Bread from Heaven

16 They (A)set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel (B)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, (C)“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, (D)when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain (E)bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may (F)test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, (G)it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, (H)“At evening (I)you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the (J)glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For (K)what are we, that you grumble against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—(L)what are we? Your grumbling is not (M)against us but against the Lord.”

Then Moses (N)said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, (O)‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the (P)glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I (Q)have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At (R)twilight you shall eat meat, and (S)in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

13 In the evening (T)quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning (U)dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, (V)“What is it?”[a] For they (W)did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, (X)“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an (Y)omer,[b] according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, (Z)whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and (AA)it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

22 On (AB)the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of (AC)solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and (AD)it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for (AE)today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, (AF)“How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people (AG)rested on the seventh day.

31 Now the house of Israel called its name (AH)manna. It was (AI)like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a (AJ)jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before (AK)the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel (AL)ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till (AM)they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is (AN)the tenth part of an ephah.)[c]

Water from the Rock

17 (AO)All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. (AP)Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you (AQ)test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and (AR)the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready (AS)to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with (AT)which you struck the Nile, and go. (AU)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place (AV)Massah[d] and (AW)Meribah,[e] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Israel Defeats Amalek

(AX)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to (AY)Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with (AZ)the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So (BA)Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and (BB)Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses (BC)held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and (BD)Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And (BE)Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of (BF)Joshua, that (BG)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses (BH)built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne[f] of the Lord! (BI)The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro's Advice

18 (BJ)Jethro, (BK)the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, along with her (BL)two sons. The name of the one was Gershom ((BM)for he said, (BN)“I have been a sojourner[g] in a foreign land”), and the name of the other, Eliezer[h] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the (BO)mountain of God. And when he sent word to Moses, “I,[i] your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” Moses (BP)went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and (BQ)kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law (BR)all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 Jethro said, (BS)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that (BT)the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they (BU)dealt arrogantly with the people.”[j] 12 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law (BV)before God.

13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because (BW)the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 (BX)when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I (BY)make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. (BZ)You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall (CA)represent the people before God and (CB)bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know (CC)the way in which they must walk and (CD)what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for (CE)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And (CF)let them judge the people at all times. (CG)Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will (CH)bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be (CI)able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 (CJ)Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And (CK)they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and (CL)he went away to his own country.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 16:15 Or “It is manna”; Hebrew man hu
  2. Exodus 16:16 An omer was about 2 quarts or 2 liters
  3. Exodus 16:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
  4. Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing
  5. Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling
  6. Exodus 17:16 A slight change would yield upon the banner
  7. Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for sojourner
  8. Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means My God is help
  9. Exodus 18:6 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac behold
  10. Exodus 18:11 Hebrew with them

Manna and Quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin,(A) which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.(B) In the desert the whole community grumbled(C) against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!(D) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food(E) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”(F)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven(G) for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test(H) them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice(I) as much as they gather on the other days.”

So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,(J) and in the morning you will see the glory(K) of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling(L) against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”(M) Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling(N) against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”(O)

Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”

10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory(P) of the Lord appearing in the cloud.(Q)

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling(R) of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”(S)

13 That evening quail(T) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew(U) around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost(V) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know(W) what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread(X) the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a](Y) for each person you have in your tent.’”

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.(Z) Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”(AA)

20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.(AB) So Moses was angry(AC) with them.

21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice(AD) as much—two omers[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community(AE) came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath(AF) to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,(AG) there will not be any.”

27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[c] refuse to keep my commands(AH) and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d](AI) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna(AJ) in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law,(AK) so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna(AL) forty years,(AM) until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.(AN)

36 (An omer(AO) is one-tenth of an ephah.)(AP)

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,(AQ) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,(AR) but there was no water(AS) for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water(AT) to drink.”(AU)

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”(AV)

But the people were thirsty(AW) for water there, and they grumbled(AX) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die(AY) of thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone(AZ) me.”

The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff(BA) with which you struck the Nile,(BB) and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.(BC) Strike(BD) the rock, and water(BE) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah[e](BF) and Meribah[f](BG) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

The Amalekites(BH) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.(BI) Moses said to Joshua,(BJ) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff(BK) of God in my hands.”

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur(BL) went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,(BM) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.(BN) 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite(BO) army with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write(BP) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out(BQ) the name of Amalek(BR) from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altar(BS) and called(BT) it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against[g] the throne of the Lord,[h] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites(BU) from generation to generation.”(BV)

Jethro Visits Moses

18 Now Jethro,(BW) the priest of Midian(BX) and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.(BY)

After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah,(BZ) his father-in-law Jethro received her and her two sons.(CA) One son was named Gershom,[i] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”;(CB) and the other was named Eliezer,[j](CC) for he said, “My father’s God was my helper;(CD) he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain(CE) of God. Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down(CF) and kissed(CG) him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships(CH) they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved(CI) them.

Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things(CJ) the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord,(CK) who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods,(CL) for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”(CM) 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law,(CN) brought a burnt offering(CO) and other sacrifices(CP) to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal(CQ) with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence(CR) of God.

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.(CS) 16 Whenever they have a dispute,(CT) it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”(CU)

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.(CV) 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.(CW) You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes(CX) to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions,(CY) and show them the way they are to live(CZ) and how they are to behave.(DA) 21 But select capable men(DB) from all the people—men who fear(DC) God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain(DD)—and appoint them as officials(DE) over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case(DF) to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share(DG) it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders(DH) of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.(DI) 26 They served as judges(DJ) for the people at all times. The difficult cases(DK) they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.(DL)

27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.(DM)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36
  2. Exodus 16:22 That is, possibly about 6 pounds or about 2.8 kilograms
  3. Exodus 16:28 The Hebrew is plural.
  4. Exodus 16:31 Manna sounds like the Hebrew for What is it? (see verse 15).
  5. Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
  6. Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
  7. Exodus 17:16 Or to
  8. Exodus 17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  9. Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.
  10. Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means my God is helper.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

27 (A)When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people (B)took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and (C)led him away and (D)delivered him over to (E)Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

Then when (F)Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus[a] was condemned, (G)he changed his mind and brought back (H)the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? (I)See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, (J)he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into (K)the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore (L)that field has been called the Field of Blood (M)to this day. (N)Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, (O)“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

11 (P)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you (Q)the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, (R)“You have said so.” 12 (S)But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, (T)“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

15 (U)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or (V)Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out (W)of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on (X)the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with (Y)that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today (Z)in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to (AA)ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again 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 who is called Christ?” (AB)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? (AC)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that (AD)a riot was beginning, he took water and (AE)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of (AF)this man's blood;[b] (AG)see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, (AH)“His blood be on us and (AI)on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having (AJ)scourged[c] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:3 Greek he
  2. Matthew 27:24 Some manuscripts this righteous blood, or this righteous man's blood
  3. Matthew 27:26 A Roman judicial penalty, consisting of a severe beating with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal

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.(A) So they bound him, led him away and handed him over(B) to Pilate the governor.(C)

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

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”(F)

So Judas threw the money into the temple(G) and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.(H)

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.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood(I) to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:(J) “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.”[a](K)

Jesus Before Pilate(L)

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

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.(N) 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”(O) 14 But Jesus made no reply,(P) 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(Q) chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus[b] 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?”(R) 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,(S) his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent(T) man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream(U) because of him.”

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

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?”(W) 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(X) was starting, he took water and washed his hands(Y) in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”(Z) he said. “It is your responsibility!”(AA)

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

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

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:10 See Zech. 11:12,13; Jer. 19:1-13; 32:6-9.
  2. Matthew 27:16 Many manuscripts do not have Jesus; also in verse 17.