John 19 · Verse 22

John 19:22

Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
John 19:22, King James Version

John 19:22 in other translations

BSBPilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
WEBPilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
ASVPilate answered, What I have written I have written.
YLTPilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.'
DARBYPilate answered, What I have written, I have written.
BBEBut Pilate made answer, What I have put in writing will not be changed.
WebsterPilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

What does John 19:22 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 19:19-22

19-22. Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross ... Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews ... and it was written in Hebrew--or Syro-Chaldaic, the language of the country. and Greek--the current language. and Latin--the official language. These were the chief languages of the earth, and this secured that all spectators should be able to read it. Stung by this, the Jewish ecclesiastics entreat that it may be so…

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Barnes' Notes
Verse 22. What I have written, &c. This declaration implied that he would make no change. He was impatient, and weary of their solicitations. He had yielded to them contrary to the convictions of his own conscience, and he now declared his purpose to yield no farther.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 22 What I have written, I have written - That is, I will not alter what I have written. The Roman laws forbad the sentence to be altered when once pronounced; and as this inscription was considered as the sentence pronounced against our Lord, therefore, it could not be changed: but this form of speech is common in the Jewish writings, and means simply, what is done shall continue. Pilate seems to speak prophetically. This is the king of the Jews: they shall have no other Messiah for ever.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 19:19-30

Here are some remarkable circumstances of Jesus' death, more fully related than before. Pilate would not gratify the chief priests by allowing the writing to be altered; which was doubtless owing to a secret power of God upon his heart, that this statement of our Lord's character and authority might continue. Many things done by the Roman soldiers were fulfilments of the prophecies of the Old Testament. All things…

Read the full comment on John 19:19-30 →

John 19:22 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἀπεκρίθηapekrithēAnsweredG611
ὁho<the>G3588
Πιλᾶτος·PilatosPilate;G4091
ὃhoWhatG3739
γέγραφα,gegraphaI have written,G1125
γέγραφα.¶gegraphaI have written.G1125

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 19:22

  • Psalms 76:10

    Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.

  • John 19:12

    And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cesar.

  • Esther 4:16

    Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

  • Proverbs 8:29

    When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:

  • Psalms 65:7

    Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

  • Genesis 43:14

    And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
What.
12; Ps 65:7; 76:10; Pr 8:29

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 19:21

    Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.

  • John 19:22

    Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

  • John 19:23

    Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

Read all of John 19

John 19:22 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Respondió Pilato: Lo que he escrito, he escrito.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Pilate répondit: Ce que j’ai écrit, je l’ai écrit.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Pilatus antwortete: Was ich geschrieben habe, habe ich geschrieben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Respondit Pilatus: Quod scripsi, scripsi.