Level 4; literature; Vulgate [5]: Jesus sentenced to death [iii] Matthew 27.22-24

The same incident recounted in Matthew 27 contains the famous, or rather infamous statement that sealed the fate of Jesus – and those who condemned him.

Matthew 27.20-27

The first verse here clearly states that the main religious officials are responsible for influencing the mob:

(20) Prīncipēs autem sacerdōtum et seniōrēs persuāsērunt populīs ¦ ut peterent Barabbam, Iēsum vērō perderent.

• But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd ¦ that they should ask for [ = to ask for] Barabbas and have Jesus killed.

(21) Respondēns autem praeses, ait illīs: Quem vultis vōbīs dē duōbus dīmittī? At illī dīxērunt: Barabbam.

• And replying the governor said to them: “Which of the two do you wish to be released to you? And they said: “Barabbas.”

(22) dīcit illīs Pīlātus “quid igitur faciam dē Iēsū quī dīcitur Chrīstus?”

• Pilate says to them: What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ?

(23) dīcunt omnēs crucifīgātur ait illīs praeses quid enim malī fēcit at illī magis clāmābant dīcentēs crucifīgātur

• They all say; “Let him be crucified”. The governor says / said to them: “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out the more, saying: “Let him be crucified”.

(24) Vidēns autem Pīlātus ¦ quia nihil prōficeret, sed magis tumultus fieret, acceptā aquā, lāvit manūs cōram populō, dīcēns: Innocēns ego sum ā sanguine iūstī huius: vōs vīderitis.

The moment where Pilate rejects any personal responsibility:

• So Pilate, seeing that he was accomplishing nothing, but that the uproar was becoming greater, with water having been received [ = after he had taken water], he washed (his) hands in the presence of the people, saying: “I am innocent of the blood of this just man: it is you who will have seen to that.”

(26) Et respondēns ūniversus populus dīxit: Sanguis eius super nōs, et super fīliōs nostrōs.

• And the entire people replying said: “His blood (is) upon us, and upon our children.”

(27) Tunc dīmīsit illīs Barabbam: Iēsum autem flagellātum trādidit eīs ut crucifīgerētur.

• Then he released Barabbas to him, but Jesus, having been flogged [ = after he had been flogged], he handed over to them in order that he should be crucified [ = in order to be crucified].

Notes:

[i] subjunctive usage:

(a) indirect command

persuāsērunt populīs ¦ ut peterent Barabbam, Iēsum vērō perderent

• (they) persuaded the people ¦ that they should ask for [ = to ask for] Barabbas, and have Jesus killed

(b) jussive subjunctive

• crucifigātur: Let him be crucified.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/01/280326-level-3-subjunctive-7.html

(c) purpose

• … ut crucifigerētur: …in order that he should be crucified [ = in order to be crucified]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/02/090526-level-3-subjunctive-34-dependent.html

[ii] Again, we have an example of an indirect statement being introduced in the alternative Latin style with quia + subjunctive:

Vidēns autem Pīlātus quia nihil prōficeret, sed magis tumultus fieret

• And Pilate, seeing that he was accomplishing nothing, but (that) the uproar was becoming greater / increasing.

[iii] Quem vultis vōbīs dē duōbus dīmittī?

• Which of the two do you wish to be released to you?

dīmittere: to release > dīmittī (present passive infinitive): to be released

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/10/110125-level-2-passive-voice-19-present.html

[iv] Vōs vīderītis: You will have seen (to that) i.e. it is your responsibility

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0CgVGrn-AU

This is a staggering and disturbing depiction of the human dynamics of the event: the mob is terrifying, and the initial aggression and arrogance of Pilate is both utterly shattered and infused with fury at having been placed in this position. Note: the excerpt is graphically violent in its portrayal. 

innocēns ego sum ā sanguine iūstī huius

Level 3+ (review); Dooge LXXIII [4] vocabulary review

All of the words below are in the text. Match the Latin words with the English definitions. There is a very wide range of military vocabulary in Latin literature referring to, for example, equipment, means of defence and tactics. Military vocabulary is covered extensively at:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/vocabulary%3A%20military

