^19:23Now when the soldiers crucified⁶⁹ Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier,⁷⁰ and the tunic⁷¹ remained. (Now the tunic⁷² was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.)⁷³^19:24So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice⁷⁴ to see who will get it.”⁷⁵ This took place⁷⁶ to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.”⁷⁷ So the soldiers did these things.

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Footnotes

69 See the note on Crucify in .
70 Four shares, one for each soldier. The Gospel of John is the only one to specify the number of soldiers involved in the crucifixion. This was a quaternion, a squad of four soldiers. It was accepted Roman practice for the soldiers who performed a crucifixion to divide the possessions of the person executed among themselves.
71 Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, chitōn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.
72 Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). See the note on the same word earlier in this verse.
73 This is a parenthetical note by the author.
74 Grk “but choose by lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throw dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.
75 Grk “to see whose it will be.”
76 The words “This took place” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
77 Grk “cast lots.” See the note on “throw dice” earlier in the verse. A quotation from Ps 22:18.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers did these things,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them

and cast lots for my garment.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did.

NLTNew Living Translation

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his clothing and made four shares—for each soldier a share—and the tunic. (Now the tunic was seamless, woven from the top in a single piece.) So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it apart, but cast lots for it, to see whose it will be,” so that the scripture would be fulfilled that says,

“They divided my garments among themselves,

and for my clothing they cast lots.”

Thus the soldiers did these things.

KJV 1900King James Version

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

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