John 19

Io 19.1Tunc ergō apprehendit Pīlātus Iēsum, et flagellāvit.

Then therefore Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.

Note. flagellavit: 'had him flogged' — the verb is active, but the governor ordered it. Flogging regularly preceded crucifixion.

Io 19.2Et mīlitēs plectentēs corōnam dē spīnīs, imposuērunt capitī eius: et veste purpureā circumdedērunt eum.

And the soldiers, weaving a crown out of thorns, placed it on his head, and put a purple garment around him.

Note. plectentes: present participle of plectō, 'weave'. veste purpurea: purple was the colour of royalty; the soldiers mock Jesus as a king.

Io 19.3Et veniēbant ad eum, et dīcēbant: Avē, rēx Iūdaeōrum: et dabant eī alapās.

And they kept coming to him and saying: Hail, king of the Jews; and they kept giving him slaps.

Note. Ave: the greeting 'hail'. veniebant … dicebant … dabant: imperfects of repeated action, 'kept coming … kept saying'.

Io 19.4Exīvit ergō iterum Pīlātus forās, et dīcit eīs: Ecce addūcō vōbīs eum forās, ut cognōscātis quia nūllam inveniō in eō causam.

Pilate therefore went outside again, and says to them: Look, I am bringing him outside to you, so that you may know that I find no case against him.

Note. ut cognoscatis quia … invenio: the quia clause stands for an accusative and infinitive after cognoscatis.

Io 19.5(Exīvit ergō Iēsus portāns corōnam spīneam, et purpureum vestīmentum.) Et dīcit eīs: Ecce homō.

(Jesus therefore went outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he says to them: Look, the man.

Note. Ecce homo: 'Look, the man.' The phrase became famous through Latin Christianity and later art.

Io 19.6Cum ergō vīdissent eum pontificēs et ministrī, clāmābant, dīcentēs: Crucifīge, crucifīge eum. Dīcit eīs Pīlātus: Accipite eum vōs, et crucifīgite: ego enim nōn inveniō in eō causam.

When therefore the chief priests and attendants had seen him, they kept shouting, saying: Crucify, crucify him. Pilate says to them: Take him yourselves and crucify him; for I do not find a case against him.

Note. Crucifige: imperative of crucifigo; the repetition is the crowd's shout. Accipite eum vos, et crucifigite: vos is emphatic, 'you take him'.

Io 19.7Respondērunt eī Iūdaeī: Nōs lēgem habēmus, et secundum lēgem dēbet morī, quia Fīlium Deī sē fēcit.

The Jews answered him: We have a law, and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

Note. Filium Dei se fecit: 'he made himself (out to be) the Son of God'; se is the object, Filium the predicate.

Io 19.8Cum ergō audīsset Pīlātus hunc sermōnem, magis timuit.

When therefore Pilate had heard this word, he was more afraid.

Io 19.9Et ingressus est praetōrium iterum: et dīxit ad Iēsum: Unde es tū? Iēsus autem respōnsum nōn dedit eī.

And he entered the headquarters again, and said to Jesus: Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer.

Note. Unde es tu? 'Where are you from?' responsum non dedit: 'gave no answer'.

Io 19.10Dīcit ergō eī Pīlātus: Mihi nōn loqueris? nescīs quia potestātem habeō crucifīgere tē, et potestātem habeō dīmittere tē?

Pilate therefore says to him: Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify you, and I have power to release you?

Note. Mihi non loqueris? loqueris is the second person singular of the deponent loquor. nescis quia: quia + indicative replaces the accusative and infinitive.

Io 19.11Respondit Iēsus: Nōn habērēs potestātem adversum mē ūllam, nisi tibi datum esset dēsuper. Proptereā quī mē trādidit tibi, maius peccātum habet.

Jesus answered: You would not have any power against me, unless it had been given to you from above. For that reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.

Note. Non haberes … nisi … datum esset: present contrary-to-fact. desuper: 'from above'. maius: neuter comparative of magnus, with peccatum.

