Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
ParallelVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 23 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53 V55
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) Then, look, there was a man named Yosef on the local council. (He was a good man and godly,![]()
OET-LV And see, a_man by_the_name Yōsaʸf/(Yōşēf), being a_council_member, and a_ good _man and righteous![]()
SR-GNT Καὶ ἰδοὺ, ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσὴφ, βουλευτὴς ὑπάρχων, καὶ ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος ‡
(Kai idou, anaʸr onomati Yōsaʸf, bouleutaʸs huparⱪōn, kai anaʸr agathos kai dikaios)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT And behold, a man, Joseph by name, being a council member, a good and righteous man,
UST There was a man named Joseph who lived in Jerusalem. He was a good and righteous man who was a member of the Jewish Council.
BSB Now [there was] a Council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man,
MSB (Same as BSB above)
BLB And behold, a man named Joseph, being also a Council member, a good and righteous man--
AICNT And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, {[and][fn] a good [and][fn] righteous man},[fn]
23:50, and: 𝔓75 ℵ(01) NA28[ ] ‖ Absent from some manuscripts. A(02) B(03) W(032) BYZ TR SBLGNT THGNT
23:50, and: Absent from B(03).
23:50, and a good and righteous man: Some manuscripts read “good and righteous.” D(05) Latin(a b e ff2 it)
OEB ¶ Now there was a man of the name of Joseph, who was a member of the Council, and who bore a good and upright character.
WEBBE Behold, there was a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man
WMBB (Same as above)
NET Now there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man.
LSV And behold, a man, by name Joseph, being a counselor, a man good and righteous,
FBV There was a man called Joseph who was good and honest. He was a member of the council,
TCNT Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who was a member of the council
T4T There was a man named Joseph who came there. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea. He was a good and a righteous man, and he was a member of the Jewish Council.
LEB ¶ And behold, a man ⌊named⌋[fn] Joseph, who was a member of the council,[fn] a good[fn] and righteous man
23:50 Literally “by name”
23:50 Or “a member of the Sanhedrin”
23:50 Some manuscripts have “and a good”
BBE Now there was a man named Joseph, a man of authority and a good and upright man
Moff Now there was a man called Joseph, a member of council but a good and just man
Wymth There was a member of the Council of the name of Joseph, a kind-hearted and upright man,
ASV And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good and righteous man
DRA And behold there was a man named Joseph, who was a counsellor, a good and just man,
YLT And lo, a man, by name Joseph, being a counsellor, a man good and righteous,
Drby And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good man and a just
RV And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good man and a righteous
SLT And, behold, a man Joseph by name, being a counsellor; good and just:
Wbstr And behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor: and he was a good man, and a just:
KJB-1769 ¶ And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:
KJB-1611 ¶ And behold, there was a man named Ioseph, a counseller, and hee was a good man, and a iust.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))
Bshps And beholde, there was a man named Ioseph, a councellour, and he was a good man and a iust:
(And behold, there was a man named Yoseph, a councellour, and he was a good man and a just:)
Gnva And beholde, there was a man named Ioseph, which was a counseller, a good man and a iust.
(And behold, there was a man named Yoseph, which was a counsellor, a good man and a just. )
Cvdl And beholde, a ma named Ioseph, a Senatour, which was a good iust man,
(And behold, a man named Yoseph, a Senator, which was a good just man,)
TNT And beholde ther was a man named Ioseph a councelloure and was a good man and a iuste
(And behold there was a man named Yoseph a councelloure and was a good man and a just )
Wycl And lo! a man, Joseph bi name, of Aramathie, a cite of Judee, that was a decurien, a good man and a iust,
(And lo! a man, Yoseph by name, of Aramathie, a cite of Yudea, that was a decurien, a good man and a just,)
Luth Und siehe, ein Mann mit Namen Joseph, ein Ratsherr, der war ein guter, frommer Mann;
(And see/look, a man with name(s) Yoseph, a Ratsherr, the/of_the what/which a good, pious Mann;)
ClVg Et ecce vir nomine Joseph, qui erat decurio, vir bonus et justus:[fn]
(And behold man by_name Yoseph, who/which was decurio, man good/kind/gracious and just: )
23.50 Nomine Joseph. Joseph per nobilitatem potentiæ sæcularis corpus accipere, per justitiam meritorum dignus est sepelire.
23.50 Nomine Yoseph. Yoseph through nobletatem of_power secular body to_receive, through justice deservedlyrum worthy it_is sepelire.
UGNT καὶ ἰδοὺ, ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσὴφ, βουλευτὴς ὑπάρχων, ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος
(kai idou, anaʸr onomati Yōsaʸf, bouleutaʸs huparⱪōn, anaʸr agathos kai dikaios)
SBL-GNT Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσὴφ βουλευτὴς ὑπάρχων, ⸀ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος—
(Kai idou anaʸr onomati Yōsaʸf bouleutaʸs huparⱪōn, ⸀anaʸr agathos kai dikaios—)
RP-GNT Καὶ ἰδού, ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσήφ, βουλευτὴς ὑπάρχων, ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος -
(Kai idou, anaʸr onomati Yōsaʸf, bouleutaʸs huparⱪōn, anaʸr agathos kai dikaios -)
TC-GNT Καὶ ἰδού, ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσήφ, βουλευτὴς ὑπάρχων, [fn]ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος—
(Kai idou, anaʸr onomati Yōsaʸf, bouleutaʸs huparⱪōn, anaʸr agathos kai dikaios— )
23:50 ανηρ ¦ και ανηρ ANT NA
Key for above GNTs: red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
23:50-51 Not all the religious leaders opposed Jesus—Joseph had opposed the actions of the council.
• The location of Arimathea in Judea is uncertain; it might be Ramathaim (= Ramah), twenty miles (thirty-two kilometers) northwest of Jerusalem.
