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INRI
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INRI is an acronym of the Latin inscription IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM (Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum), which translates to English as "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." The Greek equivalent of this phrase appears in the New Testament of the Christian Bible in the Gospel of John .
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INRI is an acronym of the Latin inscription IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM (Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum), which translates to English as "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." The Greek equivalent of this phrase appears in the New Testament of the Christian Bible in the Gospel of John . Each of the other accounts of Jesus' death have a slightly different version for the inscription on Jesus' cross: Matthew , "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews"; Mark , "The King of the Jews"; and Luke , "This is the King of the Jews." Both Luke and John state it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, while Matthew and Mark describe it as the charge for crucifying Jesus.
In the Gospel of John , the inscription is explained:
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. (King James Version)
In Hebrew, the phrase is commonly rendered ???? ????? ???? ??????? (Yeshua` HaNotsri U'Melech HaYehudim ), which translates instead to "Jesus the Nazarite and King of the Jews." This version was most probably chosen in order that the acronym constitute the tetragrammaton name corresponding with Yahweh or Jehovah. It is possible that the titulus was written in Aramaic—the local vernacular—rather than Hebrew.
According to the Gospels, Pilate was loath to crucify Jesus without justification and used the standing Roman treaty with the Jews, which allowed them limited self-government (see Iudaea Province for details). When the Jewish priests complained that Jesus was interfering with that self-rule by claiming to be the Son of God (see Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus), Pilate challenged him to deny that he was the "King of the Jews." Jesus did not deny the accusation. Pilate's reluctance to crucify Jesus, according to Christian texts, stands in contrast to his willingness to crucify countless thousands of other Jews and Samaritans during his rule.
Some believe that the justification for his crucifixion was his claim to an illegitimate title. However, implies that Pilate rejected the charge that Jesus was crucified because he falsely claimed to be king and instead stated that Jesus was crucified because he was the King of the Jews. Thus, some Christians as early as the second century report that Pilate was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.
Western Christianity
Within Western Christianity, many crucifixes and other depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus include a stylized plaque or parchment, called a titulus, or title, bearing only the Latin letters INRI, occasionally carved directly into the cross and usually just above the head of Jesus.
Eastern Christianity
Many Eastern Orthodox Churches use the Greek letters INBI, based on the Greek version of the inscription, . Some representations change the title to "????" ("The King of the World"), or "????" ("The King of Glory"), not implying that this was really what was written but reflecting the tradition that icons depict the spiritual reality rather than the physical reality. Some other Orthodox Churches (such as the Romanian Orthodox Church) use the Latin version, INRI. The Russian Orthodox Church uses ???? (the Church Slavonic equivalent of INBI) or the abbreviation ??? ???? ("King of Glory").
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