And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
Parallel translations
- WEB They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- BSB And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- ESV and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- NKJV When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- NASB And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- NLT They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
They crown Him with thorns, give Him a reed scepter, and kneel in mockery, hailing the King of the Jews. Their jeering crowns the true King.
Overview
The soldiers fashion a crown of thorns, place a reed in His hand, and bow in derision, mocking Jesus as a false king. The painful, humiliating display unknowingly proclaims a deeper truth, for He is indeed the King. The thorns recall the curse of the fall, hinting that Jesus bears that curse to win redemption for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 53:3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
- 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.
- Mark 15:18And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
- John 19:2–3And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
- Ps 69:19–20Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
- Jer 20:7O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
- Isa 49:7Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
- Luke 23:36–37And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,
- Heb 12:2–3Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Matt 27:37And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Matt 26:49And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
- Ps 35:15–16But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:
- Ps 69:7Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 27:29 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.