and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Parallel translations
- WEB They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- KJV And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
- BSB And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- NKJV and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- NLT Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”
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 soldiers mockingly hail Jesus as King of the Jews. Their scorn ironically proclaims the truth.
Overview
Imitating the salute given to Caesar, the soldiers jeer at Jesus' royal claim. Their mockery, meant to humiliate, unknowingly declares what is true. The King receives derision from those he came to save, enduring shame for the joy set before him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 27:42–43“He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.
- Gen 37:20Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.”
- Gen 37:10He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?”
- Mark 15:29–32Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days,
- John 19:14–15Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, at about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
- Mark 15:2Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered, “So you say.”
- Luke 23:36–37The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 15:18 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.