15:20a
After they had mocked Him: The phrase After they had mocked him in this context means “and when they had finished mocking him.” Some English versions make this clear. For example:
And when they had finished making fun of him (New Jerusalem Bible)
mocked: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mocked means “ridiculed” or “made fun of” Jesus. Here the soldiers mocked Jesus to humiliate and shame him.
This word also occurs in 10:34a.
15:20b–c
they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him: The phrase put His own clothes back on him implies that the soldiers had previously taken off Jesus’ clothes. Matthew 27:28 indicates that they did this before they put the royal robe on him.
In some languages, it may be natural to say that the soldiers took Jesus’ clothes off before saying that they put them back on him. See the note on 15:17a.
15:20d
they led Him out: As in 15:1c and 15:16a, your verb for led should describe leading a prisoner or captive.
In some languages, it may be necessary to say from where the soldiers led Jesus out. If so, you could say that they led him out of the palace. For example, the New Century Version says:
they led him out of the palace to be crucified. (New Century Version)
they: The pronoun they here refers to the Roman soldiers responsible for crucifying Jesus. Generally four soldiers plus one officer (a centurion) were responsible for crucifying someone. The pronoun does not refer to the whole company of soldiers that took part in mocking Jesus in 15:16–20.
to crucify Him: The word crucify means to execute (kill) someone by nailing or tying him to a cross, then setting the cross upright. This was a Roman way to cause criminals to die a slow and painful death.
Here are some other ways to translate crucify him:
to kill/execute him on a cross
-or-
to nail/fasten him to a cross to kill him
See the note on “crucify” at 15:13.
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