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And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Luke 23:33 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
  • BSB When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.
  • NKJV And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
  • NASB And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
  • NLT When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.

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

At the place called The Skull they crucified Jesus between the two criminals. The sinless Savior died the death of the condemned.

Overview

At Golgotha (Calvary), Jesus is nailed to the cross with a criminal on each side. The central position marks Him as the focus of God's redemptive act, though to onlookers He seemed merely the chief of three offenders. Here the predicted suffering reaches its climax as Christ pours out His life as an offering for sin.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Mark 15:22–23And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
  • John 19:17–18And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
  • Zech 12:10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
  • Deut 21:23His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
  • Matt 27:33–34And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
  • John 18:32That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.
  • 1 Pet 2:24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
  • Acts 13:29And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
  • Gal 3:13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
  • Heb 13:12–13Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
  • Ps 22:16For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
  • Matt 26:2Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
  • Matt 20:19And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
  • John 12:33–34This he said, signifying what death he should die.
  • Mark 10:33–34Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
  • John 3:14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
  • Luke 24:7Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
  • Acts 5:30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
  • Acts 2:23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 23:33YouTube · 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 23:33 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.