Level 3+ (review); Dooge LXXIII [3] (1) subjunctive; (2) indirect statement; (3) participial constructions

THE STORMING OF A CITY

Pūblius plūrīs diēs in Germāniā morātus in Galliam rediit, et ad Caesaris castra sē contulit. Ille quia molestē ferēbat Gallōs eius regiōnis obsidēs dare recūsāvisse et exercituī frūmentum praebēre nōluisse, cōnstituit eīs bellum īnferre. Agrīs vāstātīs, vīcīs incēnsīs, pervēnit ad oppidum validissimum quod et nātūrā et arte mūnītum erat. Cingēbātur mūrō vīgintī quīnque pedēs altō. Ā lateribus duōbus situm, praeruptō fastīgiō ad plānitiem vergēbat; ā quārtō tantum latere aditus erat facilis. Hoc oppidum oppugnāre, cum opus esset difficillimum, tamen cōnstituit Caesar. Et castrīs mūnītīs Pūbliō negōtium dedit ut rēs ad oppugnandum necessāriās parāret.

Rōmānōrum autem oppugnātiō est haec. Prīmum turrēs aedificantur quibus mīlitēs in summum mūrum ēvādere possint; vīneae fīunt quibus tēctī mīlitēs ad mūrum succēdant; pluteī parantur post quōs mīlitēs tormenta administrent; sunt quoque arietēs quī mūrum et portās discutiant. Hīs omnibus rēbus comparātīs, deinde agger ab eā parte ubi aditus est facillimus exstruitur et cum vīneīs ad ipsum oppidum agitur. Tum turris in aggere prōmovētur; arietibus quī sub vīneīs conlocātī erant mūrus et portae discutiuntur; ballistīs, catapultīs, reliquīsque tormentīs lapidēs et tēla in oppidum coniciuntur. Postrēmō cum iam turris et agger altitūdinem mūrī adaequant et arietēs moenia perfrēgērunt, signō datō mīlitēs inruunt et oppidum expugnant.

(1) review: subjunctive

Translate the following extracts focussing on the constructions in bold:

[i] Hoc oppidum oppugnāre, cum opus esset difficillimum, tamen cōnstituit Caesar.

[ii] Pūbliō negōtium dedit ut rēs ad oppugnandum necessāriās parāret.

[iii] Prīmum turrēs aedificantur quibus mīlitēs in summum mūrum ēvādere possint;

[iv] vīneae fīunt quibus tēctī mīlitēs ad mūrum succēdant

[v] pluteī parantur post quōs mīlitēs tormenta administrent;

[vi] sunt quoque arietēs quī mūrum et portās discutiant

(2) review: indirect statement

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/indirect%20statement

Translate the following extract. Remember that the grammatical term indirect statement may not refer exclusively to what somebody said, but, here, what somebody thought or felt:

Ille quia molestē ferēbat Gallōs eius regiōnis obsidēs dare recūsāvisse et exercituī frūmentum praebēre nōluisse, …

(3) review: participial constructions

Translate the following extracts focussing on the constructions in bold:

[i] Pūblius plūrīs diēs in Germāniā morātus in Galliam rediit, …

[ii] Agrīs vāstātīs, vīcīs incēnsīs, pervēnit ad oppidum …

[iii] Et castrīs mūnītīs Pūbliō negōtium dedit

[iv] Hīs omnibus rēbus comparātīs, …

[v] signō datō mīlitēs inruunt …

____________________

Publius, after staying / having stayed for several days in Germany, returned to Gaul and made his way to Caesar’s camp. Caesar, because he was displeased that the Gauls of that region had refused to give hostages and had been unwilling to supply grain to the army, decided to make war upon them.

After the fields had been laid waste and the villages burned, he came to a very strongly fortified town, which was defended both by nature and by workmanship. It was surrounded by a wall twenty-five feet high. On two sides it was situated on a slope, with a steep incline falling down to the plain; from the fourth side alone was access easy.

Although it was a most difficult task to attack this town, Caesar nevertheless decided to undertake it. And, after the camp had been fortified, he assigned Publius the task of preparing [lit: so that he might prepare] the things necessary for the attack.

