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So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”
Luke 23:16 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB I will therefore chastise him and release him.”
  • KJV I will therefore chastise him, and release him.
  • BSB Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”
  • NKJV I will therefore chastise Him and release Him”
  • NASB Therefore I will punish Him and 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 27:26Then he released to them Barabbas, but Jesus he flogged and delivered to be crucified.
  • Luke 23:22He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.”
  • Mark 15:15Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.
  • Acts 5:40–41They agreed with him. Summoning the apostles, they beat them and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
  • John 19:1–4So Pilate then took Jesus, and flogged him.
  • Acts 16:37But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!”
  • Isa 53:5But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 23:16YouTube · 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 LukeMatthew 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

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.