⁶Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. ⁷One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. ⁸The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual. ⁹“Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. ¹⁰(For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) ¹¹But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. ¹²Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?” ¹³They shouted back, “Crucify him!” ¹⁴“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!” ¹⁵So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.