The Roman method of attack, however, is as follows. First, towers are built by which the soldiers may be able to climb up onto the top of the wall; mantlets are made by which the soldiers, being covered, may approach the wall; screens are prepared behind which the soldiers may operate the engines; there are also battering rams which may smash the wall and the gates.

When all these things have been prepared, then a rampart is built from that side where the approach is easiest and is pushed forward with the mantlets right up to the town. Then a tower is moved forward on the rampart; by means of the rams, which had been placed under the mantlets, the wall and gates are battered down; by ballistae, catapults, and the other engines, stones and missiles are hurled into the town.

Finally, when the tower and ramp now match the height of the wall and the rams have broken through the defences, the signal having been given, the soldiers rush in and capture the town.

Level 4; literature; Vulgate [4]: Jesus sentenced to death [ii] Luke 23.20-25

Luke 23.20-25

(20) Iterum autem Pīlātus locūtus est ad eōs, volēns dīmittere Iēsum.

• And again Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, spoke to them.

(21) At illī succlāmābant, dīcentēs: Crucifīge, crucifīge eum.

• But they kept on shouting, saying “Crucify him, crucify him.”

(22) Ille autem tertiō dīxit ad illōs: Quid enim malī fēcit iste? nūllam causam mortis inveniō in eō: corripiam ergō illum et dīmittam.

• And he said to them for a third time: “What evil has this man done? I find in him no grounds for death [i.e. a death sentence]: therefore, I shall chastise and release him.

(23) At illī īnstābant vōcibus magnīs postulantēs ¦ ut crucifīgerētur: et invalēscēbant vōcēs eōrum.

• But, in loud voices, they continued to insist, demanding ¦ that he be crucified: and their voices grew stronger and stronger.

(24) Et Pīlātus adiūdicāvit fieri petītiōnem eōrum.

• And Pilate ruled [i.e. gave a legal ruling] that their demand be carried out.

(25) Dīmīsit autem illīs eum quī propter homicīdium et sēditiōnem missus fuerat in carcerem, quem petēbant: Iēsum vērō trādidit voluntātī eōrum.

• He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they asked for, but he handed over Jesus to their will.

Notes:

[i] locūtus est < loquor, loquī, locūtus sum: speak; deponent verb:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/deponent%20verbs

[ii] indirect command + subjunctive

postulantēs ut crucifīgerētur

• demanding that he (should) be crucified

[iii] accusative-infinitive construction

Et Pīlātus adiūdicāvit fieri [infinitive] petītiōnem [accusative] eōrum.

Literally: Pilate adjudged their request ¦ to be done

>  Pilate ruled that their demand be carried out.

[iv] Pilate’s repeated attempts to quell the crowd: iterum; tertiō

[v] While the ‘baseline’ translation of the imperfect tense is “was / were doing something”, it also has iterative force implying that the same action happened repeatedly:

• illī succlāmābant: they kept on shouting
• illī īnstābant: they continued to insist

[vi] Again, the inchoative form of the verb suggests an escalation of the action:

• invalēscēbant vōcēs eōrum: their voices were growing stronger and stronger / were becoming louder and louder

[vii] This crowd is not making deferential requests – but uncompromising demands:

• Crucifīge, crucifīge eum!
• postulantēs ut crucifīgerētur

Does this suggest – and it is purely a personal interpretation – that Pilate, despite his political position, is ultimately weak? Roman governors existed to impose Roman authority, not negotiate with mobs. I cannot imagine that Caesar would have been subjected to such insolent and vociferous demands – and I do imagine that he would have dealt with it in a very different way.

[viii] Verse 25: Iēsum vērō trādidit voluntātī eōrum

i.e. the will of the crowd – rather than the legal will of Rome – prevailed

The informal phrase: “Caught between a rock and a hard place” depicts Pilate’s position, and the Vulgate well expresses it. On the one hand, Pilate should uphold Roman Law, for it is stated repeatedly that he sees no crime – and certainly not one that would warrant the most ignominious, prolonged and excruciating capital punishment of crucifixion. However, the collective, unremitting power of the crowd and religious officials overwhelms him; Judaea was not an easy province to control, and one does wonder whether – back in Rome – the last thing they wanted was more trouble for which Pilate would be held responsible. Later – in correspondence with the Emperor Trajan – we will look at the same challenges faced by Pliny the Younger as governor of Bithynia. In the end, Pilate does not act from a moral and legal standpoint, but out of political expediency and self-protection.

