What Does Mark 15:2 Mean in the King James?
And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.
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
Jesus leaves the title with Pilate: the authority testing his kingship is the one speaking it aloud.
THE MEANING
The question asks whether rule can be reduced to a public title. Jesus turns the words back toward their speaker, so the words that test his identity also expose what Pilate is willing to say. Kingship remains present under accusation, though its form is not defined here.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse unsettles the belief that the one holding power controls the meaning of every title: Pilate’s own words carry the kingship he is examining.
THE ROOT
λέγεις
legeis
GROWS FROM
λεγ-
leg-
say, tell
“sayest” in this verse is legeis. The Greek keeps the act of saying in view: Jesus hands the naming back to Pilate. This word family also gives λόγος (logos), “word” or “account,” so the scene foregrounds who voices the claim as well as what is claimed.
ALSO GROWS
logos: word, message, account
λόγος
The title becomes a spoken claim whose source matters: Pilate is made to hear the words coming from his own mouth.
lexis: speech, wording, diction
λέξις
The verse draws attention to the wording itself, “Thou sayest it”, and to the person who speaks it.
βασιλεύς
basileus
GROWS FROM
βασιλευ-
basileu-
king; the related verb means to reign
The word family holds the king together with the act of reigning and the sphere of rule. The question reaches beyond a title to ask what governance is present, and by what authority.
ALSO GROWS
basileuō: reign, be king
βασιλεύω
The related verb turns the title into an active reality: kingship means ruling, not merely being called king.
basileia: kingdom, kingship, reign, governance
βασιλεία
The noun connects the king to the governance he embodies, widening the question beyond a political label.
THE PATTERN
A claim to kingship is exposed through who names the ruler and whose authority gives that name weight.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.THE THREAD
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.John repeats βασιλεύς (basileus), “king,” and preserves the same exchange: Jesus returns the title to the questioner. Then he opens the claim further by naming his purpose as bearing witness to truth.
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