Io 19.12Et exinde quaerēbat Pīlātus dīmittere eum. Iūdaeī autem clāmābant dīcentēs: Sī hunc dīmittis, nōn es amīcus Caesaris. Omnis enim quī sē rēgem facit, contrādīcit Caesarī.

And from then on Pilate was seeking to release him. But the Jews kept shouting, saying: If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. For everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.

Note. amicus Caesaris: 'Friend of Caesar' may have been a quasi-official title for trusted men; the threat is that Pilate would look disloyal to Tiberius.

Io 19.13Pīlātus autem cum audīsset hōs sermōnēs, addūxit forās Iēsum: et sēdit prō tribūnālī, in locō quī dīcitur Lithostrōtos, hebraicē autem Gabbatha.

Pilate, when he had heard these words, led Jesus outside, and sat down on the judgment seat, in the place which is called Lithostrotos, but in Hebrew Gabbatha.

Note. pro tribunali: 'on the judgment seat', the raised platform from which a magistrate gave judgment. Lithostrotos is Greek, 'paved with stones'; Gabbatha is the Aramaic name ('hebraice' in the Gospels means the Aramaic of Judaea).

Io 19.14Erat autem parascevē Paschae, hōra quasi sexta, et dīcit Iūdaeīs: Ecce rēx vester.

Now it was the day of preparation of the Passover, the hour about the sixth; and he says to the Jews: Look, your king.

Note. parasceve Paschae: 'the Preparation (day) of the Passover', the day before the festival. hora quasi sexta: about noon, counting hours from sunrise.

Io 19.15Illī autem clāmābant: Tolle, tolle, crucifīge eum. Dīcit eīs Pīlātus: Rēgem vestrum crucifīgam? Respondērunt pontificēs: Nōn habēmus rēgem, nisi Caesarem.

But they kept shouting: Take him away, take him away, crucify him. Pilate says to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king except Caesar.

Note. Tolle: 'take (him) away'. Regem vestrum crucifigam? deliberative subjunctive, 'am I to crucify your king?'

Io 19.16Tunc ergō trādidit eīs illum ut crucifīgerētur. Suscēpērunt autem Iēsum, et ēdūxērunt.

Then therefore he handed him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him out.

Note. ut crucifigeretur: purpose clause, imperfect subjunctive passive.

Io 19.17Et bāiulāns sibi crucem exīvit in eum, quī dīcitur Calvāriae locum, hebraicē autem Golgotha:

And carrying his cross for himself he went out to the place which is called Place of the Skull, but in Hebrew Golgotha,

Note. baiulans sibi crucem: 'carrying the cross for himself'. Calvariae locum: calvaria is 'skull'; Golgotha is the Aramaic for the same. 'Calvary' comes from this Latin word.

Io 19.18ubi crucifīxērunt eum, et cum eō aliōs duōs hinc et hinc, medium autem Iēsum.

where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on this side and one on that, and Jesus in the middle.

Note. hinc et hinc: 'on this side and that'. medium … Iesum: medius agrees with Iesum, 'Jesus in the middle'.

Io 19.19Scrīpsit autem et titulum Pīlātus, et posuit super crucem. Erat autem scrīptum: Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum.

And Pilate also wrote a notice, and placed it over the cross. And it was written: Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.

Note. titulum: the notice stating the charge, carried before the condemned or fixed to the cross.

Io 19.20Hunc ergō titulum multī Iūdaeōrum lēgērunt: quia prope cīvitātem erat locus, ubi crucifīxus est Iēsus, et erat scrīptum hebraicē, graecē, et latīnē.

This notice therefore many of the Jews read, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.

Note. hebraice, graece, et latine: the languages of the land, of the eastern Mediterranean, and of the Roman government.

Io 19.21Dīcēbant ergō Pīlātō pontificēs Iūdaeōrum: Nōlī scrībere: Rēx Iūdaeōrum: sed quia ipse dīxit: Rēx sum Iūdaeōrum.

The chief priests of the Jews therefore were saying to Pilate: Do not write, The King of the Jews, but that he himself said, I am King of the Jews.

