When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean.
Parallel translations
- WEB But when Pilate heard Galilee mentioned, he asked if the man was a Galilean.
- KJV When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean.
- NKJV When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.
- NASB Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the Man was a Galilean.
- NLT “Oh, is he a Galilean?” Pilate asked.
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
Hearing of Galilee, Pilate asks whether Jesus is a Galilean. He looks for a way to pass off the difficult case.
Overview
Pilate seizes on the reference to Galilee to consider transferring jurisdiction. His question reveals his reluctance to condemn a man he judges innocent. The detail advances the narrative toward Jesus' appearance before Herod, fulfilling the pattern of His being passed among the authorities.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
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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 23:6 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.