Matthew 26
Wycliffe Bible
26 And it was done, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples,
2 Ye know, that after two days pask shall be made, and man's Son shall be betaken to be crucified.
3 Then the princes of priests and the elder men of the people were gathered into the hall of the prince of priests, that was said Caiaphas,
4 and made a counsel to hold Jesus with guile, and slay him; [and made a counsel, that they should hold Jesus with guile, and slay him;]
5 but they said, Not in the holiday [soothly they said, Not in the feast day], lest peradventure noise were made in the people.
6 And when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leprous,
7 a woman that had a box of alabaster of precious ointment, came to him [a woman having a box of alabaster of precious ointment, came nigh to him], and shedded it out on the head of him resting.
8 And the disciples seeing had disdain, and said [saying], Whereto is this loss?
9 for it might be sold for much [for this might have been sold for much], and be given to poor men.
10 But Jesus knew, and said to them, What be ye heavy to this woman? for she hath wrought in me a good work [she hath wrought a good work in me].
11 For ye shall ever have poor men with you, but ye shall not always have me. [For why ye shall evermore have poor men with you, but ye shall not all-gates have me.]
12 For this woman sending this ointment into my body, did [for] to bury me.
13 Truly I say to you, where ever this gospel shall be preached in all the world, it shall be said, that she did this, in mind of him [it shall be said and that this woman did, into mind of him].
14 Then one of the twelve, that was called Judas Iscariot, went forth to the princes of priests [went to the princes of priests],
15 and said to them, What will ye give to me, and I shall betake him to you? And they ordained to him thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity [he sought covenability], to betray him.
17 And in the first day of therf loaves, the disciples came to Jesus, and said[a], Where wilt thou [that] we make ready to thee, [for] to eat pask?
18 [And] Jesus said, Go ye into the city to a man, and say to him, The master saith, My time is nigh; at thee I make pask with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did, as Jesus commanded to them; and they made the pask ready [and they made ready pask].
20 And when the eventide was come, he sat to meat with his twelve disciples. [Forsooth evening made, he sat at the meat with his twelve disciples.]
21 And he said to them, as they ate, Truly I say to you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 And they full sorry began each by himself to say, Lord, whether I am he?[b]
23 And he answered, and said, He that putteth with me his hand in the platter, [this] shall betray me.
24 Forsooth man's Son goeth, as it is written of him; but woe to that man, by whom man's Son shall be betrayed; it were good to him, if that man had not been born.
25 But Judas that betrayed him, answered, saying, Master, whether I am he? Jesus said to him, Thou hast said. [Forsooth Judas that betrayed him, answered, saying, Master, whether it am I? He said to him, Thou hast said.]
26 And while they supped [Forsooth them supping], Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take ye, and eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and did thankings, and gave to them, and said [saying], Drink ye all thereof;
28 this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many, into remission of sins.
29 And I say to you, I shall not drink from this time, of this fruit of the vine, [till] into that day when I shall drink it new with you, in the kingdom of my Father.
30 And when the hymn was said, they went out into the mount of Olives.
31 Then Jesus said to them, All ye shall suffer cause of stumbling in me, in this night [Then Jesus saith to them, All ye shall suffer offence in me, this night]; for it is written, I shall smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.
32 But after that I shall rise again, I shall go before you into Galilee.
33 Peter answered, and said to him, Though all [men] shall be caused to stumble in thee, I shall never be caused to stumble.[c]
34 Jesus said to him, Truly I say to thee, for in this night before the cock crow, thrice thou shalt deny me.
35 Peter said to him, Yea, though it [shall] behoove that I die with thee, I shall not deny thee. Also [and] all the disciples said.
36 Then Jesus came with them into a town, that is said Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go thither, and pray.
37 And when he had taken Peter, and two sons of Zebedee, he began to be heavy and sorry [he began to be sorrowful and heavy in heart].
38 Then he said to them, My soul is sorrowful [till] to the death; abide ye here, and wake ye with me. [Then he saith to them, My soul is sorrowful till to the death; sustain ye, or abide ye, here, and wake ye with me.]
39 And he went forth a little, and felled down [fell down] on his face, praying, and saying, My Father, if it is possible, pass this cup from me [praying, and saying, My Father, if it is possible, this cup pass from me]; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40 And he came to his disciples, and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, So, whether ye might not one hour wake with me[d]?
41 Wake ye, and pray ye, that ye enter not into temptation; for the spirit is ready, but the flesh is frail.[e]
42 Again the second time he went, and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cup may not pass, but I drink it, thy will be done.
