23:41a

We are punished justly: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as We are punished justly is literally “And we indeed justly,” as in several English versions. It means that the Romans had sentenced the two criminals rightly and fairly for what they had done. They had disobeyed the law, and they were being punished as the law required. Some other ways to translate this are:

Our punishment is fair. (God’s Word)
-or-
But we two deserve to be punished like this.

23:41b

for we are receiving what our actions deserve: This clause tells the reason why the second criminal said that he and the other criminal were punished justly. They had done evil deeds so they deserved to be punished by death. The pronoun we refers here to the two criminals in contrast to Jesus. It does not include Jesus. Some other ways to translate this are:

because we ⌊two⌋ are getting/receiving the punishment that our(incl) deeds deserve
-or-
for ⌊the two of⌋ us are ⌊being punished⌋ fairly because we did evil deeds

In some languages it may be necessary to say who punished them. For example:

⌊The Romans⌋ are punishing us ⌊two⌋ in the way our deeds deserve.

General Comment on 23:41a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 23:41a and 23:41b. For example:

for 41bwe two have done ⌊evil⌋ 41aso we(incl) deserve this ⌊punishment⌋

23:41c

But this man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But this man indicates a strong contrast between Jesus and the two criminals. Indicate the contrast in a natural way in your language.

this man: In this context the phrase this man identifies Jesus in contrast to the two criminals. It is not a disrespectful way to refer to Jesus. In your translation, use a respectful way to refer to someone who has been mentioned earlier.

has done nothing wrong: This phrase indicates that Jesus did not do anything that he should not have done. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wrong is literally “out of place.” It refers here to something that is not right in a moral sense.

The criminal implied that Jesus was different from him and the other criminal. Jesus did not do anything that deserved punishment. The phrase contrasts with 23:41a–b in which the two other men were justly punished for their crimes.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

has done nothing bad
-or-
is completely innocent (Translator’s Reference Translation)

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