But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
Parallel translations
- WEB But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!” —
- KJV And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:
- NKJV And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”—
- NASB But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas!”
- NLT Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!”
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 crowd cried out to release Barabbas instead of Jesus. They demanded a murderer be freed while the sinless Savior was condemned.
Overview
In a striking exchange, the people choose a violent insurrectionist over the Prince of Peace. This reversal vividly portrays the gospel: the guilty go free while the innocent bears their penalty. Barabbas stands as a picture of every sinner who is released because Christ takes his place under judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Acts 22:22The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”
- Acts 3:14You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
- Acts 21:36For the crowd that followed him kept shouting, “Away with him!”
- Mark 15:6–15Now it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people a prisoner of their choosing.
- John 19:15–16At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
- John 18:39–40But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
- Matt 27:15–26Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing.
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 23:18 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.