World English Bible · Under Rome
Matthew 27
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Now when morning had come, all the and the of the people against to put him to . They bound him, led him away, and him up to , the governor. Then , who betrayed him, when he saw that was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back pieces of silver to the and , saying, "I have in that I betrayed innocent ." But they said, "What is that to us? You see to it." He threw down the pieces of silver in and departed. Then he went away and hanged himself. The took the pieces of silver and said, "It's not lawful to put them into the , since it is the price of ." 7They , and bought the with them to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called "The Field of " to this day. Then that which was spoken through the was fulfilled, saying, "They took pieces of silver, the price of him upon whom a price had been set, whom some of the priced, and they gave them for the , as commanded me." Now stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, saying, "Are you the King of the ?" said to him, "So you say." When he was accused by the and , he answered nothing. Then said to him, "Don't you hear how many things they testify against you?" He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to to one prisoner whom they . They had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. When therefore they were gathered together, said to them, "Whom do you want me to to you? Barabbas, or who is called ?" For he knew that because of envy they had him up. While he was sitting on the seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that man, for I have suffered many things today in a because of him." Now the and the persuaded the to ask for Barabbas and destroy . 21But the governor answered them, "Which of the two do you want me to to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" said to them, "What then shall I do to who is called ?" They all said to him, "Let him be !" But the governor said, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they cried out exceedingly, saying, "Let him be !" So when saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water and washed his hands before , saying, "I am innocent of of this person. You see to it." All the people answered, "May his be on us and on our children!" Then he released Barabbas to them, but he flogged and to be . Then the governor's soldiers took into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They braided a and put it on his head, and a reed in his ; and they kneeled down before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the !" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. When they had mocked him, they took the robe off him, and put his clothes on him, and led him away to him. As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his . When they came to a place called "", that is to say, "," they gave him sour to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink. When they had him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots, and they sat and watched him there. They set up over his head the accusation against him written, "THIS IS , THE KING OF THE ." Then there were two robbers with him, one hand and one on the left. Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy and build it in three days, yourself! If you are the Son of , come down from !" Likewise the also mocking with the , the , and the , said, "He others, but he can't himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from now, and we will in him. He trusts in . Let him now, if he wants him; for he said, 'I am the Son of .'" The robbers also who were with him cast on him the same . Now from the sixth hour there was over all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour cried with a loud voice, saying, ", , lima sabachthani?" That is, "My , my , why have you forsaken me?" Some of them who stood there, when they heard it, said, "This man is calling ." Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him a drink. 49The rest said, "Let him be. Let's see whether comes to him." cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his . Behold, of was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. The were opened, and many bodies of who had fallen asleep were ; 53and coming out of the after his , they entered into the city and appeared to many. Now the centurion and those who were with him watching , when they saw the earthquake and the things that were done, were terrified, saying, "Truly this was the Son of !" Many women were there watching from afar, who had followed from , him. Among them were , the mother of and Joses, and the mother of the sons of . When evening had come, a rich man from Arimathaea named , who himself was also ' , came. This man went to and asked for ' body. Then commanded the body to be given up. 59 took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new , which he had cut out in . Then he rolled a large stone against the door of the , and departed. was there, and the other , sitting opposite the . Now on the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the and the were gathered together to , saying, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: 'After three days I will .' Command therefore that the be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his come at night and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He is from ;' and the last deception will be worse than the first." said to them, "You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the secure, sealing the stone.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.