What Does Mark 15:14 Mean in the King James?
Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The crowd’s answer to “What evil?” is excess: it intensifies the demand instead of naming a deed.
THE MEANING
Pilate asks what wrong Jesus has done, but the crowd names no deed; it only grows louder in demanding his crucifixion. The gap remains visible now: pressure can intensify without producing a reason.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that a louder demand proves a clearer charge: Pilate asks what wrong Jesus has done, and the answer is only a louder cry for crucifixion.
THE ROOT
περισσῶς
perissōs
GROWS FROM
περισσ-
periss-
beyond the usual measure; excessive, abundant
“more exceedingly” in this verse is perissōs. The word marks an escalation beyond measure: the cry does not answer Pilate’s question but overwhelms it with force. Its word family also carries the sense of abundance, showing the demand swelling where a reason ought to appear.
ALSO GROWS
perisseuō: to abound, overflow
περισσεύω
Its sense of increase echoes the crowd’s growing insistence.
perissoteros: greater, more abundant
περισσότερος
This comparative form makes the movement toward “more” explicit.
κακόν
kakon
GROWS FROM
κακ-
kak-
bad, harmful, wrong
“evil” in this verse is kakon. Kakon names something bad or harmful, but leaves the kind of wrong open; Pilate asks for a deed and receives none. The broad word makes the unanswered space in the exchange stand out: the execution demand does not identify what Jesus has done.
ALSO GROWS
kakia: evil, malice
κακία
This branch names harmful intent, but the crowd offers no such specific charge.
kakopoios: evildoer; one who does wrong
κακοποιός
This branch points toward a person who does harm, while Pilate’s question asks what harm Jesus has done.
THE PATTERN
When a demand for punishment grows louder than the case against someone, judgment bends under pressure.
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;THE THREAD
And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.Matthew repeats the same Greek word for “evil,” kakon, and preserves the same unanswered question. Across both accounts, the demand for crucifixion grows while no harmful deed is named.
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