^27:39Those⁶⁷ who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads ^27:40and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!⁶⁸ If you are God’s Son, come down⁶⁹ from the cross!” ^27:41In⁷⁰ the same way even the chief priests—together with the experts in the law⁷¹ and elders⁷²—were mocking him:⁷³^27:42“He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down⁷⁴ now from the cross, we will believe in him! ^27:43He trusts in God—let God, if he wants to, deliver him now⁷⁵ because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’!”

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Footnotes

67 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
68 There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “save yourself!” and “come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.
69 Many important witnesses (א* A D it sy[s],p) read καί (kai, here with the force of “then”) before κατάβηθι (katabēthi, “come down”). The shorter reading may well be due to homoioarcton, but judging by the diverse external evidence (א2 B L W Θ 0250 f1, 13 33 𝔐 lat) it is equally possible that the shorter reading is original (and is so considered for this translation). puts the καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
70 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
71 Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
72 Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.
73 Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests … said.”
74 Here the aorist imperative καταβάτω (katabatō) has been translated as a conditional imperative. This fits the pattern of other conditional imperatives (imperative + καί + future indicative) outlined by .
75 An allusion to Ps 22:8.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God rescue him now—if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

NLTNew Living Translation

The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, “The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” In the same way also the chief priests, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, “He saved others; he is not able to save himself! He is the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him! He trusts in God; let him deliver him now if he wants to, because he said, ‘I am the Son of God’!”

KJV 1900King James Version

And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

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