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Mark 15

The full text of Mark 15 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.

All of Mark KJV

1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests reached a decision with the elders, the scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

2 Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
"You say so," Jesus answered him.

3 The chief priests kept accusing him of many things.

4 Pilate questioned him again, "Aren't you going to answer? Look how many charges they're bringing against you!"

5 But Jesus answered nothing more, so that Pilate was astonished.

6 Now at the festival he used to release one prisoner for them, whomever they requested.

7 Now the one called Barabbas was in chains with the rebels who, in the uprising, had committed murder.

8 The crowd came up and began asking Pilate to do for them as he usually did.

9 But Pilate answered them, "Shall I release to you the King of the Jews?"

10 He could see that the chief priests had handed him over out of envy.

11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.

12 Pilate spoke up again, "So what do you want me to do with the one you call the King of the Jews?"

13 They shouted back, "Crucify him!"

14 Pilate said to them, "Why, what wrong has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him!"

15 So Pilate, wanting to appease the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and after having Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

16 The soldiers led him away into the courtyard (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole cohort.

17 They dressed him in purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they placed it on him.

18 And they began greeting him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

19 Again and again they struck his head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid him mock homage.

20 And when they had finished mocking him, they stripped the purple robe off him and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

21 A man was passing by on his way in from the country — Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus — and they pressed him into service to carry the cross.

22 They brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means "Place of a Skull").

23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he would not take it.

24 They crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, casting lots to see who would get what.

25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.

26 The notice of the charge against him was posted above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.

29 Those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "Ha! You who destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

30 save yourself and come down from the cross!

31 In the same way, the chief priests and the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself."

32 "Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so we can see and believe." And those crucified with him were reviling him too.

33 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 At three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?"

35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."

36 Someone ran, soaked a sponge in wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and held it up for him to drink. "Leave him alone," he said. "Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down."

37 Then Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last.

38 And the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom.

39 And when the centurion standing facing him saw the way he died, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

40 There were also women watching from a distance — among them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

41 These women had followed him and cared for him when he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

42 It was now evening, and because it was the day of Preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath),

43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the council who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, took courage, went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

44 Pilate was amazed that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked him whether Jesus had been dead long.

45 When he learned this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

46 He bought a linen cloth, took him down, wound him in the linen, and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where he was laid.