43 And again he came, and found them sleeping; for their eyes were heavied.
44 And he left them, and went again, and prayed the third time, and said the same word. [And them left, he went again, and prayed the third time, the same word saying.]
45 Then he came to his disciples, and said to them, Sleep ye now, and rest ye; lo! the hour hath approached, and man's Son shall be betaken into the hands of sinners;[f]
46 rise ye, go we; lo! he that shall take me, is nigh. [rise ye, go we; lo! he that shall betray me, hath nighed.]
47 [And] Yet while he spake, lo! Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great company, with swords and bats [with swords and staves], sent from the princes of priests, and from the elder men of the people.
48 And he that betrayed him, gave to them a token, and said [saying], Whomever I shall kiss, he it is; hold ye him.
49 And at once [And anon] he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and he kissed him.
50 And Jesus said to him, Friend, whereto art thou come? Then they came nigh, and laid hands on Jesus, and held him.
51 And lo! one of them that were with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew out his sword; and he smote the servant of the prince of priests, and cut off his ear[g].
52 Then Jesus said to him, Turn thy sword into his place; for all that take sword, shall perish by sword.
53 Whether guessest thou, that I may not pray my Father, and he shall give to me now more than twelve legions of angels?
54 How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled? for so it behooveth to be done.
55 In that hour Jesus said to the people, As to a thief ye have gone out, with swords and bats, [for] to take me; day by day I sat among you, and taught in the temple, and ye held me not.[h]
56 But all this thing was done, that the scriptures of prophets should be fulfilled. Then all the disciples fled, and left him [Then all the disciples fled, him forsaken].
57 And they held Jesus, and led him to Caiaphas, the prince of priests, where the scribes and the Pharisees, and the elder men of the people were come together. [And they holding Jesus, led him to Caiaphas, prince of priests, where the scribes and the elder men of the people had come together.]
58 But Peter followed him afar, [till] into the hall of the prince of priests; and he went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
59 And the prince of priests, and all the council sought false witnessing against Jesus, that they should take him to death; [Forsooth the princes of priests, and all the council sought false witnessing against Jesus, that they should betake him to death;]
60 and they found not, when many false witnesses were come. But at the last, two false witnesses came,
61 and said, This said, I may destroy the temple of God, and after the third day build it again [and after three days built it again].
62 And the prince of priests rose, and said to him, Answerest thou nothing to those things, that these witness against thee [which these witness against thee]?
63 But Jesus was still. And the prince of priests said to him, I conjure thee by the living God, that thou say to us, if thou art Christ, the Son of God [that thou say to us, if thou be Christ, the Son of God].
64 Jesus said to him, Thou hast said; nevertheless I say to you, hereafter ye shall see man's Son sitting at the right half of the virtue of God [nevertheless, I say to you, from henceforth, ye shall see man's Son sitting at the right half of God's virtue], and coming in the clouds of heaven.
65 Then the prince of priests rent his clothes, and said, He hath blasphemed; what yet have we need to witnesses [Then the prince of priests rent his clothes, saying, He hath blasphemed; what yet need have we to witnesses]? lo! now ye have heard blasphemy;
66 what seemeth to you? And they answered, and said, He is guilty of death.
67 Then they spat in his face, and smote him with buffets; and others gave strokes with the palm of their hands in [into] his face,
68 and said, Thou Christ, declare to us, who is he that smote thee? [saying, Thou Christ, prophesy to us, who is he that smote thee?]
69 And Peter sat without in the hall; and a damsel came to him, and said[i], [And] Thou were with Jesus of Galilee.
70 And he denied before all [men], and said [saying], I know not what thou sayest.
71 And when he went out at the gate, another damsel saw him[j], and said to them that were there, And this was with Jesus of Nazareth.
72 And again he denied with an oath, For I knew not the man.
73 And a little after [And after a little], they that stood came, and said to Peter, Truly and thou art [one] of them; for thy speech maketh thee known.
74 Then he began to curse and to swear, that he knew not the man. And at once [And anon] the cock crew.
75 And Peter bethought on the word of Jesus, that he had said, Before the cock crow, thrice thou shalt deny me. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Footnotes
- Matthew 26:17 Forsooth in the first day of therf loaves, that is, the feast of pask, the disciples came to Jesus, saying
- Matthew 26:22 And they made sorrowful greatly, began each to say, Lord, whether I it am?
- Matthew 26:33 Soothly Peter answering, said to him, Though all men shall be offended in thee, I shall never be offended.
