Matthew 27
Expanded Bible
Jesus Is Taken to Pilate(A)
27 Early the next morning, all the ·leading [T chief] priests and elders of the people ·decided that Jesus should die [or met together to plan Jesus’ death]. 2 They ·tied [bound] him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.
Judas Kills Himself
3 Judas, the one who had ·given [betrayed] Jesus to his enemies, saw that ·they had decided to kill Jesus [Jesus had been condemned]. Then he was ·very sorry [filled with remorse] for what he had done. So he took the thirty silver coins back to the leading [T chief] priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I sinned; I ·handed over to you [betrayed] ·an innocent man [L innocent blood].”
The leaders answered, “What ·is that to us [do we care]? That’s your ·problem, not ours [responsibility; concern].”
5 So Judas threw the ·money [silver coins] into the ·Temple [sanctuary]. Then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The ·leading [T chief] priests picked up the silver coins in the Temple and said, “·Our law does not allow us [or It is not right] to ·keep [put] this money ·with the Temple money [in the Temple treasury], because it ·has paid for a man’s death [is blood money; L is the price of blood].” 7 So they decided to use the coins to buy ·Potter’s Field [or the potter’s field] as a place to bury ·strangers [or foreigners]. 8 That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood. 9 So what Jeremiah the prophet had said ·came true [was fulfilled]: “They took thirty ·silver coins [T pieces of silver]. That is ·how little the Israelites thought he was worth [or the price at which he was valued by the Israelites; or the value of a man with a price on his head among the Israelites; Jer. 18:2–3; 19:1–13; 32:5–15; Zech. 11:12–13]. 10 They used those thirty silver coins to buy ·Potter’s Field [or the potter’s field], as the Lord commanded me.”
Pilate Questions Jesus(B)
11 Jesus stood before Pilate the governor, and Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “·Those are your words [It is as you say; L You say so; C an indirect affirmation].”
12 When the ·leading [T chief] priests and the elders accused Jesus, he ·said nothing [did not answer].
13 So Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear them accusing you of ·all these [so many] things?”
14 But Jesus ·said nothing in answer to Pilate [did not answer a single charge], and ·Pilate [L the governor] was very ·surprised [amazed] at this.
Pilate Tries to Free Jesus(C)
15 Every year at the ·time of Passover [festival/feast] the governor would free [L for the crowd] one prisoner whom the people chose. 16 At that time there was a man in prison, named Barabbas,[a] who was ·known to be very bad [well known; notorious]. 17 When the people gathered, Pilate said, “Whom do you want me to set free: Barabbas[b] or Jesus who is called the ·Christ [Messiah]?” 18 [L For] Pilate knew that they turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.
19 While Pilate was sitting there on the judge’s seat [C a special seat for speeches or judicial pronouncements], his wife sent this message to him: “·Don’t do anything to [or Have nothing to do with] that man, because he is ·innocent [righteous]. Today I had a dream about him, and it ·troubled me very much [caused me great pain/anguish].”
20 But the ·leading [T chief] priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be ·killed [executed].
21 Pilate said, “Which of these two do you want me to set free for you?”
The people answered, “Barabbas.”
22 Pilate asked, “So what should I do with Jesus, the one called the ·Christ [Messiah]?”
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 Pilate asked, “Why? What ·wrong [crime; evil] has he done?”
But they shouted louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he ·could do nothing about this [was getting nowhere; was gaining nothing] and that a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am ·not guilty [innocent] of this man’s ·death [L blood]. ·You are the ones who are causing it [It is your responsibility now; or Take care of it yourselves]!”
25 All the people answered, “·We and our children will be responsible for his death [L His blood be on us and on our children].”
26 Then he set Barabbas free. But he had Jesus ·beaten with whips [scourged; flogged] and handed over to the soldiers to be crucified.