At illī succlāmābant, dīcentēs: Crucifīge, crucifīge eum.

Level 3+ (review); Dooge LXXIII [2] comprehension (2)

THE STORMING OF A CITY [2]

Rōmānōrum autem oppugnātiō est haec. Prīmum turrēs aedificantur quibus mīlitēs in summum mūrum ēvādere possint; vīneae fīunt quibus tēctī mīlitēs ad mūrum succēdant; pluteī parantur post quōs mīlitēs tormenta administrent; sunt quoque arietēs quī mūrum et portās discutiant. Hīs omnibus rēbus comparātīs, deinde agger ab eā parte ubi aditus est facillimus exstruitur et cum vīneīs ad ipsum oppidum agitur. Tum turris in aggere prōmovētur; arietibus quī sub vīneīs conlocātī erant mūrus et portae discutiuntur; ballistīs, catapultīs, reliquīsque tormentīs lapidēs et tēla in oppidum coniciuntur. Postrēmō cum iam turris et agger altitūdinem mūrī adaequant et arietēs moenia perfrēgērunt, signō datō mīlitēs inruunt et oppidum expugnant.

[1] In which order are the following first referred to?

battering rams _____

bolt-throwing machine _____

mantlets [note: vertical and portable screens to protect soldiers’ forward movement] _____

rampart _____

screens to protect soldiers from missiles overhead _____

siege engines _____

siege towers _____

stones _____

[2] What is the function of the siege towers? (1)

[3] What can the soldiers approach using the mantlets? (1)

[4] What do the soldiers do while protected by the overhead screens? (1)

[5] Where is the rampart built? (1)

[6] How are the battering rams protected? (1)

[7] Give the names of two specific devices for hurling projectiles. (2)

[8] At what point is the signal for attack given? (2)

____________________

[1]

battering rams [5]; arietēs

bolt-throwing machine [7]; ballistīs

mantlets [2]; vīneae

rampart [6]; agger

screens to protect soldiers from missiles overhead [3]; pluteī

siege engines [4]; tormenta

siege towers [1]; turrēs

stones [8]; lapidēs

[2] to enable soldiers to reach the top of the walls

[3] the wall

[4] operate siege engines

[5] on the side where the approach is easiest

[6] placed under the mantlets

[7] ballistae (bolt-throwers) (1); catapults (1)

[8] after towers and rampart match wall height (1) and the walls have been broken through (1)

Level 3+ (review); Dooge LXXIII [1] comprehension (1)

THE STORMING OF A CITY [1]

Pūblius plūrīs diēs in Germāniā morātus in Galliam rediit, et ad Caesaris castra sē contulit. Ille quia molestē ferēbat Gallōs eius regiōnis obsidēs dare recūsāvisse et exercituī frūmentum praebēre nōluisse, cōnstituit eīs bellum īnferre. Agrīs vāstātīs, vīcīs incēnsīs, pervēnit ad oppidum validissimum quod et nātūrā et arte mūnītum erat. Cingēbātur mūrō vīgintī quīnque pedēs altō. Ā lateribus duōbus situm, praeruptō fastīgiō ad plānitiem vergēbat; ā quārtō tantum latere aditus erat facilis. Hoc oppidum oppugnāre, cum opus esset difficillimum, tamen cōnstituit Caesar. Et castrīs mūnītīs Pūbliō negōtium dedit ut rēs ad oppugnandum necessāriās parāret.

• fastīgium, -ī [2/n]: slope
• vergō, -ere [3]: turn; lie

[1] “Pūblius plūrīs diēs …. erat facilis.”

[i] When did Publius return to Caesar’s camp? (1)

[ii] Why did Caesar decide to make war on the Gauls? (2)

[iii] What damage was done before reaching the town?

