Section LI.

Section LI.

[1] [Arabic, p. 192] ³⁵³³And when Pilate heard this saying, he took Jesus out, and sat on the tribune in the place which was called the pavement of stones, but in the Hebrew [2] called Gabbatha.  ³⁵³⁴And that day was the Friday of the passover:  and it had reached [3] about the sixth hour.^{3535  3536}And he said to the Jews, Behold, your King!  And they cried out, Take him, take him, crucify him, crucify him.  Pilate said unto them, Shall I crucify your King?  The chief priests said unto him, We have no king except [4] Cæsar.  ³⁵³⁷And Pilate, when he saw it, and³⁵³⁸ he was gaining nothing, but the tumult was increasing, took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, and said, I [5] am innocent of the blood of this innocent man:  ye shall know.^{3539  3540}And all the people [6] answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.  ³⁵⁴¹Then Pilate commanded to grant them their request; and delivered up Jesus to be crucified, according to their wish.

[7] ³⁵⁴²Then Judas the betrayer, when he saw Jesus wronged, went and returned the [8] thirty pieces of money to the chief priests and the elders, ³⁵⁴³and said, I have sinned in my betraying innocent blood.  And they said unto him, And we, what must we do? [9] know thou.  ³⁵⁴⁴And he threw down the money in the temple, and departed; and he [10] went away³⁵⁴⁵ and hanged³⁵⁴⁶ himself.  ³⁵⁴⁷And the chief priests took the money, and said, We have not authority to cast it into the place of the offering,³⁵⁴⁸ for it is the price [11] of blood.  ³⁵⁴⁹And they took counsel, and bought with it the plain of the potter, for [12] the burial of strangers.  ³⁵⁵⁰Therefore that plain was called, The field of blood, unto [13] [Arabic, p. 193] this day.  ³⁵⁵¹Therein³⁵⁵² was fulfilled the saying in the prophet which said, I took thirty pieces of money, the price of the precious one, which was fixed [14] by the children of Israel; ³⁵⁵³and I paid them for the plain of the potter, as the Lord commanded me.

[15] ³⁵⁵⁴And the Jews took Jesus, and went away to crucify him.  ³⁵⁵⁵And when he bare his [16] cross and went out, they stripped him of those purple and scarlet garments which he [17] had on, and put on him his own garments.  ³⁵⁵⁶And while they were going with him, they found a man, a Cyrenian, coming from the country, named Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus:  ³⁵⁵⁷and they compelled this man to bear the cross of Jesus.  [18] ³⁵⁵⁸And they took the cross and laid it upon him, that he might bear it, and come after Jesus; and Jesus went, and his cross behind him.

[19] ³⁵⁵⁹And there followed him much people, and women which were lamenting and [20] raving.^{3560  3561}But Jesus turned unto them and said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not [21] for me:  weep for yourselves, and for your children.  ³⁵⁶²Days are coming, when they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that bare not, and the breasts [22] that gave not suck.  ³⁵⁶³Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and [23] to the hills, Cover us.  ³⁵⁶⁴For if they do so in the green tree,³⁵⁶⁵ what shall be in the dry?

[24] ³⁵⁶⁶And they brought with Jesus two others of the malefactors,³⁵⁶⁷ to be put to death.

[25] ³⁵⁶⁸And when they came unto a certain place called The skull, and called in the Hebrew Golgotha, they crucified him there:  ³⁵⁶⁹they crucified with him these two [26] malefactors, one on his right, and the other on his left.  ³⁵⁷⁰And the scripture was [27] [Arabic, p. 194] fulfilled, which saith, He was numbered with the transgressors.  ³⁵⁷¹And they gave him to drink wine and myrrh, and vinegar which had been mixed with the myrrh; ³⁵⁷²and he tasted, and would not drink; and he received it not.

[28] ³⁵⁷³And the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and cast lots for them in four parts, to every party of the soldiers a part; and his tunic was [29] without sewing, from the top woven throughout.  ³⁵⁷⁴And they said one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be:  and the scripture was fulfilled, which saith,

They divided my garments among them,

And cast the lot for my vesture.

[30, 31] ³⁵⁷⁵This the soldiers did.  And they sat and guarded him there.  ³⁵⁷⁶And Pilate wrote on a tablet the cause of his death, and put it on the wood of the cross above his head.³⁵⁷⁷  And there was written upon it thus:  This is Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the [32] Jews.  ³⁵⁷⁸And this tablet³⁵⁷⁹ read many of the Jews:  for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city:  and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin.  [33] ³⁵⁸⁰And the chief priests said unto Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but, He it is [34] that³⁵⁸¹ said, I am the King of the Jews.  ³⁵⁸²Pilate said unto them, What hath been [35] written hath been written.^{3583  3584}And the people were standing beholding; and they [36] that passed by were reviling³⁵⁸⁵ him, and shaking³⁵⁸⁶ their heads, and saying, ³⁵⁸⁷Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, ³⁵⁸⁸save thyself if thou art the Son [37] of God, and come down from the cross.  ³⁵⁸⁹And in like manner the chief priests and the [Arabic, p. 195] scribes and the elders and the Pharisees derided him, and laughed one with [38, 39] another, and said, ³⁵⁹⁰The saviour of others cannot save himself.  ³⁵⁹¹If he is the Messiah, the chosen of God, and the King of Israel,³⁵⁹² let him come down now from the [40] cross, that we may see, and believe in him.  ³⁵⁹³He that relieth on God—let him deliver him [41] now, if he is pleased with him:  for he said, I am the Son of God.  ³⁵⁹⁴And the soldiers [42] also scoffed at him in that they came near unto him, ³⁵⁹⁵and brought him vinegar, and [43] said unto him, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself.  ³⁵⁹⁶And likewise the two robbers³⁵⁹⁷ also that were crucified with him reproached him.

[44] ³⁵⁹⁸And one of those two malefactors who were crucified with him reviled him, and [45] said, If thou art the Messiah, save thyself, and save us also.  ³⁵⁹⁹But his comrade rebuked him, and said, Dost thou not even fear God, being thyself also in this [46] condemnation?  ³⁶⁰⁰And we with justice, and as we deserved, and according to our deed,³⁶⁰¹ have we been rewarded:  but this man hath not done anything unlawful.  [47] ³⁶⁰²And he said unto Jesus, Remember me, my Lord, when thou comest in thy kingdom.  [48] ³⁶⁰³Jesus said unto him, Verily³⁶⁰⁴ I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.

[49] ³⁶⁰⁵And there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister,³⁶⁰⁶ [50] Mary³⁶⁰⁷ that was related to Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  ³⁶⁰⁸And Jesus saw his mother, and that disciple whom he loved standing by; and he said to his mother, [51] Woman, behold, thy son!  ³⁶⁰⁹And he said to that disciple, Behold, thy mother!  And from that hour that disciple took her unto himself.

[52] [Arabic, p. 196] ³⁶¹⁰And from the sixth hour³⁶¹¹ darkness was on all the land unto the ninth [53] hour,³⁶¹² and the sun became dark.  ³⁶¹³And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and said, Yail, Yaili,³⁶¹⁴ why hast thou forsaken me? which³⁶¹⁵ is, My [54] God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  ³⁶¹⁶And some of those that stood there, when they heard, said,³⁶¹⁷ This man called Elijah.