27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the ·governor’s palace [fortress; headquarters; L Praetorium], and ·they all gathered around him [or the whole regiment/company/cohort was assembled; C a cohort was about five hundred soldiers; here it may mean those of the cohort on duty]. 28 They ·took off his clothes [stripped him] and put a ·red [scarlet] robe on him [C probably a scarlet military coat, whose color resembled purple, the color of royalty]. 29 Using thorny branches, they made a crown, put it on his head, and put a ·stick [reed; staff] in his right hand [C as a scepter]. Then the soldiers ·bowed [kneeled] before Jesus and ·made fun of [mocked] him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat on Jesus. Then they took his ·stick [reed; staff] and began to beat him on the head. 31 After they ·finished [had mocked him], the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
Jesus Is Crucified(D)
32 ·As the soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus [L As they went out], they ·met [found; came across] a man from Cyrene [C a city in northern Africa, in present-day Libya], named Simon, and forced him to carry the cross for Jesus. 33 They all came to the place called Golgotha, which means [C in Aramaic] the Place of the Skull. 34 ·The soldiers [L They; C this could be the soldiers or the women of Jerusalem] gave Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink [C the gall was either a sedative or further mockery, making the wine bitter; Ps. 69:21; Prov. 31:6]. He tasted the wine but refused to drink it. 35 When the soldiers had crucified him, they threw lots [C similar to dice] to ·decide who would get [L divide up] his clothes[c] [Ps. 22:18]. 36 The soldiers sat there and ·continued watching [kept guard over] him. 37 They put a sign above Jesus’ head with the charge against him. It said: this is jesus, the king of the jews. 38 Two ·robbers [rebels; revolutionaries; C the term “robber” was used by the Romans of insurrectionists] were crucified beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left [Is. 53:12]. 39 People walked by and ·insulted [defamed; slandered; C the same Greek word used to “blaspheme”] Jesus and shook their heads [C a gesture of derision; Ps. 22:7], 40 saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross if you are really the Son of God!”
41 The ·leading [T chief] priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also ·making fun of [mocking] Jesus. 42 They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He says he is the king of Israel! If he is the king, let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God, so let God ·save [rescue; deliver] him now, if God really wants him [Ps. 22:8]. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And in the same way, the robbers [rebels; revolutionaries; v. 38] who were being crucified beside Jesus also ·insulted [ridiculed; taunted] him.
Jesus Dies(E)
45 At ·noon [L the sixth hour] the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted ·for three hours [L until the ninth hour]. 46 About ·three o’clock [L the ninth hour] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you ·abandoned [forsaken] me [Ps. 22:1; C these words are a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic]?”
47 Some of the people standing there who heard this said, “He is calling Elijah.” [C The prophet Elijah, associated with the end times (Mal. 4:5), was also viewed as a helper in time of need.]
48 ·Quickly [At once] one of them ran and got a sponge and filled it with ·vinegar [or sour wine; C an inexpensive drink used by soldiers and slaves] and tied it to a ·stick [reed] and gave it to Jesus to drink [Ps. 69:21]. 49 But the others said, “·Don’t bother him [Wait; Leave him alone]. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”
50 But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and ·died [L released his spirit].
51 ·Then [T And behold] the curtain in the Temple [C dividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple] was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom [C representing new access to the presence of God, and perhaps God’s judgment against the Temple leadership]. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. 52 The graves opened, and many [L of the bodies] of ·God’s people [the saints] who had ·died [L fallen asleep] were raised from the dead. 53 They came out of the graves after ·Jesus was raised from the dead [L his resurrection] and went into the holy city [C Jerusalem], where they appeared to many people.
54 When the ·army officer [centurion] and ·the soldiers [L those with him] guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened, they were ·very frightened [filled with awe] and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
55 Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to ·help [provide support for; minister to] him were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. 56 Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were ·there [among them].
Jesus Is Buried(F)
57 That evening a rich man named Joseph, a ·follower [disciple] of Jesus from the town of Arimathea, ·came to Jerusalem [or came forward; L came]. 58 Joseph went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. So Pilate gave orders for ·the soldiers to give it [L it to be given] to Joseph. 59 Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 He put Jesus’ body in his own new tomb that he had cut out of a wall of rock, and he rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb. Then Joseph went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting ·near [across from; opposite] the tomb.
