Matthew 26:57-27:31

English Standard Version

Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council

^57 (A)Then ^(B)those who had seized Jesus led him to ^(C)Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ And ^(D)Peter was following him at a distance, as far as ^(E)the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with ^(F)the guards to see the end. ⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole council^{[a] (G)}were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰ but they found none, ^(H)though many false witnesses came forward. At last ^(I)two came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This man said, ^(J)‘I am able to ^(K)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?”^{[b] 63 (L)}But Jesus remained silent. ^(M)And the high priest said to him, ^(N)“I adjure you by ^(O)the living God, ^(P)tell us if you are ^(Q)the Christ, ^(R)the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, ^(S)“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on ^(T)you will see the Son of Man ^(U)seated at the right hand of Power and ^(V)coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵ Then the high priest ^(W)tore his robes and said, ^(X)“He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What is your judgment?” They answered, ^(Y)“He deserves death.” ⁶⁷ Then ^(Z)they spit in his face ^(AA)and ^(AB)struck him. And some slapped him, ⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, you ^(AC)Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

Peter Denies Jesus

^69 (AD)Now Peter was sitting outside ^(AE)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 ^(AF)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 ^(AG)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, ^(AH)“Before the rooster crows, you will ^(AI)deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

27 ^(AJ)When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^(AK)took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ² And they bound him and ^(AL)led him away and ^(AM)delivered him over to ^(AN)Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

³ Then when ^(AO)Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus^[c] was condemned, ^(AP)he changed his mind and brought back ^(AQ)the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^(AR)See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^(AS)he departed, and he went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^(AT)the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸ Therefore ^(AU)that field has been called the Field of Blood ^(AV)to this day. ^9 (AW)Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^(AX)“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 (AY)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^(AZ)the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ^(BA)“You have said so.” ^12 (BB)But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, ^(BC)“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 (BD)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 ^(BE)Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out ^(BF)of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on ^(BG)the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^(BH)that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^(BI)in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^(BJ)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?” ^(BK)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? ^(BL)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 ^(BM)a riot was beginning, he took water and ^(BN)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(BO)this man's blood;^{[d] (BP)}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, ^(BQ)“His blood be on us and ^(BR)on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^(BS)scourged^[e] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (BT)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^(BU)governor's headquarters,^[f] and they gathered the whole ^(BV)battalion^[g] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put ^(BW)a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^(BX)mocked him, saying, “Hail, ^(BY)King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(BZ)they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ^(CA)led him away to crucify him.