Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered him and said, “ It is as you say.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “So you say.”
- KJV And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.
- BSB So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
- NASB Now Pilate asked Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”
- NLT So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
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 asks if Jesus is the King of the Jews, and He answers, 'So you say.' Jesus affirms a kingship that transcends political rebellion.
Overview
Pilate probes the political charge, and Jesus gives a measured affirmation. His answer acknowledges His kingship while signaling that it is not the earthly threat Pilate fears. He stands as the true King whose reign is established not by force but through His coming death and resurrection.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 1:49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
- 1 Tim 6:13I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession,
- Luke 22:70They all said, “Are you then the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say it, because I am.”
- Luke 1:32–33He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
- Mark 15:2Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered, “So you say.”
- Mark 15:32Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him.” Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.
- Luke 23:38An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
- Mark 15:18They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- Matt 27:11Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “So you say.”
- John 19:3They kept saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and they kept slapping him.
- Luke 19:38–40saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
- John 18:33–37Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
- John 19:19–21Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 23:3 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.