The Tomb of Jesus Is Guarded
62 The next day, the day after Preparation Day, the ·leading [T chief] priests and the Pharisees ·went to [assembled/gathered before] Pilate. 63 They said, “Sir, we remember that while that ·liar [deceiver; impostor] was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be ·guarded closely [secured; sealed] till the third day. Otherwise, his ·followers [disciples] might come and steal the body and tell people that he has risen from the dead. ·That lie [L The last deception] would be even worse than the first one.”
65 Pilate said, “·Take some soldiers [or You have a guard; C the phrase could mean Pilate sends Roman soldiers or that the leaders should use their own temple police] and go ·guard [secure] the tomb the best way you know.” 66 So they all went to the tomb and ·made it safe from thieves [secured it] ·by sealing [or by placing a wax seal on] the stone in the entrance and putting soldiers there to guard it.
Footnotes
- Matthew 27:16 Barabbas Some Greek copies read “Jesus Barabbas.”
- Matthew 27:17 Barabbas Some Greek copies read “Jesus Barabbas.”
- Matthew 27:35 clothes Some Greek copies continue, “So what God said through the prophet came true, ‘They divided my clothes among them, and they threw lots for my clothing.’” See Psalm 22:18.
Matthew 27
Complete Jewish Bible
27 Early in the morning, all the head cohanim and elders met to plan how to bring about Yeshua’s death. 2 Then they put him in chains, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Y’hudah, who had betrayed him, saw that Yeshua had been condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the head cohanim and elders, 4 saying, “I sinned in betraying an innocent man to death.” “What is that to us?” they answered. “That’s your problem.” 5 Hurling the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, he left; then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The head cohanim took the silver coins and said, “It is prohibited to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use it to buy the potter’s field as a cemetery for foreigners. 8 This is how it came to be called the Field of Blood, a name it still bears. 9 Then what Yirmeyahu the prophet spoke was fulfilled, “And they took the thirty silver coins, which was the price the people of Isra’el had agreed to pay for him, 10 and used them to buy the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.”[a]
11 Meanwhile, Yeshua was brought before the governor, and the governor put this question to him: “Are you the King of the Jews?” Yeshua answered, “The words are yours.” 12 But when he was accused by the head cohanim and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear all these charges they are making against you?” 14 But to the governor’s great amazement, he did not say a single word in reply to the accusations.
15 It was the governor’s custom during a festival to set free one prisoner, whomever the crowd asked for. 16 There was at that time a notorious prisoner being held, named Yeshua Bar-Abba. 17 So when a crowd had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to set free for you? Bar-Abba? or Yeshua, called ‘the Messiah’?” 18 For he understood that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19 While he was sitting in court, his wife sent him a message, “Leave that innocent man alone. Today in a dream I suffered terribly because of him.” 20 But the head cohanim persuaded the crowd to ask for Bar-Abba’s release and to have Yeshua executed on the stake. 21 “Which of the two do you want me to set free for you?” asked the governor. “Bar-Abba!” they answered. 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Yeshua, called ‘the Messiah’?” They all said, “Put him to death on the stake! Put him to death on the stake!” 23 When he asked, “Why? What crime has he committed?” they shouted all the louder, “Put him to death on the stake!” 24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “My hands are clean of this man’s blood; it’s your responsibility.” 25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released to them Bar-Abba; but Yeshua, after having him whipped, he handed over to be executed on a stake.
27 The governor’s soldiers took Yeshua into the headquarters building, and the whole battalion gathered around him. 28 They stripped off his clothes and put on him a scarlet robe, 29 wove thorn-branches into a crown and put it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then they kneeled down in front of him and made fun of him: “Hail to the King of the Jews!” 30 They spit on him and used the stick to beat him about the head. 31 When they had finished ridiculing him, they took off the robe, put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be nailed to the execution-stake.
