Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I will therefore chastise him and release him.”
- KJV I will therefore chastise him, and release him.
- NKJV I will therefore chastise Him and release Him”
- NASB Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”
- NLT So I will have him flogged, and then I will release 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
Pilate proposed to punish Jesus and then release Him. This compromise reveals Pilate's weakness in seeking to appease the crowd rather than uphold justice.
Overview
Having declared Jesus innocent, Pilate inconsistently offers to scourge Him before release, hoping to satisfy the mob. This attempt at compromise fails and exposes the cowardice that yields to pressure against conscience. Christ, though innocent, willingly walks the path of suffering, for it is by His stripes that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 27:26So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
- Luke 23:22A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.”
- Mark 15:15And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
- Acts 5:40–41At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.
- John 19:1–4Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.
- Acts 16:37But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”
- Isa 53:5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 23:16 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.