[iv] Describe the town’s defences. (8)

[2] “Hoc oppidum oppugnāre, cum opus esset difficillimum, tamen cōnstituit Caesar.”

What does this statement reveal about Caesar’s character? (2)

[3] “Et castrīs mūnītīs Pūbliō negōtium dedit ut rēs ad oppugnandum necessāriās parāret.”

What task was Publius given? (1)

____________________

[1]

[i] after staying several days in Germania

[ii] the Gauls refused to give hostages (1) and were unwilling to supply grain to his army (1)

[iii] fields devastated (laid waste) (1); villages burned (1)

[iv]

very strongly fortified (1)

by both nature (1) and construction (1) [ = by its natural / geographical location; by the way in which it was built]

25-foot-high wall (1)

steep slopes (1) on two sides (1)

only one easy approach (1) on the fourth side (1)

[v] very determined (1); despite the difficulty, he decides to attack (1)

[vi] prepare everything necessary for the attack

Level 4; literature; Vulgate [3]: Jesus sentenced to death [i]; Luke 23.13-19

Luke 23.13-19

(13) Pīlātus autem, convocātīs prīncipibus sacerdōtum, et magistrātibus, et plēbe, …

• And Pilate with the chief priests, and the magistrates, and the common people having been summoned [ = And Pilate, after he had summoned …] …

(14) dīxit ad illōs: Obtulistis mihi hunc hominem, quasi ¦ āvertentem ¦ populum, et ecce ego cōram vōbīs interrogāns, nūllam causam invēnī in homine istō ex hīs in quibus eum accūsātis.

• … said to them: “You have brought me this man, as ¦ one who was perverting ¦ the people, and look, questioning him before you / in your presence [cōram: face-to-face / publicly] I have found in this man no grounds for the things of which you accuse him.

(15) Sed neque Hērōdēs: nam remīsī vōs ad illum, et ecce nihil dignum morte āctum est eī.

• But neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him* [i.e. I sent your demand to him] and, look, nothing worthy of / deserving of death was done by him.

*Translations normally rework this to “He sent him back to us” which, grammatically, is not what the Latin actually says.

(16) Ēmendātum ergō illum dīmittam.

• Therefore, I shall release him after he has been chastised.

(17) Necesse autem habēbat dīmittere eīs per diem fēstum ūnum.

• For of necessity he had to release one to them on a feast day / public holiday.

(18) Exclāmāvit autem simul ūniversa turba, dīcēns: Tolle hunc, et dīmitte nōbīs Barabbam:

• But the entire crowd shouted out at the same time, saying: “Take away this man, and release Barabbas to us.”

(19) quī erat propter sēditiōnem quandam factam in cīvitāte et homicīdium missus in carcerem.

• And he / this man had been sent to jail on account of a certain insurrection carried out in the city, and murder.

Notes:

[i] nihil (a) dignum morte (b) āctum est eī

(a) dignus, -a, -um [+ ablative]: worthy of

(b) nihil dignum morte āctum est eī: nothing worthy of death was done by him; it is more common to read ab eō to convey the agent i.e. the person by whom something was done. Here the dative pronoun is used, a feature of Late / Biblical Latin.

[ii] habēbat dīmittere: he had to release; the use of habeō + the infinitive to express obligation is a Late Latin feature; CL would use debeō, -ēre [2]

[iii] quī erat … missus: and he / this man had been sent …

Connecting relative:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/connecting%20relative

[iv] quandam < quīdam: a certain (indefinite adjective); it may not be translated since it simply refers to an unspecified incident e.g. quīdam rēx: a certain king

i.e. Barabbas was convicted of some insurrection (or other), but which one is irrelevant.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/09/291125-level-3-indefinites-11-quidam-i.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/09/291125-level-3-indefinites-12-quidam-ii.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/09/291125-level-3-indefinites-13-quidam.html

[v] Verse 18: Exclāmāvit autem simul ūniversa turba

The verse very well conveys the power of the crowd acting as a single voice and with a powerful and immediate rejection of Pilate’s proposal.

dīmitte nōbīs Barabbam