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.^(A)

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath^(B) by the living God:^(C) Tell us if you are the Messiah,^(D) the Son of God.”^(E)

⁶⁴ “You have said so,”^(F) 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^(G) and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^[a](H)

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes^(I) 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,”^(J) they answered.

⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.^(K) Others slapped him ⁶⁸ and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”^(L)

Peter Disowns Jesus^(M)

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.”^(N) And he went outside and wept bitterly.

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.^{(O) 2} So they bound him, led him away and handed him over^(P) to Pilate the governor.^(Q)

³ When Judas, who had betrayed him,^(R) saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver^(S) to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”^(T)

⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple^(U) and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.^(V)

⁶ 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.” ⁷ So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸ That is why it has been called the Field of Blood^(W) to this day. ⁹ Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:^(X) “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.”^[b](Y)

Jesus Before Pilate^(Z)

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

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.^{(AB) 13} Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”^{(AC) 14} But Jesus made no reply,^(AD) 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^(AE) chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus^[c] 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?”^{(AF) 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,^(AG) his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent^(AH) man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream^(AI) because of him.”

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

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?”^(AK) 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^(AL) was starting, he took water and washed his hands^(AM) in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”^(AN) he said. “It is your responsibility!”^(AO)

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

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

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(AR)

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium^(AS) and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,^{(AT) 29} and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.^{(AU) 30} They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.^{(AV) 31} After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.^(AW)

The Crucifixion of Jesus^(AX)

³² As they were going out,^(AY) they met a man from Cyrene,^(AZ) named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.^{(BA) 33} They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).^{(BB) 34} There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall;^(BC) but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.^{(BD) 36} And sitting down, they kept watch^(BE) over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.

³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him,^(BF) one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads^{(BG) 40} and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,^(BH) save yourself!^(BI) Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”^{(BJ) 41} In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel!^(BK) Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe^(BL) in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him^(BM) now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus^(BN)

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness^(BO) came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[d] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[e](BP)

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar,^(BQ) put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.^(BR)

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple^(BS) was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split^{(BT) 52} and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[f] went into the holy city^(BU) and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding^(BV) Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”^(BW)

⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.^{(BX) 56} Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,^[g] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.^(BY)

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar^(A) king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions^(B) passed through his mind^(C) as he was lying in bed.^(D) He wrote^(E) down the substance of his dream.

² Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven^(F) churning up the great sea. ³ Four great beasts,^(G) each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

⁴ “The first was like a lion,^(H) and it had the wings of an eagle.^(I) I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’^(J)

⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.^(K) And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

⁷ “After that, in my vision^(L) at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron^(M) teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled^(N) underfoot whatever was left.^(O) It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.^(P)

⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little^(Q) one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being^(R) and a mouth that spoke boastfully.^(S)

⁹ “As I looked,

¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.^(AB) I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.^{(AC) 12} (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,^[a](AD) coming^(AE) with the clouds of heaven.^(AF) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority,^(AG) glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.^(AH) His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom^(AI) is one that will never be destroyed.^(AJ)

The Interpretation of the Dream

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.^{(AK) 16} I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation^(AL) of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people^(AM) of the Most High will receive the kingdom^(AN) and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’^(AO)

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns^(AP) on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.^{(AQ) 21} As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them,^{(AR) 22} until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.^(AS)

²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.^{(AT) 24} The ten horns^(AU) are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High^(AV) and oppress his holy people^(AW) and try to change the set times^(AX) and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^[b](AY)

²⁶ “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed^(AZ) forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms^(BA) under heaven will be handed over to the holy people^(BB) of the Most High.^(BC) His kingdom will be an everlasting^(BD) kingdom, and all rulers will worship^(BE) and obey him.’

²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled^(BF) by my thoughts,^(BG) and my face turned pale,^(BH) but I kept the matter to myself.”