15:36a
And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine: This phrase indicates that someone there hurried to get a sponge and use it to soak up some wine vinegar.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
ran and got a sponge, filled it with vinegar (New Century Version)
-or-
One of them ran and grabbed a sponge. After he had soaked it in wine, he…. (Contemporary English Version)
And someone: The word someone refers to one of the people in 15:35 who heard Jesus’ words. He was one person who wrongly thought that Jesus was calling Elijah.
sponge: A sponge is something that can soak up water or other liquids. If sponges are unknown in your language, you could:
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
something that soaks/drinks water
-or-
something that takes/sucks up liquids
• Substitute something that is known in your culture that is used to soak up water. Add the words “something like” so that you do not change the facts of the historical incident. For example:
something like gourd fibers
-or-
something like cotton/cloth
sour wine: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sour wine refers to a cheap kind of wine or vinegar. It was known to be good for quenching thirst.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
cheap wine (Good News Bible)
-or-
sour wine (NET Bible)
-or-
wine (Contemporary English Version)
See the note on “wine” at 15:23a.
15:36b
He put it on a reed: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as put…on literally mean “placed around.” The sponge may have been fastened around the reed. Or the man may have stabbed the end of the reed into the sponge.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
He tied it to a stick (New Century Version)
-or-
He impaled it on a reed
Use a natural verb in your language to describe this kind of action.
reed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as reed generally refers to a stick. In this case, the man soaked a sponge with wine. Then he put the sponge on the stick in order to put the sponge as high as Jesus’ mouth.
15:36c
and held it up for Jesus to drink: The clause held it up for Jesus to drink indicates that the man lifted the sponge on the stick to Jesus’ mouth. He did this so that Jesus could suck some of the wine from it. In some languages you will need to use a verb like “suck” rather than “drink” for this action.
The Greek verb here implies that Jesus drank this wine. John 19:28–30 also indicates that Jesus did drink what was offered to him this time. (This is a different situation from Mark 15:23. There, he did not drink the wine mixed with myrrh).
15:36d
saying: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as saying introduces direct speech. Some translations place the phrase “he said” at the end of the words that the man spoke in 15:36e. You should put this where it is most natural in your language.
Leave Him alone: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Leave Him alone in this context probably means “leave things as they are.” That is, no one (It is not clear whether this is addressed to the soldiers, the bystanders, or both. France (page 653) suggests that it generally addresses all who were present, that it is “used…not necessarily to avert any specific interference, but generally asking the bystanders and/or the soldiers to leave the field clear for Elijah to intervene if he so chose.”) should do anything to hasten Jesus’ death. No one should do anything that would prevent Elijah from coming and saving him. Versions that translate this as “Wait” mean “Wait and do not do anything.”
Here are some other ways to translate this:
Leave him as he is.
-or-
Do not disturb him.
-or-
Leave things just as they are.
-or-
Wait and do not do anything.
15:36e
Let us see: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Let us see here means “Let us watch or observe.” The Greek verb form (and the English “let us…”) encourages other people to join with the speaker in doing something. (In this context, “let” does not mean “permit” or “allow.”)
Here are some other ways to translate Let us see:
Let us watch/observe
-or-
We should watch/look
if Elijah comes to take Him down: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to take…down means “to cause to descend.” In this context, it means “to remove Jesus,” “to rescue Jesus,” or “to free Jesus” from the cross.
© 2008 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.