This section tells about how people buried Jesus’ body. Sometimes the Romans did not allow the body of a crucified person to be buried.Nolland (p. 1166) says, “The bodies of condemned criminals were not always released for burial, especially in cases of treason….For the body to have stayed on the cross overnight would have been a violation of Jewish custom (for the most part, the Romans seem to have shown a sensitivity to this).” But for the Jews, a proper burial was important. It was their custom to bury the body on the same day that a person died. A respected Jewish man named Joseph decided that Jesus must have a proper burial. So Joseph went to Pilate and asked permission to take Jesus’ body and bury it.
The Sabbath Day began just a few hours after Jesus died. On the Sabbath it was forbidden to move a dead body. So Joseph had to act quickly in all that he did.
Examples of other headings for this section are:
The Burial of Jesus (GNT)
Jesus Is Buried (CEV)
Joseph buried Jesus’ body
Jesus’ corpse was placed in a burial cave
Parallel passages for this section are found in Matthew 27:57–61, Mark 15:42–47, and John 19:38–42.
Verses 50–51 give background information about Joseph and about his relationship to the Jewish Council. In some languages it may be more natural to arrange the information in a different order. See the General Comment on 23:50–51 at the end of 23:51c for examples of how to reorder these verses.
Now there was a Council member named Joseph,
¶ There was there a member of the high court of the Jewish people, whose name was Joseph.
¶ At that time a man named Joseph, one of the Jewish leaders/elders, was there,
Now there was a Council member named Joseph: This clause introduces Joseph. The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Now is more literally “and see/look!” It is a way to introduce Joseph as an important person in the story of Jesus. Some other ways to introduce him are:
And listen! there was a man named Joseph.
There was also a man called Joseph there.
Introduce Joseph in a natural way in your language.
a Council member named Joseph: The phrase a Council member describes Joseph. Joseph was one of the leaders who met together as the Jewish Council. In some languages it may be more natural to use a complete clause. For example:
a man named Joseph…. He was a member of the council (ESV)
Council: The Council made many decisions for the Jewish people. It was also the highest court among them. It was discussed in the note on 22:66a–b. See how you translated “the council” in 22:66.
a good and righteous man,
He was a good man who did what is right.
but he was a truly good person.
This part of the verse praises Joseph as a good man. This seems to contrast with the statement in 23:50a that he was a member of the Council, since the Council condemned Jesus. Verse 51 explains that Joseph did not agree that Jesus should be condemned. In some languages it may be natural to use a contrast connector here in 23:50b. Connect the verses in a natural way in your language.
a good and righteous man: The phrase a good and righteous man indicates that Joseph was a good person who did what is right. The Greek word that the BSB translates as righteous means “righteous, just.” Some other ways to translate a good and righteous man are:
He was a good man and his conduct was straight/righteous.Yakan back translation on TW.
He was a good person, and he did what was right
In this context, the words good and righteous have similar meanings. In some languages it may be more natural to translate them with a single phrase. For example:
a truly good man
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἰδοὺ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ἀνήρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσήφ Βουλευτής ὑπάρχων καί ἀνήρ ἀγαθός καί δίκαιος)
Luke uses the term behold to call the reader’s attention to what he is about to say. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use here.
Note 2 topic: writing-participants
ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσὴφ, βουλευτὴς ὑπάρχων, ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ἀνήρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσήφ Βουλευτής ὑπάρχων καί ἀνήρ ἀγαθός καί δίκαιος)
Luke uses this phrase to introduce a new character into the story. If your language has its own way of doing that, you could use it here in your translation. It may be helpful to make this more than one sentence. Alternate translation: [there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good and righteous man]
Note 3 topic: translate-names
Ἰωσὴφ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ἀνήρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσήφ Βουλευτής ὑπάρχων καί ἀνήρ ἀγαθός καί δίκαιος)
Joseph is the name of a man.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
βουλευτὴς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ἀνήρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσήφ Βουλευτής ὑπάρχων καί ἀνήρ ἀγαθός καί δίκαιος)
The term council refers implicitly to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council whose name Luke provides in [22:66](../22/66.md). You could use that name here. If so, see how you translated this phrase there.
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἰδού ἀνήρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσήφ Βουλευτής ὑπάρχων καί ἀνήρ ἀγαθός καί δίκαιος)
The terms good and righteous mean similar things. Luke may be using repetition for emphasis. Alternate translation: [a very upright man]

Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 22-23; John 13-19
On the Thursday before he was crucified, Jesus had arranged to share the Passover meal with his disciples in an upper room, traditionally thought to be located in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem. After they finished the meal, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus often met with his disciples. There Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ own disciples, betrayed him to soldiers sent from the High Priest, and they took Jesus to the High Priest’s residence. In the morning the leading priests and teachers of the law put Jesus on trial and found him guilty of blasphemy. The council sent Jesus to stand trial for treason before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who resided at the Praetorium while in Jerusalem. The Praetorium was likely located at the former residence of Herod the Great, who had died over 30 years earlier. When Pilate learned that Jesus was from Galilee, he sent him to Herod Antipas, who had jurisdiction over Galilee. But when Jesus gave no answer to Herod’s many questions, Herod and his soldiers sent him back to Pilate, who conceded to the people’s demands that Jesus be crucified. Jesus was forced to carry his cross out of the city gate to Golgotha, meaning Skull Hill, referring to what may have been a small unquarried hill in the middle of an old quarry just outside the gate. After Jesus was unable to carry his cross any further, a man named Simon from Cyrene was forced to carry it for him. There at Golgotha they crucified Jesus. After Jesus died, his body was hurriedly taken down before nightfall and placed in a newly cut, rock tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish high council. This tomb was likely located at the perimeter of the old quarry.