23:27a

A great number of people followed Him: This clause indicates that many people went along with Jesus. It does not imply that they were following him as disciples. Many of them may have come to watch the crucifixion because of curiosity or because they wanted to mock Jesus. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

A large crowd followed Jesus. (God’s Word)
-or-
And while they were taking Jesus, there were many people who went along.

23:27b

including women who kept mourning and wailing for Him: This part of the verse indicates that some women were also in the crowd walking with Jesus. These women were mourning and wailing because Jesus was going to be killed. Some other ways to translate it are:

among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him (Good News Translation)
-or-
including many grief-stricken women (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Some women were also following him. Those women cried and wept/wailed because of ⌊his coming death/execution⌋.

kept mourning and wailing for Him: The word mourning sometimes refers to using a specific action to express sorrow for someone. Here it is used in a general way to mean “mourned for” Jesus. The word wailing refers to expressing sorrow through words, for example, in a song, exclamation, or other lament. Some other ways to translate mourning and wailing for Him are:

• Translate both words in a general way that includes different types of mourning. For example:

mourned and lamented for him (New Jerusalem Bible)

• Translate one or both of the words with a specific action that expresses mourning in your culture. For example:

weeping and wailing for him (Good News Translation)
-or-
cried and sang funeral songs for him (God’s Word)

• Translate the phrase mourning and wailing as one action. For example:

mourning loudly/deeply for him (Translator’s Reference Translation)

Translate the phrase in a natural way in your language.

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