Plaiting or “weaving” is the technical meaning of the verb translated “made” by Good News Translation. But the word is probably used very freely; New Jerusalem Bible has “and having twisted some thorns into a crown.”
“Thorny branches” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) is probably more accurate than the traditional thorns, since it is most likely that the thorns would still have been attached to their branches.
Only Matthew indicates that the soldiers put a reed in his right hand. Although the root meaning of the word is reed (Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible) or “cane” (New English Bible, Barclay), the word may also have a broader meaning, and “stick” is the rendering of Moffatt, Phillips, and Good News Translation. It represented a scepter, the symbol of a king’s authority.
For a translation of mocked, see the discussion of “make fun of” at the section heading before verse 27.
The way in which the soldiers made fun of Jesus was by kneeling before him and saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” These words are patterned after the manner in which the emperor’s subjects would greet him: “Hail, Caesar!” The greeting Hail is translated “Long live” by Good News Translation, An American Translation, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, because this is a more natural expression for greeting royalty. Moreover, for English speakers who are not familiar with the use of Hail as a greeting, it may be taken for “hell,” which is frequently employed as a swear word. The word is used also in 26.49; 28.9. Many languages will have a fixed form of greeting which is used solely of royalty or of the ruling power. For example, Malay has a set expression which means “Yes, your highness” or “May your highness prosper.” Others will have something such as “We salute you, King of the Jews” or “O King of the Jews, we honor you.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .