Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
Parallel Translations
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Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
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Then led they Iesus from Cayphas into the hall of iudgement. It was in the mornynge and they them selves went not into the iudgement hall lest they shuld be defyled but that they myght eate the paschall lambe.
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Pilate then went out vnto them, and said, What accusation bring yee against this man?
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to John 18:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 27:23 But the governor said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, saying, “Let him be crucified!”
- Mark 15:2-5 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered, “So you say.” The chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled.
- Matthew 27:11-14 Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “So you say.” When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many things they testify against you?” He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.
- Luke 23:2-3 They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “So you say.”
- Acts 23:28-30 Desiring to know the cause why they accused him, I brought him down to their council. I found him to be accused about questions of their law, but not to be charged with anything worthy of death or of imprisonment. When I was told that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him to you immediately, charging his accusers also to bring their accusations against him before you. Farewell.”
- Acts 25:16 I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man to destruction before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had opportunity to make his defense concerning the matter laid against him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 29. Pilate therefore went out to them. This heathen…
29. Pilate therefore went out to them. This heathen is not unwilling to encourage a superstition, which he ridicules and despises; but in the main point of the cause, he performs the duty of a good judge, when he orders them, if they have any accusation, to bring it forward. The priests, on the other hand, not having sufficient authority to condemn him whom they pronounce to be guilty, make no other reply, than that he ought to abide by their previous decision.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said,…
29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?
Ver. 29. Pilate then went out unto them] It was much he would gratify them so far in their "Stand further off, for I am holier than thou;" that he would yield to their superstition, which he could not but contemn. But the very Turk, so the Christians pay him his yearly tribute (which is one fourth part of their increase, and a Sultan for every poll), permitteth them the liberty of their religion.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The Roman governor humours them in their superstition (the…
The Roman governor humours them in their superstition (the Romans having granted them the liberty of their religion): they scruple to go into the ordinary place of judgment; he goes out to them, and calls for their
accusation of Christ, according to the ordinary and regular course of judgments.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, 1. How Pilate humours these Jews in…
Observe here, 1. How Pilate humours these Jews in their superstition.
They scruple to go into the judgment-hall to him; he therefore goes out to them,and demands what accusation they had against Christ.
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They charge him here only for being a malefactor, or an evil-doer in the general; but elsewhere (Luk 23:1) they particularly accuse him,
1. "For perverting the nation."
2. "For forbidding to pay tribute to Caesar."
3. "For saying that he himself was Christ a king."
All which was filthy calumny, yet Christ underwent the reproach of it without opening his mouth; teaching us, when we lie under calumny, and unjust imputation, to imitate him who opened not his mouth, but committed his cause to him that judgeth uprightly.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Pilate then went out unto them,.... Either into the…
Pilate then went out unto them,.... Either into the street, or rather into the place called the pavement, and in Hebrew Gabbatha; see Joh 19:13 the place where the Jewish sanhedrim used to sit; wherefore in complaisance to them, since they would not come into his court of judicature, he condescends to go into one of theirs, which showed great civility and humanity in him:
and said, what accusation bring ye against this man? meaning, what offence had he committed? what crime had they to charge him with? what did they accuse him of? and what proof had they to support their charge? His view was, to have the matter stated, the cause opened, and evidence given; that the accused being face to face with the accusers, might answer for himself; and he, as a judge, be capable of judging between them: all which were very commendable in him, and agreeably to the Roman laws; and have an appearance of equity, justice, and impartiality.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. Pilate then went out] This was an…
Verse 29. Pilate then went out] This was an act of condescension; but, as the Romans had confirmed to the Jews the free use of all their rites and ceremonies, the governor could not do less than comply with them in this matter. He went out to them, that they might not be obliged to come into the hall, and thus run the risk of being defiled.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 18:29-32. Pilate then went out and said, What…
