Judas’ Remorse

27 (A)Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him and led Him away, and (B)handed Him over to (C)Pilate the governor.

Then when (D)Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned (E)the thirty [a]pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? (F)You shall see to it yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into (G)the temple sanctuary and left; and (H)he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.” And they conferred together and [b]with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. (I)For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “(J)And [c]they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the One whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; 10 (K)and [d]they gave them for the Potters Field, just as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus before Pilate

11 (L)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the (M)King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, (N)It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, (O)He did not offer any answer. 13 Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?” 14 And still (P)He did not answer him in regard to even a single [e]charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.

15 (Q)Now at the Passover Feast the governor was accustomed to release for the [f]people any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus (R)who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was because of envy that [g]they had handed Him over.

19 And (S)while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that (T)righteous Man; for [h]last night I suffered greatly (U)in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to (V)ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death. 21 And the governor [i]said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus (W)who is called Christ?” They all *said, “[j]Crucify Him!” 23 But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “[k]Crucify Him!”

24 Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that (X)a riot was starting, he took water and (Y)washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of (Z)this Man’s blood; (AA)you yourselves shall see.” 25 And all the people replied, “(AB)His blood shall be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas [l]for them; but after having Jesus (AC)flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:3 Or silver shekels
  2. Matthew 27:7 Lit from them
  3. Matthew 27:9 Or I took; cf. Zech 11:13
  4. Matthew 27:10 Some early mss I gave
  5. Matthew 27:14 Lit word
  6. Matthew 27:15 Lit crowd
  7. Matthew 27:18 I.e., the Jewish leaders
  8. Matthew 27:19 Lit today
  9. Matthew 27:21 Lit answering, said to them
  10. Matthew 27:22 Lit Have Him crucified
  11. Matthew 27:23 Lit Have Him crucified
  12. Matthew 27:26 Or to them

Judas Hangs Himself

27 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed.(A) So they bound him, led him away and handed him over(B) to Pilate the governor.(C)

When Judas, who had betrayed him,(D) saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver(E) to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”(F)

So Judas threw the money into the temple(G) and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.(H)

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood(I) to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:(J) “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”[a](K)

Jesus Before Pilate(L)

11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”(M)

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.(N) 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”(O) 14 But Jesus made no reply,(P) not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner(Q) chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus[b] Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”(R) 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat,(S) his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent(T) man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream(U) because of him.”

20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.(V)

21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”(W) Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar(X) was starting, he took water and washed his hands(Y) in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”(Z) he said. “It is your responsibility!”(AA)

25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”(AB)

26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged,(AC) and handed him over to be crucified.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:10 See Zech. 11:12,13; Jer. 19:1-13; 32:6-9.
  2. Matthew 27:16 Many manuscripts do not have Jesus; also in verse 17.