^19:32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who had been crucified⁹⁷ with Jesus,⁹⁸ first the one and then the other.⁹⁹^19:33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ^19:34But one of the soldiers pierced¹⁰⁰ his side with a spear, and blood and water¹⁰¹ flowed out immediately. ^19:35And the person who saw it¹⁰² has testified (and his testimony is true, and he¹⁰³ knows that he is telling the truth),¹⁰⁴ so that you also may believe. ^19:36For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will be broken.”¹⁰⁵

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Footnotes

97 See the note on Crucify in .
98 Grk “with him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
99 Grk “broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him.”
100 If it was obvious to the soldiers that the victim was already dead it is difficult to see why one of them would try to inflict a wound. The Greek verb pierced (νύσσω, nussō) can indicate anything from a slight prod to a mortal wound. Probably one of the soldiers gave an exploratory stab to see if the body would jerk. If not, he was really dead. This thrust was hard enough to penetrate the side, since the author states that blood and water flowed out immediately.
101 How is the reference to the blood and water that flowed out from Jesus’ side to be understood? This is probably to be connected with the statements in 1 John 5:6–8. In both passages water, blood, and testimony are mentioned. The Spirit is also mentioned in 1 John 5:7 as the source of the testimony, while here the testimony comes from one of the disciples (19:35). The connection between the Spirit and the living water with Jesus’ statement of thirst just before he died in the preceding context has already been noted (see 19:28). For the author, the water which flowed out of Jesus’ side was a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit who could now be given because Jesus was now glorified (cf. 7:39); Jesus had now departed and returned to that glory which he had with the Father before the creation of the world (cf. 17:5). The mention of blood recalls the motif of the Passover lamb as a sacrificial victim. Later references to sacrificial procedures in the appear to support this: Pesahim 5:3 and 5:5 state that the blood of the sacrificial animal should not be allowed to congeal but should flow forth freely at the instant of death so that it could be used for sprinkling; Tamid 4:2 actually specifies that the priest is to pierce the heart of the sacrificial victim and cause the blood to come forth.
102 The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
103 Grk “and that one.”
104 A parenthetical note by the author.
105 A quotation from Exod 12:46, Num 9:12, and Ps 34:20. A number of different OT passages lie behind this quotation: Exod 12:10 , Exod 12:46, Num 9:12, or Ps 34:20. Of these, the first is the closest in form to the quotation here. The first three are all more likely candidates than the last, since the first three all deal with descriptions of the Passover lamb.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken.

NLTNew Living Translation

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.) These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, after they saw he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water came out immediately. And the one who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true, and that person knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things happened in order that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not a bone of his will be broken.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

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