The Pioneer Bears Our Sins
He himself carried our sins in his body up onto the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live to righteousness. By his wound you were healed.
*Xylon* is translated "tree," as the Pioneer Translation consistently does, to preserve the raw physical and theological resonance of the word — wood or a living tree — rather than the conventional "cross." *Apogenomenoi* (having died away from, separated from) is rendered "having died to sins" to capture the sense of departure or separation from sins, not merely abstaining from them. *Mōlōpi* is singular — "wound" or "bruise" — rendered literally in the singular as the source text has it, echoing Isaiah 53:5 without harmonising the grammar.
Berean Standard Bible
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24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the ξύλον · xylonGreek word meaning wood or tree. Peter and Paul's preferred term — Acts 5:30, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24., so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
King James Version
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24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the ξύλον · xylonGreek word meaning wood or tree. Peter and Paul's preferred term — Acts 5:30, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24., that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Goodspeed New Testament
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24He carried the burden of our sins in his own body on the cross, in order that we might die to sin and live for uprightness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Translation for Translators
T4T was designed as a tool for Bible translators, not as a devotional text. It makes implicit meaning explicit and flags figurative language with abbreviations. Gold [brackets] indicate translation notes. ◄Triangles► mark alternative renderings.Read more about how to read T4T →BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
24He himself endured physically the punishment for our sins when he died on the σταυρός · staurosPrimary classical Greek meaning: upright stake or pole. Liddell-Scott-Jones lexicon, Oxford., in order that we would stop sinning (OR, no longer respond to sinful desires) and start living righteous lives.It is because he was wounded {they wounded him} that your souls have been saved [MET]MetaphorT4T flags this as figurative language — the meaning is not literal. The translator should find a natural equivalent metaphor in their target language. from being sinful, as people’s bodies are healed from being sick.
Berean Standard Bible
Goodspeed New Testament
BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the ξύλον · xylonGreek word meaning wood or tree. Peter and Paul's preferred term — Acts 5:30, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24., so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
He carried the burden of our sins in his own body on the cross, in order that we might die to sin and live for uprightness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Berean Standard Bible
Goodspeed New Testament
King James Version
BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the ξύλον · xylonGreek word meaning wood or tree. Peter and Paul's preferred term — Acts 5:30, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24., so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
He carried the burden of our sins in his own body on the cross, in order that we might die to sin and live for uprightness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the ξύλον · xylonGreek word meaning wood or tree. Peter and Paul's preferred term — Acts 5:30, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24., that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
SBL
24
ὃς who ὅς hós probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article G3588 (ὁ)); the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, τὰς the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, ἁμαρτίας sin ἁμαρτία hamartía from G264 (ἁμαρτάνω); a sin (properly abstract) offence, sin(-ful) ἡμῶν I ἐγώ egṓ a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when emphatic) I, me αὐτὸς he αὐτός autós from the particle (perhaps akin to the base of G109 (ἀήρ) through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive ἀνήνεγκεν carry up ἀναφέρω anaphérō from G303 (ἀνά) and G5342 (φέρω); to take up (literally or figuratively) bear, bring (carry, lead) up, offer (up) ἐν in ἐν en a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (mediall τῷ the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, σώματι body σῶμα sōma from G4982 (σώζω); the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively bodily, body, αὐτοῦ he αὐτός autós from the particle (perhaps akin to the base of G109 (ἀήρ) through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive ἐπὶ on ἐπί epí a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution (w τὸ the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, ξύλον staff ξύλον xýlon from another form of the base of G3582 (ξέστης); timber (as fuel or material); by implication, a stick, club or xylon (tree / wood) or , ἵνα so that ἵνα hína probably from the same as the former part of G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ) (through the demonstrative idea; compare G3588 (ὁ)); in orde ταῖς the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, ἁμαρτίαις sin ἁμαρτία hamartía from G264 (ἁμαρτάνω); a sin (properly abstract) offence, sin(-ful) ἀπογενόμενοι go out of being ἀπογενόμενος apogenómenos past participle of a compound of G575 (ἀπό) and G1096 (γίνομαι); absent, i.e. deceased (figuratively, renounced) being d τῇ the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, δικαιοσύνῃ righteousness δικαιοσύνη dikaiosýnē from G1342 (δίκαιος); equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification righteousness ζήσωμεν live ζάω záō a primary verb; to live (literally or figuratively) life(-time), (a-)live(-ly), quick · οὗ not οὐ ou a primary word; the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb; no or not + long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), no τῷ the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, ⸀ μώλωπι bruise μώλωψ mṓlōps from (moil; probably akin to the base of G3433 (μόλις)) and probably (the face; from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)); a mole (black e ἰάθητε heal ἰάομαι iáomai middle voice of apparently a primary verb; to cure (literally or figuratively) heal, make whole .
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the xylon (tree / wood), so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
Where the New Testament uses stauros, this site shows the Greek word alongside its primary classical meaning in brackets. Stauros meant stake or upright stake in classical Greek — the Liddell-Scott-Jones lexicon (Oxford University Press) lists this as its first definition, citing Homer and Herodotus. The word itself does not specify material; wood is implied by the context of the era, not encoded in the Greek term.
Where the New Testament uses xylon, this site shows the Greek word alongside its meaning of tree or wood — xylon does specify material, and is already translated as tree by the NIV, ESV, and KJV in Acts 5:30, Galatians 3:13, and 1 Peter 2:24.
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Peter reaches for xylon here — the Greek word for wood or tree. This is a deliberate choice. Xylon carries the weight of Deuteronomy 21:23, where anyone hung on a tree bears a curse. Peter is connecting the wooden pole to the whole Hebrew tradition of cursed wood, and Paul does the same in Galatians 3:13.
Most readings treat this verse primarily as a transaction — sin transferred, penalty absorbed, debt cleared. That frame is not entirely wrong, but it flattens what Peter is actually doing, which is calling the community to follow a Pattern, not merely receive a benefit.
The Pioneer bore our sins in his body on the tree — genuinely, physically, creaturely. He was made of the same material as the people he was pioneering for. That is why his suffering heals. A being beyond suffering could not open this road. He walked through the curse so that the curse-bearing path becomes, for those who follow it, the path to righteousness. Costly love, not a formula, is what Peter is preaching.
The practical edge of this verse is the phrase "die to sin and live to righteousness." The healing is not finished at the tree. It begins there. You participate in it by walking the road he walked.
Note: BSB follows the xylon (tree / wood) reading of Acts 5:30. Goodspeed and T4T follow manuscript traditions or translation choices that render this passage with stauros (stake). The Greek New Testament has textual variants here — some manuscripts use xylon, others stauros. Peter's speech connects the execution to Deuteronomy 21:22-23 where anyone hung on a tree is under a curse — suggesting xylon was Peter's likely word, but the manuscript tradition is not uniform. The NIV, ESV, and KJV all translate this passage as tree, following the xylon reading.
Sit with this
What sin have you been holding onto precisely because you have reduced the tree to a transaction rather than a trailhead?
Sources
SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)License
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
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