God’s Word Translation
Matthew 27:17
17So when the people gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to free for you? Do you want me to free Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?”
Matthew 27:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
- New International Version (NIV)So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
Context of Matthew 27:17
15At every Passover festival the governor would free one prisoner whom the crowd wanted. 16At that time there was a well-known prisoner by the name of Barabbas. So when the people gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to free for you? Do you want me to free Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?” 18Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous. 19While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Leave that innocent man alone. I’ve been very upset today because of a dream I had about him.”
Read all of Matthew 27Matthew 27:17 word by word
συνηγμένων οὖν αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Πιλᾶτος· τίνα θέλετε ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν; Ἰησοῦν τὸν Βαραββᾶν ἢ Ἰησοῦν τὸν λεγόμενον χριστόν;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore whenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
- theyαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- were gathered togetherσυνάγωsunagō · to assembleG4863
- Pilateὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- PilateΠιλᾶτοςPilatos · PilateG4091
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Whomτίςtis · which?G5101
- will yeθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
- that I releaseἀπολύωapoluō · to release: releaseG630
- unto youσύsu · youG4771
- BarabbasΒαραββᾶςBarabbas · BarabbasG912
- orἤē · orG2228
- JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
- ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
Cross-references for Matthew 27:17
- Matthew 27:21The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to free for you?” They said, “Barabbas.”
- Joshua 24:15But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, my family and I will still serve the Lord.”
- 1 Kings 18:21Elijah stood up in front of all the people and asked them, “How long will you try to have it both ways? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
- Matthew 27:22Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?” “He should be crucified!” they all said.
- Mark 15:9Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews for you?”
- John 19:15Then the Jews shouted, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Should I crucify your king?” The chief priests responded, “The emperor is the only king we have!”
Commentaries on Matthew 27:17
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 See also the parallel places in Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:17-23; John 18:39-40. Matthew 27:15 At that feast - The feast of the Passover. The governor was wont to release - that is, was “accustomed” to release. From what this custom arose, or by whom it was introduced, is not known. It was probably adopted to secure popularity among the Jews, and to render the government of the Romans less odious. Any little indulgence granted to the Jews during…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-25Verses 11-25 Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord hates! is what we may hear said to us, when we are entering into…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-26The Roman trial included an initial hearing before Pilatee (Matthew 27:11–14), then one before Herod Antipas (Luke 23:6–16), and a second hearing with Pilate (Matthew 27:15–26).Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 27:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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