Gospel of Nicodemus, Part I: The Acts of Pilate 9

1And he called unto him Nicodemus and those twelve men which said that he was not born of fornication, and said unto them: What shall I do, for there riseth sedition among the people? They say unto him: We know not, let them see to it. Again Pilate called for all the multitude of the Jews and saith: Ye know that ye have a custom that at the feast of unleavened bread I should release unto you a prisoner. Now I have a prisoner under condemnation in the prison, a murderer, Barabbas by name, and this Jesus also which standeth before you, in whom I find no fault: Whom will ye that I release unto you? But they cried out: Barabbas. Pilate saith: What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ? The Jews say: Let him be crucified. But certain of the Jews answered: Thou art not a friend of Caesar’s if thou let this man go; for he called himself the Son of God and a king: thou wilt therefore have him for king, and not Caesar.

Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν Νικόδημον καὶ τοὺς δώδεκα ἄνδρας τοὺς εἰπόντας ὅτι οὐ γεγέννηται ἐκ πορνείας, λέγει αὐτοῖς· τί ποιήσω, ὅτι στάσις γίνεται ἐν τῷ λαῷ; λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· ἡμεῖς οὐκ οἴδαμεν· αὐτοὶ ὄψονται. πάλιν ὁ Πιλάτος προσκαλεσάμενος ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Ἰουδαίων λέγει· οἴδατε ὅτι συνήθεια ὑμῖν ἐστὶν κατὰ ἑορτὴν τῶν ἀζύμων ἕνα ἀπολύειν ὑμῖν δέσμιον. ἔχω ἕνα κατάδικον δέσμιον ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ φονέα λεγόμενον Βαραββᾶν, καὶ τοῦτον τὸν στήκοντα κατενώπιον ὑμῶν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, εἰς ὃν οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν εὑρίσκω ἐν αὐτῷ. τίνα θέλετε ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν; οἱ δὲ κράζουσιν· Βαραββᾶν. λέγει ὁ Πιλάτος· τί οὖν ποιήσω Ἰησοῦν τὸν λεγόμενον Χριστόν; λέγουσιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· σταυρωθήτω. τινές δὲ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀπεκρίθησαν· οὐκ εἶ φίλος τοῦ Καίσαρος ἐὰν τοῦτον ἀπολύσεις, ὅτι εἶπεν ἑαυτὸν υἱὸν θεοῦ καὶ βασιλέα· θέλεις οὖν τοῦτον βασιλέα καὶ οὐ Καίσαρα. (77451)

2And Pilate was wroth and said unto the Jews: Your nation is always seditious and ye rebel against your benefactors. The Jews say: Against what benefactors? Pilate saith: According as I have heard, your God brought you out of Egypt out of hard bondage, and led you safe through the sea as by dry land, and in the wilderness he nourished you with manna and gave you quails, and gave you water to drink out of a rock, and gave unto you a law. And in all these things ye provoked your God to anger, and sought out a molten calf, and angered your God and he sought to slay you: and Moses made supplication for you and ye were not put to death. And now ye do accuse me that I hate the king (emperor).

Θυμωθεὶς δὲ ὁ Πιλάτος λέγει πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους· ἀεὶ στασιαστόν τὸ ἔθνος ὑμῶν, καὶ τοῖς εὐεργέταις ὑμῶν ἀντιλέγετε. λέγουσιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· ποίοις εὐεργέταις; λέγει ὁ Πιλάτος· ὡς ἀκούω, ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ἀπὸ δουλείας σκληρᾶς ἐξήγαγεν ὑμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ διὰ θαλάσσης ἔσωσεν ὑμᾶς ὡς διὰ ξηρᾶς, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διέθρεψεν ὑμᾶς μάννα καὶ ὀρτυγομήτραν ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν, καὶ ἐκ πέτρας ὕδωρ ἐπότισεν ὑμᾶς, καὶ νόμον ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν· καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ὅλοις παρωργίσατε τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐζητήσατε μόσχον χωνευτόν. καὶ παροξύνατε τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐζήτησεν ἀποκτεῖναι ὑμᾶς· καὶ ἐλιτάνευσεν Μωϋσῆς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἐθανατώθητε. καὶ νῦν καταγγέλλετέ μου ὅτι βασιλέα μισῶ. (62422)