Note. Noli scribere: noli + infinitive is the regular negative command, 'do not write'.

Io 19.22Respondit Pīlātus: Quod scrīpsī, scrīpsī.

Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written.

Note. Quod scripsi, scripsi: the relative clause without an antecedent is the object: 'what I have written'.

Io 19.23Mīlitēs ergō cum crucifīxissent eum, accēpērunt vestīmenta eius (et fēcērunt quatuor partēs, ūnīcuique mīlitī partem) et tunicam. Erat autem tunica incōnsūtilis, dēsuper contexta per tōtum.

The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified him, took his garments (and made four parts, a part for each soldier) and the tunic. Now the tunic was seamless, woven from the top through the whole.

Note. unicuique militi partem: 'to each soldier a part'. Clothes of the executed were a perquisite of the execution squad. inconsutilis: 'seamless'.

Io 19.24Dīxērunt ergō ad invicem: Nōn scindāmus eam, sed sortiāmur dē illā cuius sit. Ut Scrīptūra implērētur, dīcēns: Partītī sunt vestīmenta mea sibi: et in vestem meam mīsērunt sortem. Et mīlitēs quidem haec fēcērunt.

So they said to one another: Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it is to be. So that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says: They divided my garments among themselves, and over my clothing they cast a lot. And the soldiers did these things.

Note. ad invicem: 'to one another', a late Latin phrase. sortiamur … cuius sit: deponent subjunctive (hortatory), then an indirect question. The quotation is Psalm 22 (21 in the Vulgate).

Io 19.25Stābant autem iūxtā crucem Iēsū māter eius, et soror mātris eius, Marīa Cleophae, et Marīa Magdalēnē.

Now standing beside the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

Note. Maria Cleophae: 'Mary of Clopas', probably his wife; the genitive leaves the relationship open.

Io 19.26Cum vīdisset ergō Iēsus mātrem, et discipulum stantem, quem dīligēbat, dīcit mātrī suae: Mulier, ecce fīlius tuus.

When therefore Jesus had seen his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he says to his mother: Woman, look, your son.

Note. quem diligebat: the 'disciple whom Jesus loved', never named in this Gospel. Mulier: a respectful address, not cold as the English 'woman' can sound.

Io 19.27Deinde dīcit discipulō: Ecce māter tua. Et ex illā hōrā accēpit eam discipulus in sua.

Then he says to the disciple: Look, your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

Note. accepit eam … in sua: 'took her into his own (home)'; sua is neuter plural used as a noun.

Io 19.28Posteā sciēns Iēsus quia omnia cōnsummāta sunt, ut cōnsummārētur Scrīptūra, dīxit: Sitiō.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had been completed, so that the Scripture might be completed, said: I am thirsty.

Note. sciens … quia omnia consummata sunt: quia with the indicative after sciens. Sitio: 'I thirst', present of sitiō.

Io 19.29Vās ergō erat positum acētō plēnum. Illī autem spongiam plēnam acētō, hyssōpō circumpōnentēs, obtulērunt ōrī eius.

A vessel full of sour wine had been set there. So they, putting a sponge full of the sour wine around a stalk of hyssop, brought it to his mouth.

Note. aceto: acetum is sour wine, the common drink of soldiers. hyssopo circumponentes: putting the sponge around (a stalk of) hyssop.

Io 19.30Cum ergō accēpisset Iēsus acētum, dīxit: Cōnsummātum est. Et inclīnātō capite trādidit spīritum.

When therefore Jesus had taken the sour wine, he said: It has been completed. And with his head bowed he handed over his spirit.

Note. Consummatum est: 'it has been completed', perfect passive. inclinato capite: ablative absolute, 'with his head bowed'. tradidit spiritum: 'gave up his spirit'.

Io 19.31Iūdaeī ergō (quoniam parascevē erat) ut nōn remanērent in cruce corpora sabbatō (erat enim magnus diēs ille sabbatī), rogāvērunt Pīlātum ut frangerentur eōrum crūra, et tollerentur.

