Matthew 26:1-16

Contemporary English Version

The Plot To Kill Jesus

(Mark 14.1,2; Luke 22.1,2; John 11.45-53)

26 When Jesus had finished teaching, he told his disciples, ^2 (A) “You know two days from now will be Passover. This is when the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies and nailed to a cross.”

³ At that time the chief priests and the nation's leaders were meeting at the home of Caiaphas the high priest. ⁴ They planned how they could sneak around and have Jesus arrested and put to death. ⁵ But they said, “We must not do it during Passover, because the people will riot.”

At Bethany

(Mark 14.3-9; John 12.1-8)

⁶ Jesus was in the town of Bethany, eating at the home of Simon, who had leprosy.^{[a] 7 (B)} A woman came in with a bottle of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus' head. ⁸ But when his disciples saw this, they became angry and complained, “Why such a waste? ⁹ We could have sold this perfume for a lot of money and given it to the poor.”

¹⁰ Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said:

Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ^11 (C) You will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me. ¹² She has poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial.^{[b] 13} You may be sure that wherever the good news is told all over the world, people will remember what she has done. And they will tell others.

Judas and the Chief Priests

(Mark 14.10,11; Luke 22.3-6)

¹⁴ Judas Iscariot^[c] was one of the twelve disciples. He went to the chief priests ^15 (D) and asked, “How much will you give me if I help you arrest Jesus?” They paid Judas 30 silver coins, ¹⁶ and from then on he started looking for a good chance to betray Jesus.