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One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.
Matthew 27:48 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him a drink.
  • KJV And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
  • NKJV Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.
  • NASB And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.
  • NLT One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.

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

Someone runs to give Jesus sour wine on a sponge. A small act of relief is offered to the dying Lord.

Overview

One bystander quickly soaks a sponge in cheap wine and lifts it to Jesus to drink. The gesture, whether of pity or to prolong the spectacle, fulfills Psalm 69's reference to gall and vinegar given to the sufferer. The detail confirms the prophetic pattern woven through the crucifixion account.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Ps 69:21They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.
  • Luke 23:36The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine.
  • John 19:29–30A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.
  • Matt 27:34they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 27:48YouTube · 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 MatthewMatthew 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

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 27:48 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.