15:17–19
In these verses, the soldiers were cruel to Jesus and mocked his kingship. However, mockery is not explicitly mentioned until 15:20. The mockery included:
(a) dressing Jesus in a purple robe (15:17a)
(b) placing a crown of thorns on his head (15:17b)
(c) crying out “Hail, King of the Jews” (15:18)
(d) bowing before him (15:19b).
If people might not understand these actions as mockery, consider making the idea of mockery explicit in each action. For example:
they mocked him by dressing him in a purple/royal robe
-or-
they dressed him in a purple robe to pretend he was a king
15:17a
Mark 15:20c says that the soldiers put Jesus’ clothes on him. But Mark never says when they took off his clothes. Matthew 27:28 mentions that the soldiers first took Jesus’ clothes off before they put the purple robe on him. Consider if it may be necessary or more natural in your language to mention this here.
They dressed Him in a purple robe: A purple robe was a type of outer garment or coat that kings wore. The robe was dyed a purple color. These clothes generally cost a lot of money because the material and the purple dye were expensive. The soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus in mockery of his kingship.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
• Translate it literally. For example:
purple robe/coat
• Use a cultural substitute. If there is an expensive piece of clothing from your culture that people of high status wear, you could use it here. You should say that the color of the clothing was purple. If you translate in this way, you may want to include a footnote to explain the significance of the color. For example:
Purple clothing was very expensive and was commonly worn by kings. The soldiers dressed Jesus in purple in mockery of the idea that he was a king.
• If the color purple is difficult to translate, you could translate this simply as a “royal robe” and not translate the color. Most likely, the robe was not an actual royal robe, but a robe put on Jesus which imitated a royal robe. For example:
they put a robe on him in place/imitation of a royal robe
-or-
they put a robe on him as if it were a royal robe
-or-
they put a robe on him pretending it was a royal robe
purple: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as purple describes a color that could either be dark red or dark blue. (Purple is a color between red and blue).
Here are some other ways to translate this:
• Use a term that describes the color that is closest to dark red or dark blue. For example:
a kind of blue/black/red
-or-
like blue/black/red
If you have to choose between red and blue, choose red. See Matthew 27:28, which describes the robe as being red or scarlet.
• Use a term that describes the color of something known in your culture that is dark red or dark blue. For example, a flower, berry, or bird.
15:17b
twisted together a crown of thorns: The soldiers made a mock crown for Jesus out of small branches or twigs. These branches had sharp thorns. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as twisted together indicates that the soldiers wove or braided the branches together.
crown: A crown is a type of hat that kings wear. It is a symbol of the king’s authority. Roman crowns were often made of leafy branches woven together into a circle. Some crowns were made of gold and were shaped like leafy branches.
If you do not have a specific word in your language for crown, you could say:
they…wove together some branches with thorns in a circle like a king’s hat/headpiece
-or-
they…made something like what a king wears on his head out of thorny branches that were twisted together
15:17c
and set it on His head: The phrase set it on His head indicates that the soldiers placed the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head.
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