of the two crucified with Jesus. This hastens their death as requested.

Overview

To comply with the leaders' request, the soldiers break the legs of the two criminals, ensuring they die before the Sabbath. The detail prepares for the contrast in the next verse, where Jesus, already dead, is treated differently. John records the sequence precisely because it fulfills prophecy.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • John 19:18where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle.
  • Luke 23:39–43One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 19:32YouTube · 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 19:32 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.