Matthew 26
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Plot to Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished saying all this,(A) He told His disciples, 2 “You know[a] that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”(B)
3 Then the chief priests[b] and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,(C) 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill Him.(D) 5 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon,(E) a man who had a serious skin disease, 7 a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples(F) saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”
10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for Me. 11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.(G) 12 By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial. 13 I assure you: Wherever this gospel(H) is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14 Then(I) one of the Twelve—the man called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests(J) 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him.(K) 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Betrayal at the Passover
17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread(L) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?”
18 “Go into the city to a certain man,” He said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place[c] with My disciples.’”(M) 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, He was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, He said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me.”(N)
22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23 He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl—he will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him,(O) but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”(P)
“You have said it,” He told him.
The First Lord’s Supper
26 As they were eating,(Q) Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples,(R) and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.”(S) 27 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood that establishes the covenant;[d] it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.(T) 29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way[e] in My Father’s kingdom(U) with you.” 30 After singing psalms,[f] they went out to the Mount of Olives.(V)
Peter’s Denial Predicted
31 Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will run away[g] because of Me, for it is written:
32 But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”(X)
33 Peter told Him, “Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away!”
34 “I assure you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times!”(Y)
35 “Even if I have to die with You,” Peter told Him, “I will never deny You!” And all the disciples said the same thing.
The Prayer in the Garden
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,[i](Z) and He told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.(AA) 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow[j] —to the point of death.[k] Remain here and stay awake with Me.”(AB) 39 Going a little farther,[l] He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”(AC)
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you[m] stay awake with Me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this[n] cannot pass[o] unless I drink it, Your will be done.”(AD) 43 And He came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.[p]
44 After leaving them, He went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?[q] Look, the time is near. The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.(AE) 46 Get up; let’s go! See, My betrayer is near.”
The Judas Kiss
47 While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived.(AF) A large mob, with swords and clubs, was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 His betrayer had given them a sign: “The One I kiss, He’s the One; arrest Him!” 49 So he went right up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
50 “Friend,”(AG) Jesus asked him, “why have you come?”[r]
Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him. 51 At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his ear.(AH)
52 Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword.(AI) 53 Or do you think that I cannot call on My Father, and He will provide Me at once with more than 12 legions[s] of angels?(AJ) 54 How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled(AK) that say it must happen this way?”
55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal,[t] to capture Me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple complex, and you didn’t arrest Me.(AL) 56 But all this has happened so that the prophetic Scriptures[u](AM) would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples(AN) deserted Him and ran away.
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
57 Those(AO) who had arrested Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas(AP) the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. 58 Meanwhile, Peter was following Him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard.[v] He went in and was sitting with the temple police[w] to see the outcome.[x](AQ)
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death.(AR) 60 But they could not find any, even though many false witnesses(AS) came forward.[y] Finally, two[z] who came forward 61 stated, “This man said, ‘I can demolish God’s sanctuary(AT) and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 The high priest then stood up and said to Him, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?” 63 But(AU) Jesus kept silent.(AV) Then the high priest said to Him, “By the living God I place You under oath:(AW) tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God!”(AX)
64 “You have said it,”[aa] Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future[ab] you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”(AY)[ac]
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed!(AZ) Why do we still need witnesses? Look, now you’ve heard the blasphemy!(BA) 66 What is your decision?”[ad]
They answered, “He deserves death!”(BB) 67 Then they spit in His face(BC) and beat Him; others slapped Him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit You?”(BD)
Peter Denies His Lord
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.(BE) A servant approached him and she said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”
70 But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!”(BF)
72 And again he denied it with an oath,(BG) “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You certainly are one of them, since even your accent[ae] gives you away.”
74 Then he started to curse[af] and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, 75 and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”(BH) And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnotes
- Matthew 26:2 Or Know (as a command)
- Matthew 26:3 Other mss add and the scribes
- Matthew 26:18 Lit Passover with you
- Matthew 26:28 Other mss read new covenant
- Matthew 26:29 Or drink new wine; lit drink it new
- Matthew 26:30 Pss 113–118 were sung during and after the Passover meal.
- Matthew 26:31 Or stumble
- Matthew 26:31 Zch 13:7
- Matthew 26:36 A garden east of Jerusalem at the base of the Mount of Olives; Gethsemane = olive oil press
- Matthew 26:38 Or I am deeply grieved, or I am overwhelmed by sorrow; Ps 42:6,11; 43:5
- Matthew 26:38 Lit unto death
- Matthew 26:39 Other mss read Drawing nearer
- Matthew 26:40 = all 3 disciples because the verb in Gk is pl
- Matthew 26:42 Other mss add cup
- Matthew 26:42 Other mss add from Me
- Matthew 26:43 Lit because their eyes were weighed down
- Matthew 26:45 Or Sleep on now and take your rest.
- Matthew 26:50 Or Jesus told him, “do what you have come for.” (as a statement)
- Matthew 26:53 A Roman legion contained up to 6,000 soldiers.
- Matthew 26:55 Lit as against a criminal
- Matthew 26:56 Or the Scriptures of the prophets
- Matthew 26:58 Or high priest’s palace
- Matthew 26:58 Or the officers, or the servants
- Matthew 26:58 Lit end
- Matthew 26:60 Other mss add they found none
- Matthew 26:60 Other mss add false witnesses
- Matthew 26:64 Or That is true, an affirmative oath; Mt 27:11; Mk 15:2
- Matthew 26:64 Lit you, from now
- Matthew 26:64 Ps 110:1; Dn 7:13
- Matthew 26:66 Lit What does it seem to you?
- Matthew 26:73 Or speech
- Matthew 26:74 To call down curses on himself if what he said weren’t true
Matthew 26
New Living Translation
The Plot to Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man[a] will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, 4 plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. 7 While he was eating,[b] a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.
8 The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. 9 “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? 11 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. 12 She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests 15 and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
The Last Supper
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
18 “As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.
20 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table[c] with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
22 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
23 He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. 24 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”
25 Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?”
And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant[d] between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. 29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,
‘God will strike[e] the Shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”
33 Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
35 “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away[f] unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”
Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested
47 And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. 48 The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” 49 So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.
50 Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”
Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51 But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.
52 “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. 53 Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands[g] of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? 54 But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”
55 Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. 56 But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus before the Council
57 Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered. 58 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end.
59 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council[h] were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death. 60 But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally, two men came forward 61 who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand[i] and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[j]
65 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your verdict?”
“Guilty!” they shouted. “He deserves to die!”
67 Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him, 68 jeering, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?”
Peter Denies Jesus
69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.[k]”
72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
73 A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”
74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
Footnotes
- 26:2 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 26:7 Or reclining.
- 26:20 Or Jesus reclined.
- 26:28 Some manuscripts read the new covenant.
- 26:31 Greek I will strike. Zech 13:7.
- 26:42 Greek If this cannot pass.
- 26:53 Greek twelve legions.
- 26:59 Greek the Sanhedrin.
- 26:64a Greek seated at the right hand of the power. See Ps 110:1.
- 26:64b See Dan 7:13.
- 26:71 Or Jesus the Nazarene.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
