Matthew 26:14-75

New American Standard Bible 1995

Judas’s Bargain

^14 (A)Then one of the twelve, named ^(B)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me ^[a]to ^[b](C)betray Him to you?” And ^(D)they weighed out thirty ^[c]pieces of silver to him. ¹⁶ From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to ^[d]betray ^[e]Jesus.

^17 (E)Now on the first day of ^(F)Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ And He said, “Go into the city to ^(G)a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “^(H)My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” ¹⁹ The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Last Passover

^20 (I)Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. ²¹ As they were eating, He said, “^(J)Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” ²² Being deeply grieved, they ^[f]each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³ And He answered, “^(K)He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. ²⁴ The Son of Man is to go, ^(L)just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(M)It would have been good ^[g]for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ And ^(N)Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, ^(O)Rabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “^(P)You have said it yourself.”

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

^26 (Q)While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and ^[h](R)after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for ^(S)this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for ^(T)many for forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

^30 (U)After singing a hymn, they went out to ^(V)the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[i](W)fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘^(X)I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be ^(Y)scattered.’ ³² But after I have been raised, ^(Z)I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ³³ But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may ^[j]fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” ³⁴ Jesus said to him, “^(AA)Truly I say to you that ^(AB)this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ³⁵ Peter *said to Him, “^(AC)Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

The Garden of Gethsemane

^36 (AD)Then Jesus *came with them to a place called ^(AE)Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And He took with Him ^(AF)Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸ Then He *said to them, “^(AG)My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and ^(AH)keep watch with Me.”

³⁹ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let ^(AI)this cup pass from Me; ^(AJ)yet not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰ And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not ^(AK)keep watch with Me for one hour? ^41 (AL)Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; ^(AM)the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this ^(AN)cannot pass away unless I drink it, ^(AO)Your will be done.” ⁴³ Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵ Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “^[k]Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, ^(AP)the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest

^47 (AQ)While He was still speaking, behold, ^(AR)Judas, one of the twelve, came up ^[l]accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.” ⁴⁹ Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, ^(AS)Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ And Jesus said to him, “^(AT)Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(AU)one of those who were with Jesus ^[m]reached and drew out his ^(AV)sword, and struck the ^(AW)slave of the high priest and ^[n]cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for ^(AX)all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. ⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve ^[o](AY)legions of ^(AZ)angels? ⁵⁴ How then will ^(BA)the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? ^(BB)Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. ⁵⁶ But all this has taken place to fulfill ^(BC)the Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Jesus before Caiaphas

^57 (BD)Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to ^(BE)Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. ⁵⁸ But ^(BF)Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the ^(BG)courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the ^[p](BH)officers to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole ^[q](BI)Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. ⁶⁰ They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on ^(BJ)two came forward, ⁶¹ and said, “This man stated, ‘^(BK)I am able to destroy the ^[r]temple of God and to rebuild it ^[s]in three days.’” ⁶² The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” ⁶³ But ^(BL)Jesus kept silent. ^(BM)And the high priest said to Him, “I ^[t](BN)adjure You by ^(BO)the living God, that You tell us whether You are ^[u]the Christ, ^(BP)the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus *said to him, “^(BQ)You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, ^[v]hereafter you will see ^(BR)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and ^(BS)coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest ^(BT)tore his ^[w]robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶ what do you think?” They answered, “^(BU)He deserves death!”

^67 (BV)Then they ^(BW)spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others ^[x]slapped Him, ⁶⁸ and said, “^(BX)Prophesy to us, You ^[y]Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Peter’s Denials

^69 (BY)Now Peter was sitting outside in the ^(BZ)courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹ When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; ^(CA)for even the way you talk ^[z]gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “^(CB)Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.