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Matthew 26:51-75
New King James Version
Matthew 26:51-75
New King James Version
51 And suddenly, (A)one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, (B)for all who take the sword will [a]perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with (C)more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, (D)that it must happen thus?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the (E)Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then (F)all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin(G)
57 (H)And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 But (I)Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.
59 Now the chief priests, [b]the elders, and all the council sought (J)false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, 60 [c]but found none. Even though (K)many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last (L)two [d]false witnesses came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, (M)‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”
62 (N)And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 63 But (O)Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, (P)“I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, (Q)hereafter you will see the Son of Man (R)sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 (S)Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His (T)blasphemy! 66 What do you think?”
They answered and said, (U)“He is deserving of death.”
67 (V)Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and (W)others struck Him with [e]the palms of their hands, 68 saying, (X)“Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”
Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps Bitterly(Y)
69 (Z)Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”
71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”
73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your (AA)speech betrays you.”
74 Then (AB)he began to [f]curse and [g]swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, (AC)“Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 26:52 M die
- Matthew 26:59 NU omits the elders
- Matthew 26:60 NU but found none, even though many false witnesses came forward.
- Matthew 26:60 NU omits false witnesses
- Matthew 26:67 Or rods,
- Matthew 26:74 call down curses
- Matthew 26:74 Swear oaths
Matthew 26:51-75
New International Version
Matthew 26:51-75
New International Version
51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword,(A) drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.(B)
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.(C) 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?(D) 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled(E) that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching,(F) and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”(G) Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin(H)
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas(I) the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest.(J) He entered and sat down with the guards(K) to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin(L) were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses(M) came forward.
Finally two(N) came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”(O)
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.(P)
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath(Q) by the living God:(R) Tell us if you are the Messiah,(S) the Son of God.”(T)
64 “You have said so,”(U) Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One(V) and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[a](W)
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes(X) and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,”(Y) they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.(Z) Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”(AA)
Peter Disowns Jesus(AB)
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”(AC) And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnotes
- Matthew 26:64 See Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:13.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.