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Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.
Mark 15:23 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.
  • KJV And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.
  • BSB There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.
  • NASB And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.
  • NLT They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused 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

Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a pain-dulling drink, but refuses it. He chooses to meet his suffering fully conscious.

Overview

The drugged wine was customarily offered to ease the agony of the crucified. Jesus declines it, willing to drink the full cup of suffering the Father had given him (Mark 14:36) without numbing his mind. His refusal shows a deliberate, clear-eyed obedience as he bears the penalty for sin.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Matt 27:34they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink.
  • Luke 23:36The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,
  • Luke 22:18for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until God’s Kingdom comes.”
  • John 19:28–30After this, Jesus, seeing that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.”
  • Matt 26:19The disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and they prepared the Passover.
  • Mark 14:25Most certainly I tell you, I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it anew in God’s Kingdom.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 15:23YouTube · 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 MarkMatthew 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

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 15:23 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.