The Jews therefore (since it was the day of preparation), so that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath day was a great one), asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken away.

Note. ut frangerentur eorum crura: breaking the legs hastened death, so that the bodies could be removed before the sabbath. magnus dies: that sabbath coincided with the Passover.

Io 19.32Vēnērunt ergō mīlitēs: et prīmī quidem frēgērunt crūra, et alterīus, quī crucifīxus est cum eō.

The soldiers therefore came; and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him.

Note. primi: genitive, 'of the first (man)'; crura is understood with alterius too.

Io 19.33Ad Iēsum autem cum vēnissent, ut vīdērunt eum iam mortuum, nōn frēgērunt eius crūra,

But when they had come to Jesus, as they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs,

Io 19.34sed ūnus mīlitum lanceā latus eius aperuit, et continuō exīvit sanguis et aqua.

but one of the soldiers opened his side with a lance, and at once there came out blood and water.

Note. lancea: a soldier's spear. latus: here latus, lateris n., 'side'. continuo: adverb, 'immediately'.

Io 19.35Et quī vīdit, testimōnium perhibuit: et vērum est testimōnium eius. Et ille scit quia vēra dīcit: ut et vōs crēdātis.

And the one who saw it has borne witness, and his witness is true. And he knows that he is saying true things, so that you too may believe.

Note. qui vidit: the eyewitness, understood as the beloved disciple. ut et vos credatis: purpose clause.

Io 19.36Facta sunt enim haec ut Scrīptūra implērētur: Os nōn comminuētis ex eō.

For these things were done so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him.

Note. Os non comminuetis ex eo: os, ossis, 'bone' (not ōs, 'mouth'). The words echo the rule for the Passover lamb in Exodus.

Io 19.37Et iterum alia Scrīptūra dīcit: Vidēbunt in quem trānsfīxērunt.

And again another Scripture says: They will look on him whom they pierced.

Note. Videbunt in quem transfixerunt: 'they will look at the one whom they pierced', from Zechariah.

Io 19.38Post haec autem rogāvit Pīlātum Iōsēph ab Arimathaeā (eō quod esset discipulus Iēsū, occultus autem propter metum Iūdaeōrum), ut tolleret corpus Iēsū. Et permīsit Pīlātus. Vēnit ergō, et tulit corpus Iēsū.

After these things Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, for fear of the Jews) that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate allowed it. So he came, and took away the body of Jesus.

Note. eo quod esset discipulus: eo quod, 'because'; the subjunctive gives the reason as part of the account. occultus: 'secret'. permisit: Roman practice was to leave the crucified unburied unless the governor allowed otherwise.

Io 19.39Vēnit autem et Nicodēmus, quī vēnerat ad Iēsum nocte prīmum, ferēns mixtūram myrrhae et aloës, quasi lībrās centum.

And Nicodemus also came, who had first come to Jesus at night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

Note. libras centum: a Roman pound was about a third of a kilogram, so a very large quantity. aloës: Greek genitive of aloē.

Io 19.40Accēpērunt ergō corpus Iēsū, et ligāvērunt illud linteīs cum arōmatibus, sīcut mōs est Iūdaeīs sepelīre.

So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it with linen strips with the spices, as it is the custom for the Jews to bury.

Note. linteis cum aromatibus: strips of linen with the spices laid between them. sicut mos est Iudaeis sepelire: 'as is the custom for the Jews to bury'.

Io 19.41Erat autem in locō, ubi crucifīxus est, hortus: et in hortō monumentum novum, in quō nōndum quisquam positus erat.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid.

Note. in quo nondum quisquam positus erat: a new, unused tomb, cut in the rock.

Io 19.42Ibi ergō propter parascevēn Iūdaeōrum, quia iūxtā erat monumentum, posuērunt Iēsum.

There therefore, because of the day of preparation of the Jews, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus.

Note. propter parasceven: parasceven is a Greek accusative. The burial was hurried because the sabbath began at sunset.