- Matthew 26:40 And he saith to Peter, So, might ye not one hour wake with me
- Matthew 26:41 Wake ye, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; forsooth the spirit is ready, but the flesh is sick, or unstable/either unsteadfast.
- Matthew 26:45 Then he came to his disciples, and saith to them, Sleep ye now, and rest ye; lo! the hour hath nighed, and man's Son shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners;
- Matthew 26:51 and he, smiting a servant of the prince of priests, cut off his ear
- Matthew 26:55 In that hour Jesus said to the companies, As to a thief ye have gone out, with swords and staves, for to take me; each day I sat at you, teaching in the temple, and ye held not me.
- Matthew 26:69 and an handmaiden/handmaid came nigh to him saying
- Matthew 26:71 another handmaiden/handmaid saw him
Matthew 26
English Standard Version
The Plot to Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 (A)“You know that after two days (B)the Passover is coming, and (C)the Son of Man (D)will be delivered up to be crucified.”
3 (E)Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in (F)the palace of the high priest, whose name was (G)Caiaphas, 4 (H)and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, (I)lest there be an uproar among the people.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6 (J)Now when Jesus was at (K)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,[a] 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and (L)given to the poor.” 10 But (M)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For (N)you always have the poor with you, but (O)you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it (P)to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever (Q)this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told (R)in memory of her.”
Judas to Betray Jesus
14 (S)Then one of the twelve, whose name was (T)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they (U)paid him (V)thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity (W)to betray him.
The Passover with the Disciples
17 (X)Now on (Y)the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, (Z)‘The Teacher says, (AA)My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
20 (AB)When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.[b] 21 And as they were eating, (AC)he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, (AD)“He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes (AE)as it is written of him, but (AF)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! (AG)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, (AH)Rabbi?” He said to him, (AI)“You have said so.”
Institution of the Lord's Supper
26 (AJ)Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and (AK)after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; (AL)this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he (AM)had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for (AN)this is my (AO)blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for (AP)many (AQ)for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you (AR)in my Father's kingdom.”
Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial
30 (AS)And when they had sung a hymn, (AT)they went out to (AU)the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will (AV)strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, (AW)I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 (AX)Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 (AY)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, (AZ)before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 (BA)Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
36 (BB)Then Jesus went with them (BC)to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him (BD)Peter and (BE)the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, (BF)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and (BG)watch[d] with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face (BH)and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let (BI)this cup pass from me; (BJ)nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 (BK)Watch and (BL)pray that you (BM)may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, (BN)your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for (BO)their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for (BP)the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.[e] See, (BQ)the hour is at hand, and (BR)the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
47 (BS)While he was still speaking, (BT)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, (BU)Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, (BV)“Friend, (BW)do what you came to do.”[f] Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his (BX)sword and struck the servant[g] of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For (BY)all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 (BZ)Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me (CA)more than twelve (CB)legions of angels? 54 (CC)But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day (CD)I sat in the temple (CE)teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But (CF)all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” (CG)Then all the disciples left him and fled.
Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council
57 (CH)Then (CI)those who had seized Jesus led him to (CJ)Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And (CK)Peter was following him at a distance, as far as (CL)the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with (CM)the guards to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council[h] (CN)were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, (CO)though many false witnesses came forward. At last (CP)two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, (CQ)‘I am able to (CR)destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”[i] 63 (CS)But Jesus remained silent. (CT)And the high priest said to him, (CU)“I adjure you by (CV)the living God, (CW)tell us if you are (CX)the Christ, (CY)the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, (CZ)“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on (DA)you will see the Son of Man (DB)seated at the right hand of Power and (DC)coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest (DD)tore his robes and said, (DE)“He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, (DF)“He deserves death.” 67 Then (DG)they spit in his face (DH)and (DI)struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you (DJ)Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
Peter Denies Jesus
69 (DK)Now Peter was sitting outside (DL)in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus (DM)of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for (DN)your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, (DO)“Before the rooster crows, you will (DP)deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Footnotes
- Matthew 26:6 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
- Matthew 26:20 Some manuscripts add disciples
- Matthew 26:28 Some manuscripts insert new
- Matthew 26:38 Or keep awake; also verses 40, 41
- Matthew 26:45 Or Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
- Matthew 26:50 Or Friend, why are you here?
- Matthew 26:51 Or bondservant
- Matthew 26:59 Greek Sanhedrin
- Matthew 26:62 Or Have you no answer to what these men testify against you?
2001 by Terence P. Noble
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