Joh 18:29-32. Pilate then went out and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? — This was the most natural question imaginable for a judge to ask on such an occasion; nevertheless the priests thought themselves affronted by it. They answered, haughtily, If he were not a malefactor — Greek, κακοποιος, an evil-doer, a notorious offender; we would not have delivered him up unto thee — It seems they knew the governor’s sentiments concerning the prisoner, and understood his question as carrying an insinuation along with it, of their having brought one to be condemned against whom they could find no accusation. Then said Pilate, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law — By making this offer to them, the governor told them plainly, that in his opinion the crime which they laid to the prisoner’s charge was not of a capital nature; and that such punishment as they were permitted by Cesar to inflict, might be adequate to any misdemeanour Jesus was chargeable with. The Jews therefore said, It is not lawful for us — It is not allowed, you well know, by the government under which we are; to put any man to death — By which they signified, that the prisoner was guilty of a capital crime, that he deserved the highest punishment, and that none but the governor himself could give judgment in the cause. That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, &c. — That is, in consequence of this procedure of the Jews, there was an accomplishment of the divine counsels concerning the manner of our Lord’s death, of which Jesus had given frequent intimations in the course of his ministry. Signifying what death he should die — For crucifixion was not a Jewish, but a Roman punishment. So that had he not been condemned by the Roman governor, he could not have been crucified. Thus was the governor’s first attempt to save Jesus frustrated. He made four other efforts to the same purpose, but was equally unsuccessful in them all. This good effect, however, has flowed from them; they serve to testify how strongly Pilate was impressed with the conviction of our Lord’s innocence, and at the same time they show to what a height of malice and wickedness the Jewish great men were now risen.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Pilate went out to them, and said, What accusation…
Pilate went out to them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?--State your charge.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 29. Pilate then went out—Taking the diagram of a…
29. Pilate then went out—Taking the diagram of a Jewish house in our commentary on Matthew (vol. 1, 326) to represent Pilate’s pretorium, let us suppose that at the “street” there is a wide area in front of the palace where this multitude, headed by the priests, presents itself. Pilate, when thus called upon by the dignitaries of the nation, sustained by the people, promptly went out unto them, standing in the portico with the multitude before him. The conversation that ensues is so natural and so suitable to the respective parties as to contain proof of its own genuineness. Pilate’s first business is to call for the accusation.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. Pilate then] Pilate therefore (Joh_18:3). Because they would…
29. Pilate then] Pilate therefore (Joh_18:3). Because they would not enter, he went out to them. The Evangelist assumes that his readers know who Pilate is, just as he assumes that they know the Twelve (Joh_6:67) and Mary Magdalene (Joh_19:25); all are introduced without explanation.
went out] The verb stands first in the Greek for emphasis. The best MS. add ‘outside’ to make it still more emphatic; went out therefore Pilate outside unto them; as if attention were specialy called to this Roman concession to Jewish religiousness.
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What accusation] Not that he does not know, but in accordance with strict procedure he demands a formal indictment?
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (29) Pilate then went out unto them.—Better, Pilate therefore…
(29) Pilate then went out unto them.—Better, Pilate therefore went out unto them—i.e., because of their religious scruples they would not enter into the palace.
What accusation bring ye against this man?—Comp. Joh_18:33. They expected that he would have at once ordered His execution; but he asks for the formal charge which they bring against Him. He knew by hearsay what this was, but demands the legal accusation without which the trial could not proceed. As the Roman procurator, he demands what crime Jesus has committed against the Roman law.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Pilate therefore, because of their rooted national prejudice, went…
Pilate therefore, because of their rooted national prejudice, went outunto them beyond his court, to some open space convenient for hearing the case. Pilate is introduced here without any preliminary statement or title, as though the position of the man were well known to his readers another proof that the synoptic narrative is presupposed. This scrupulousness contrasts with the summary proceeding of Herod Agrippa, (Act_12:1, Act_12:2) and with the conduct of the Roman authorities. (Act_22:24) The very question he asks implies that something had conspired to provoke a certain sympathy on his part with Jesus, and to excite additional suspicion of the Jews. The statement of Mat_27:19 may account for the former. The fact that he was ready to hear the case at this early hour shows that he must have been prepared for the scene, and even primed for it. Pilate (the manuscripts vary between Peilatos and Pilatos) was the fifth governor of Judaea under the Romans, and held office from A.D. 26-36. He is represented by Philo ("Legatio ad Caium," 38) as a proud, ungovernable man; and, in his conflicts with the Jews, he had especial reason to detest their obstinate ceremonial and religious prejudices. Philo speaks of Pilate"s "ferocious passions," says that he was given to fits of furious wrath, and that he had reason to fear that complaints laid before Tiberius for "his acts of insolence, his habit of insulting people, for his cruelty, and murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never-ending inhumanity," might bring upon him the rebuke which ultimately the emperor gave him, in consequence of his endeavor to force from the Jews assent to his placing gilt shields in the palace of Herod. Josephus ("Ant.," 18:2. 4) gives a better account of Pilate, and shows that a portion of his administration was not without beneficent purpose, thwarted by the fanatical opposition of the Jews. On this occasion he asked first of the mob of priests, What accusation do ye bring against this Man? He may have known, probably did know, but chose to give formality to the charge, and not simply to register their decrees.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 18:29 Pilate, the fifth Roman governor of Judea, ruled…
18:29 Pilate, the fifth Roman governor of Judea, ruled the country from AD 26 to 36. He usually lived on the coast in Caesarea, but kept troops stationed in a fortress in Jerusalem where he appeared personally for major festivals. He was a brutal ruler whose atrocities against the Jews were legendary (e.g., Luke 13:1; Josephus, War 2.9.2-4).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.