Translation notes (49)
  1. Mark 15:1a This can also be translated as "held a consultation." The Greek phrase symbouliou poiēsantes can mean either reaching a decision or holding a deliberation.
  2. Mark 15:1b The Greek word grammateis, traditionally translated as "scribes," refers to legal scholars who were experts in the Law of Moses.
  3. Mark 15:1c The Greek grammar here shifts the grammatical case to the accusative for the phrase holon to synedrion, meaning "the whole council." This can be understood either as a summary that further describes the preceding group, or as a fourth participant in the action. In this translation, it is rendered as a descriptive summary.
  4. Mark 15:2a The Greek phrase sy legeis is a qualified affirmation, meaning the answer is yes, but on Pilate's terms rather than Jesus's own.
  5. Mark 15:7a The name "Barabbas" means "son of the father" in Aramaic, which is an irony in Mark's account, as Jesus is presented as the true Son of the Father.
  6. Mark 15:7b The Greek word dedemenos, meaning "bound," indicates that Barabbas was in Roman custody and chained. The word "bound" is singular and refers specifically to Barabbas, while the murder itself is attributed to the group.
  7. Mark 15:8a Some manuscripts read anaboēsas, meaning "crying out," instead of anabas, meaning "came up." The critical Greek text (NA28) reads anabas.
  8. Mark 15:9a This can also be translated as "Do you want me to release...?" The Greek phrase thelete apolysō is a deliberative construction, meaning it expresses a question about what action should be taken, and carries a formal, judicial sense of "shall I...?"
  9. Mark 15:9b The title "King of the Jews" (basileus tōn Ioudaiōn) appears five times in Mark 15 (verses 2, 9, 12, 18, and 26), always spoken by Gentiles. This is a deliberate irony by Mark, especially when contrasted with the title "King of Israel" (Mark 15:32), which is spoken by Jews.
  10. Mark 15:10a This can also be translated as "out of spite" or "malice." The Greek word phthonos carries a stronger malicious meaning than the common English word "envy."
  11. Mark 15:15a The Greek phrase "to do the sufficient thing" (to hikanon poiēsai) is a Latin expression (satis facere) meaning "to give satisfaction," referring here to a forced political agreement.
  12. Mark 15:15b 'Scourged' renders φραγελλόω (from Latin flagellare), the Roman pre-crucifixion scourging with a weighted, often lead-tipped whip — distinct from ordinary flogging; cf. Isa 50:6; 53:5.
  13. Mark 15:16a The Greek word praitōrion refers to the governor's official residence, which here means Pilate's headquarters in Jerusalem.
  14. Mark 15:16b The Greek word speira refers to a Roman cohort, which typically consisted of 600 soldiers.
  15. Mark 15:19a The Greek imperfect tenses used here (etypton, eneptyon, prosekynoun) indicate actions that were repeated or ongoing.
  16. Mark 15:21a 'Pressed him into service' renders ἀγγαρεύω, a Persian loanword for official conscription into forced labor (cf. Matt 5:41).
  17. Mark 15:21b This can also be translated "from his field." The Greek phrase ap' agrou is an idiom that can mean either "from the country" or "from work in his field."
  18. Mark 15:21c Mark names Alexander and Rufus as if his audience knows them; Rufus is possibly the same person greeted in Rom 16:13.
  19. Mark 15:22a Golgotha is an Aramaic word meaning "skull"; Mark translates this name for his Greek-speaking readers.
  20. Mark 15:24a The Greek text uses the historical present tense ("they crucify… they divide"), which is a stylistic feature of Mark's writing; this is rendered as past tense for a more natural English narrative.
  21. Mark 15:24b This verse echoes Psalm 22:18 in the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, which uses the same vocabulary (diamerizō, meaning "divide"; himatia, meaning "garments"; and ballō klēron, meaning "cast lots"). John 19:24 explicitly quotes this psalm, while Mark assumes his readers would recognize the reference.
  22. Mark 15:25a The Greek phrase "the third hour" indicates a time reckoned from sunrise. Mark uses this same system for time at 15:33 (the sixth hour) and 15:34 (the ninth hour). John 19:14 places Pilate's sentencing "about the sixth hour," which is a long-discussed chronological difference between the Gospels.
  23. Mark 15:26a The Greek phrase hē epigraphē tēs aitias autou epigegrammenē literally means "the inscription of his charge, inscribed [above]." This refers to the titulus, a placard that named the specific offense for which a person was being crucified.
  24. Mark 15:26b Some later manuscripts, harmonizing with Luke 23:38, add that the notice was written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew or Aramaic. However, the shorter reading is original to Mark.
