No indication is given why the soldiers first broke the legs of the men on either side of Jesus before going to Jesus himself. It may be that Jesus already appeared to be dead, and the soldiers wanted to put to death the men who were obviously alive.

In some languages one cannot translate the word broke without indicating how the legs were broken. As already suggested, it was accomplished by a severe blow with a heavy instrument, probably with a large mallet, a sledge hammer, or a club.

Who had been put to death with Jesus is more literally “who had been crucified with him.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .