Matthew 27
King James Version
27 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
10 And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.
11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36 And sitting down they watched him there;
37 And set up over his head his accusation written, This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.
38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
Matthew 27
New American Standard Bible
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; 2 and they bound Him and led Him away, and (B)handed Him over to (C)Pilate the governor.
3 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, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? (F)You shall see to it yourself!” 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into (G)the temple sanctuary and left; and (H)he went away and hanged himself. 6 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.” 7 And they conferred together and [b]with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. 8 (I)For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 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 Potter’s 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.
Jesus Is Mocked
27 (AD)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into (AE)the [m]Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman [n](AF)cohort to Him. 28 And they stripped Him and (AG)put a red [o]cloak on Him. 29 (AH)And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a [p]reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “(AI)Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And (AJ)they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head. 31 (AK)And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
32 (AL)As they were coming out, they found a man of (AM)Cyrene named Simon, [q]whom they compelled to carry His [r]cross.
The Crucifixion
33 (AN)And when they came to a place called (AO)Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 (AP)they gave Him (AQ)wine mixed with [s]bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.
35 And when they had crucified Him, (AR)they divided His garments among themselves by casting [t]lots. 36 And sitting down, they began to (AS)keep watch over Him there. 37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him [u]which read, “(AT)THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
38 At that time two [v]rebels *were being crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those passing by were [w]speaking abusively to Him, (AU)shaking their heads, 40 and saying, “(AV)You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! (AW)If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 42 “(AX)He saved others; [x]He cannot save Himself! (AY)He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 (AZ)He has trusted in God; let God rescue Him now, if He [y]takes pleasure in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 (BA)And the [z]rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way.
45 (BB)Now from the [aa]sixth hour darkness [ab]fell upon all the land until the [ac]ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “(BC)Eli, Eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 And (BD)immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “[ad]Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him[ae].” 50 And Jesus (BE)cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. 51 (BF)And behold, (BG)the [af]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and (BH)the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the [ag]saints who had (BI)fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered (BJ)the holy city and appeared to many. 54 (BK)Now as for the centurion and those who were with him (BL)keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw (BM)the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was [ah](BN)the Son of God!”
55 (BO)And many women were there watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while (BP)caring for Him. 56 Among them were (BQ)Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and (BR)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Jesus Is Buried
57 (BS)Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock; and he rolled (BT)a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 And (BU)Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
62 Now on the next day, that is, the day which is after (BV)the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and they said, “Sir, we remember that when that deceiver was still alive, He said, ‘(BW)After three days I am rising.’ 64 Therefore, give orders for the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a (BX)guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the tomb secure with (BY)the guard, (BZ)sealing (CA)the stone.
Footnotes
- Matthew 27:3 Or silver shekels
- Matthew 27:7 Lit from them
- Matthew 27:9 Or I took; cf. Zech 11:13
- Matthew 27:10 Some early mss I gave
- Matthew 27:14 Lit word
- Matthew 27:15 Lit crowd
- Matthew 27:18 I.e., the Jewish leaders
- Matthew 27:19 Lit today
- Matthew 27:21 Lit answering, said to them
- Matthew 27:22 Lit Have Him crucified
- Matthew 27:23 Lit Have Him crucified
- Matthew 27:26 Or to them
- Matthew 27:27 I.e., the governor’s official residence
- Matthew 27:27 Normally 600 men (the number varied)
- Matthew 27:28 I.e., a Roman soldier’s cloak
- Matthew 27:29 Or staff; i.e., to mimic a king’s scepter
- Matthew 27:32 Lit this one
- Matthew 27:32 I.e., the crossbeam for a cross
- Matthew 27:34 Prob. referring to the taste of myrrh, added to lessen pain
- Matthew 27:35 Lit a lot
- Matthew 27:37 Lit written
- Matthew 27:38 Or robbers
- Matthew 27:39 Or blaspheming
- Matthew 27:42 Or can He not save Himself?
- Matthew 27:43 Or desires;
- Matthew 27:44 Or robbers
- Matthew 27:45 I.e., noon
- Matthew 27:45 Lit occurred
- Matthew 27:45 I.e., 3 p.m.
- Matthew 27:49 Lit Allow that we see
- Matthew 27:49 Some early mss And another took a spear and pierced His side, and there came out water and blood (cf. John 19:34)
- Matthew 27:51 Or curtain
- Matthew 27:52 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Matthew 27:54 Or a son of God; or a son of a god
Matthew 27
Living Bible
27 When it was morning, the chief priests and Jewish leaders met again to discuss how to induce the Roman government to sentence Jesus to death.[a] 2 Then they sent him in chains to Pilate, the Roman governor.
3 About that time Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus had been condemned to die, changed his mind and deeply regretted what he had done,[b] and brought back the money to the chief priests and other Jewish leaders.
4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”
“That’s your problem,” they retorted.
5 Then he threw the money onto the floor of the Temple and went out and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests picked the money up. “We can’t put it in the collection,” they said, “since it’s against our laws to accept money paid for murder.”