32 As they were leaving, they met a man from Cyrene named Shim‘on; and they forced him to carry Yeshua’s execution-stake. 33 When they arrived at a place called Gulgolta (which means “place of a skull”), 34 they gave him wine mixed with bitter gall to drink; but after tasting it, he would not drink it. 35 After they had nailed him to the stake, they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice. 36 Then they sat down to keep watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written notice stating the charge against him,
THIS IS YESHUA
THE KING OF THE JEWS
38 Then two robbers were placed on execution-stakes with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 People passing by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads[b] 40 and saying, “So you can destroy the Temple, can you, and rebuild it in three days? Save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the stake!” 41 Likewise, the head cohanim jeered at him, along with the Torah-teachers and elders, 42 “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” “So he’s King of Isra’el, is he? Let him come down now from the stake! Then we’ll believe him!” 43 “He trusted God? So, let him rescue him if he wants him![c] After all, he did say, ‘I’m the Son of God’!” 44 Even the robbers nailed up with him insulted him in the same way.
45 From noon until three o’clock in the afternoon, all the Land was covered with darkness. 46 At about three, Yeshua uttered a loud cry, “Eli! Eli! L’mah sh’vaktani? (My God! My God! Why have you deserted me?)”[d] 47 On hearing this, some of the bystanders said, “He’s calling for Eliyahu.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar, put it on a stick and gave it to him to drink.[e] 49 The rest said, “Wait! Let’s see if Eliyahu comes and rescues him.” 50 But Yeshua, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
51 At that moment the parokhet in the Temple was ripped in two from top to bottom; and there was an earthquake, with rocks splitting apart. 52 Also the graves were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life; 53 and after Yeshua rose, they came out of the graves and went into the holy city, where many people saw them. 54 When the Roman officer and those with him who were keeping watch over Yeshua saw the earthquake and what was happening, they were awestruck and said, “He really was a son of God.”
55 There were many women there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Yeshua from the Galil, helping him. 56 Among them were Miryam from Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov and Yosef, and the mother of Zavdai’s sons.
57 Towards evening, there came a wealthy man from Ramatayim named Yosef, who was himself a talmid of Yeshua. 58 He approached Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body, and Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 Yosef took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen sheet, 60 and laid it in his own tomb, which he had recently had cut out of the rock. After rolling a large stone in front of the entrance to the tomb, he went away. 61 Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam stayed there, sitting opposite the grave.
62 Next day, after the preparation, the head cohanim and the P’rushim went together to Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will be raised.’ 64 Therefore, order that the grave be made secure till the third day; otherwise the talmidim may come, steal him away and say to the people, ‘He was raised from the dead’; and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You may have your guard. Go and make the grave as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the grave secure by sealing the stone and putting the guard on watch.
Footnotes
- Matthew 27:10 Zechariah 11:12–13, where Hebrew yotzer means “treasury”; here it means “potter” (see v. 7).
- Matthew 27:39 Psalm 22:8(7)
- Matthew 27:43 Psalm 22:9(8)
- Matthew 27:46 Psalm 22:2(1)
- Matthew 27:48 Psalm 69:22(21)
Matthew 27
Good News Translation
Jesus Is Taken to Pilate(A)
27 Early in the morning all the chief priests and the elders made their plans against Jesus to put him to death. 2 They put him in chains, led him off, and handed him over to Pilate, the Roman governor.
The Death of Judas(B)
3 (C)When Judas, the traitor, learned that Jesus had been condemned, he repented and took back the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned by betraying an innocent man to death!” he said.
“What do we care about that?” they answered. “That is your business!”
5 Judas threw the coins down in the Temple and left; then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “This is blood money, and it is against our Law to put it in the Temple treasury.” 7 After reaching an agreement about it, they used the money to buy Potter's Field, as a cemetery for foreigners. 8 That is why that field is called “Field of Blood” to this very day.
