The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus^(A)

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus^[a] into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters)^[b] and called out the whole guard. ¹⁷ They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted some thorns into a victor’s crown, and placed it on his head.^{[c] 18} They began to greet him, “Long live the king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They kept hitting him on the head with a stick, spitting on him, kneeling in front of him, and worshiping him. ²⁰ When they had finished making fun of him, they stripped him of the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to crucify him.

² The soldiers twisted some thorns into a victor’s crown, put it on his head, and threw a purple robe on him. ³ They kept coming up to him and saying, “Long live the king of the Jews!” Then they began to slap him on the face.