7 They talked it over and finally decided to buy a certain field where the clay was used by potters, and to make it into a cemetery for foreigners who died in Jerusalem. 8 That is why the cemetery is still called “The Field of Blood.”
9 This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah which says,
“They took the thirty pieces of silver—the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel— 10 and purchased a field from the potters as the Lord directed me.”
11 Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the Jews’ Messiah?”[c] the governor asked him.
“Yes,” Jesus replied.
12 But when the chief priests and other Jewish leaders made their many accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.
13 “Don’t you hear what they are saying?” Pilate demanded.
14 But Jesus said nothing, much to the governor’s surprise.
15 Now the governor’s custom was to release one Jewish prisoner each year during the Passover celebration—anyone they wanted. 16 This year there was a particularly notorious criminal in jail named Barabbas, 17 and as the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning he asked them, “Which shall I release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus your Messiah?”[d] 18 For he knew very well that the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy because of his popularity with the people.
19 Just then, as he was presiding over the court, Pilate’s wife sent him this message: “Leave that good man alone; for I had a terrible nightmare concerning him last night.”
20 Meanwhile the chief priests and Jewish officials persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas’s release, and for Jesus’ death. 21 So when the governor asked again,[e] “Which of these two shall I release to you?” the crowd shouted back their reply: “Barabbas!”
22 “Then what shall I do with Jesus, your Messiah?” Pilate asked.
And they shouted, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify!”
24 When Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing, he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this good man. The responsibility is yours!”
25 And the mob yelled back, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26 Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after he had whipped Jesus, he gave him to the Roman soldiers to be taken away and crucified. 27 But first they took him into the armory and called out the entire contingent. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and made a crown from long thorns and put it on his head, and placed a stick in his right hand as a scepter and knelt before him in mockery. “Hail, King of the Jews,” they yelled. 30 And they spat on him and grabbed the stick and beat him on the head with it.
31 After the mockery, they took off the robe and put his own garment on him again, and took him out to crucify him.
32 As they were on the way to the execution grounds they came across a man from Cyrene, in Africa—Simon was his name—and forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33 Then they went out to an area known as Golgotha, that is, “Skull Hill,” 34 where the soldiers gave him drugged wine to drink; but when he had tasted it, he refused.
35 After the crucifixion, the soldiers threw dice to divide up his clothes among themselves. 36 Then they sat around and watched him as he hung there. 37 And they put a sign above his head, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38 Two robbers were also crucified there that morning, one on either side of him. 39 And the people passing by hurled abuse, shaking their heads at him and saying, 40 “So! You can destroy the Temple and build it again in three days, can you? Well, then, come on down from the cross if you are the Son of God!”
41-43 And the chief priests and Jewish leaders also mocked him. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So you are the King of Israel, are you? Come down from the cross and we’ll believe you! He trusted God—let God show his approval by delivering him! Didn’t he say, ‘I am God’s Son’?”
44 And the robbers also threw the same in his teeth.
45 That afternoon, the whole earth[f] was covered with darkness for three hours, from noon until three o’clock.
46 About three o’clock, Jesus shouted, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on a stick and held it up to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see whether Elijah will come and save him.”
50 Then Jesus shouted out again, dismissed his spirit, and died.
51 And look! The curtain secluding the Holiest Place[g] in the Temple was split apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and rocks broke, 52 and tombs opened, and many godly men and women who had died came back to life again. 53 After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the cemetery and went into Jerusalem, and appeared to many people there.
54 The soldiers at the crucifixion and their sergeant were terribly frightened by the earthquake and all that happened. They exclaimed, “Surely this was God’s Son.”[h]
55 And many women who had come down from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John (the sons of Zebedee).
57 When evening came, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, one of Jesus’ followers, 58 went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. 59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new rock-hewn tomb, and rolled a great stone across the entrance as he left. 61 Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting nearby watching.
62 The next day—at the close of the first day of the Passover ceremonies[i]—the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate, 63 and told him, “Sir, that liar once said, ‘After three days I will come back to life again.’ 64 So we request an order from you sealing the tomb until the third day, to prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
65 “Use your own Temple police,” Pilate told them. “They can guard it safely enough.”
66 So they sealed the stone[j] and posted guards to protect it from intrusion.
Footnotes
- Matthew 27:1 to sentence Jesus to death, literally, “took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.” They did not have the authority themselves.
- Matthew 27:3 deeply regretted what he had done, literally, “repented himself.”
- Matthew 27:11 the Jews’ Messiah, literally, “the ‘King’ of the Jews.”
- Matthew 27:17 Jesus your Messiah, literally, “Jesus who is called Christ.”
- Matthew 27:21 when the governor asked again, implied.
- Matthew 27:45 earth, or “land.”
- Matthew 27:51 secluding the Holiest Place, implied.
- Matthew 27:54 God’s Son, or “a godly man.”
- Matthew 27:62 at the close of the first day of the Passover ceremonies, implied; literally, “on the morrow, which is after the Preparation.”
- Matthew 27:66 So they sealed the stone. This was done by stringing a cord across the rock, the cord being sealed at each end with clay.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.