9 (D)Then what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true: “They took the thirty silver coins, the amount the people of Israel had agreed to pay for him, 10 and used the money to buy the potter's field, as the Lord had commanded me.”
Pilate Questions Jesus(E)
11 Jesus stood before the Roman governor, who questioned him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked.
“So you say,” answered Jesus. 12 But he said nothing in response to the accusations of the chief priests and elders.
13 So Pilate said to him, “Don't you hear all these things they accuse you of?”
14 But Jesus refused to answer a single word, with the result that the Governor was greatly surprised.
Jesus Is Sentenced to Death(F)
15 At every Passover Festival the Roman governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the crowd asked for. 16 At that time there was a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free for you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus called the Messiah?” 18 He knew very well that the Jewish authorities had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.
19 While Pilate was sitting in the judgment hall, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, because in a dream last night I suffered much on account of him.”
20 The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask Pilate to set Barabbas free and have Jesus put to death. 21 But Pilate asked the crowd, “Which one of these two do you want me to set free for you?”
“Barabbas!” they answered.
22 “What, then, shall I do with Jesus called the Messiah?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they all answered.
23 But Pilate asked, “What crime has he committed?”
Then they started shouting at the top of their voices: “Crucify him!”
24 (G)When Pilate saw that it was no use to go on, but that a riot might break out, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am not responsible for the death of this man! This is your doing!”
25 The whole crowd answered, “Let the responsibility for his death fall on us and on our children!”
26 Then Pilate set Barabbas free for them; and after he had Jesus whipped, he handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus(H)
27 Then Pilate's soldiers took Jesus into the governor's palace, and the whole company gathered around him. 28 They stripped off his clothes and put a scarlet robe on him. 29 Then they made a crown out of thorny branches and placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand; then they knelt before him and made fun of him. “Long live the King of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spat on him, and took the stick and hit him over the head. 31 When they had finished making fun of him, they took the robe off and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Jesus Is Crucified(I)
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha, which means, “The Place of the Skull.” 34 (J)There they offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter substance; but after tasting it, he would not drink it.
35 (K)They crucified him and then divided his clothes among them by throwing dice. 36 After that they sat there and watched him. 37 Above his head they put the written notice of the accusation against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then they crucified two bandits with Jesus, one on his right and the other on his left.
39 (L)People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus: 40 (M)“You were going to tear down the Temple and build it back up in three days! Save yourself if you are God's Son! Come on down from the cross!”
41 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and the elders made fun of him: 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Isn't he the king of Israel? If he will come down off the cross now, we will believe in him! 43 (N)He trusts in God and claims to be God's Son. Well, then, let us see if God wants to save him now!”
44 Even the bandits who had been crucified with him insulted him in the same way.
The Death of Jesus(O)
45 At noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours. 46 (P)At about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”
47 Some of the people standing there heard him and said, “He is calling for Elijah!” 48 (Q)One of them ran up at once, took a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, put it on the end of a stick, and tried to make him drink it.
49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah is coming to save him!”
50 Jesus again gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
51 (R)Then the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart, 52 the graves broke open, and many of God's people who had died were raised to life. 53 They left the graves, and after Jesus rose from death, they went into the Holy City, where many people saw them.
54 When the army officer and the soldiers with him who were watching Jesus saw the earthquake and everything else that happened, they were terrified and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
55 (S)There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee and helped him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the wife of Zebedee.
The Burial of Jesus(T)
57 When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea arrived; his name was Joseph, and he also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be given to Joseph. 59 So Joseph took it, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, 60 and placed it in his own tomb, which he had just recently dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there, facing the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees met with Pilate 63 (U)and said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘I will be raised to life three days later.’ 64 Give orders, then, for his tomb to be carefully guarded until the third day, so that his disciples will not be able to go and steal the body, and then tell the people that he was raised from death. This last lie would be even worse than the first one.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate told them; “go and make the tomb as secure as you can.”
66 So they left and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and leaving the guard on watch.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