  25. Mark 15:27a The Greek word lēstas can mean "robbers," "bandits," or "insurrectionists"; it was often used by Josephus to refer to armed rebels.
  26. Mark 15:29a The Greek word eblasphēmoun (from the same root as the charge against Jesus in Mark 14:64) shows that the mockers were committing the very sin they had accused him of.
  27. Mark 15:29b The head-shaking gesture echoes Psalm 22:7 and 109:25, where the suffering righteous person is mocked by passersby.
  28. Mark 15:32a The Greek word Christos means "Christ"; "Messiah" translates its Hebrew equivalent, which means "Anointed One," and pairs naturally with the title "King of Israel."
  29. Mark 15:32b The Greek text leaves the object of "believe" open, allowing for interpretations such as "believe him," "believe in him," or simply "believe."
  30. Mark 15:33a Jewish reckoning counted hours from sunrise, meaning the sixth hour is roughly noon and the ninth hour is roughly 3 p.m. Mark frames the crucifixion narrative using these hours (compare 15:25, 15:34).
  31. Mark 15:33b The Greek word gē can mean 'land' (referring to Judea) or 'earth' (referring to the whole world); the meaning here is genuinely unclear and may suggest apocalyptic darkness, as in Amos 8:9.
  32. Mark 15:34a The Greek phrase 'at the ninth hour' refers to the time reckoned from sunrise, which is about 3 p.m.
  33. Mark 15:34b This is Aramaic, quoting Psalm 22:1, where the Hebrew word is azavtani, meaning 'you have forsaken me.' Some early manuscripts (D, Θ) read 'Eli, Eli,' which matches the Hebrew form in Matthew 27:46. The verb describes a completed act, not an ongoing state.
  34. Mark 15:36a The Greek word oxos means 'cheap sour wine' or 'wine vinegar,' which was the common drink of Roman soldiers. This gesture echoes Psalm 69:21, where the suffering person is given oxos to drink.
  35. Mark 15:36b The Greek word kalamos refers to a reed used here as a pole long enough to reach the mouth of a crucified man. This is distinct from the wine mixed with myrrh offered earlier in Mark 15:23.
  36. Mark 15:37a This can also be translated 'breathed out his last.' The Greek verb exepneusen literally means 'breathed out.' Mark uses this same verb in verse 39, placing it around the tearing of the temple veil in verse 38.
  37. Mark 15:38a Greek naos refers to the sanctuary proper, not the wider temple complex (hieron). The curtain (katapetasma) is the inner veil before the Holy of Holies (cf. Exod 26:31–33; Heb 9:3; 10:20).
  38. Mark 15:38b The phrase 'was torn' uses a grammatical form that indicates God is the one who tore it. The verb schizō echoes Mark 1:10, where the heavens are torn at Jesus' baptism.
  39. Mark 15:39a This can also be translated 'a son of God.' The Greek phrase huios theou lacks the definite article 'the.' While a Roman centurion might use it in a pagan sense ('a son of god,' like Caesar), Mark's narrative (Mark 1:1, 1:11, 9:7) points the reader to the definite sense of 'the Son of God,' and this ambiguity is likely intentional.
  40. Mark 15:39b Some early manuscripts (A C W Θ f1 f13 Majority) add the Greek word kraxas, meaning 'having cried out,' before 'breathed his last,' which makes it clear that 'so/in this way' refers back to the loud cry in verse 37. The critical Greek text omits this word, following other early manuscripts (ℵ B L Ψ 892).
  41. Mark 15:39c The phrase 'the way he died' translates the Greek houtōs exepneusen, which means 'so/in this manner he expired,' and likely refers back to the loud cry in verse 37.
  42. Mark 15:40a This can also be translated 'James the little' or 'the less' (tou mikrou), possibly distinguishing him by age, stature, or status from James son of Zebedee.
  43. Mark 15:40b The Greek word Iōsēs is a shortened form of Joseph; some early manuscripts read Iōsēph, which is 'Joseph.' See Mark 6:3.
  44. Mark 15:42a The word 'Preparation,' or paraskeuē in Greek, is the technical name for Friday, the day Jews prepared for the Sabbath.
  45. Mark 15:43a The Greek phrase euschēmōn bouleutēs refers to a prominent or high-standing member of the Jewish council, generally understood to be the Sanhedrin, as seen in Luke 23:50.
  46. Mark 15:43b This can also be translated 'dared to go in'; the Greek word tolmēsas indicates a deliberate act of courage, not just a way of doing something.
  47. Mark 15:44a The Greek word palai often means 'a long time' or 'long since.' Pilate's surprise is due to the fact that crucifixion victims usually lingered for days.
  48. Mark 15:46a The Greek word sindōn refers to a linen cloth or sheet, often used for burial wrappings, as seen in Mark 14:51–52.
  49. Mark 15:46b The Greek word eneilēsen, which is a rare verb, carries the sense of wrapping or binding tightly.
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