Matthew 26:1-19

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.