3And he rose up from the judgement-seat and sought to go forth. And the Jews cried out, saying: We know our king, even Caesar and not Jesus. For indeed the wise men brought gifts from the east unto him as unto a king, and when Herod heard from the wise men that a king was born, he sought to slay him, and when his father Joseph knew that, he took him and his mother and they fled into Egypt. And when Herod heard it he destroyed the children of the Hebrews that were born in Bethlehem.

Ἀναστὰς δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος ἐζήτει ἐξελθεῖν. καὶ κράζουσιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι λέγοντες· ἡμεῖς βασιλέα οἴδαμεν τὸν Καίσαρα καὶ οὐ τὸν Ἰησοῦν. καὶ γὰρ οἱ μάγοι προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν δῶρα ὡς βασιλεῖ· καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ Ἡρώδης παρὰ τῶν μάγων ὅτι βασιλεὺς ἐγεννήθη, ἐζήτησεν τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτόν. γνοὺς δὲ αὐτοῦ ὁ πατὴρ Ἰωσὴφ παρέλαβεν αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔφυγον εἰς Αἴγυπτον· καὶ ἀκούσας Ἡρώδης ἀπώλεσεν τοὺς παῖδας τῶν Ἑβραίων τοὺς γεννηθέντας ἐν Βηθλεέμ. (40273)

4And when Pilate heard these words he was afraid. And Pilate silenced the multitude, because they cried still , and said unto them: So, then, this is he whom Herod sought? The Jews say: Yea, this is he. And Pilate took water and washed his hands before the sun, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man: see ye to it. Again the Jews cried out: His blood be upon us and upon our children.

Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Πιλάτος τοὺς λόγους τούτους ἐφοβήθη. καὶ κατασιγήσας ὁ Πιλάτος τοὺς ὄχλους, ὅτι ἔκραζον, λέγει αὐτοῖς· ὥστε οὗτός ἐστιν ὃν ἐζήτει Ἡρώδης; λέγουσιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· ναί, οὗτός ἐστιν. καὶ λαβὼν ὕδωρ ὁ Πιλάτος ἀπενίψατο τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἀπέναντι τοῦ ἡλίου λέγων· ἀθῷός εἰμι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ δικαίου τούτου· ὑμεῖς ὄψεσθε. πάλιν κράζουσιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ὅτι τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν. (41790)

5Then Pilate commanded the veil to be drawn before the judgement-seat whereon he sat, and saith unto Jesus: Thy nation hath convicted thee (accused thee) as being a king: therefore have I decreed that thou shouldest first be scourged according to the law of the pious emperors, and thereafter hanged upon the cross in the garden wherein thou wast taken: and let Dysmas and Gestas the two malefactors be crucified with thee.

Τότε ἐκέλευσεν ὁ Πιλάτος τὸν βῆλον ἑλκυσθῆναι τοῦ βήματος οὗ ἐκαθέζετο, καὶ λέγει τῷ Ἰησοῦ· τὸ ἔθνος τὸ σὸν κατήλεγξέ σε ὡς βασιλέα· διὰ τοῦτο ἀπεφηνάμην πρῶτον φραγελλοῦσθαί σε διὰ τὸν θεσμὸν τῶν εὐσεβῶν βασιλέων, καὶ τότε ἀναρτᾶσθαι ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐν τῷ κήπῳ ὅπου ἐπιάσθης· καὶ Δυσμᾶς καὶ Γέστας οἱ δύο κακοῦργοι συσταυρωθήτωσάν σοι. (34109)