Matthew 26
Complete Jewish Bible
26 When Yeshua had finished speaking, he said to his talmidim, 2 “As you know, Pesach is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution-stake.”
3 Then the head cohanim and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of Kayafa the cohen hagadol. 4 They made plans to arrest Yeshua surreptitiously and have him put to death; 5 but they said, “Not during the festival, or the people will riot.”
6 Yeshua was in Beit-Anyah, at the home of Shim‘on, the man who had had tzara’at. 7 A woman who had an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume approached Yeshua while he was eating and began pouring it on his head. 8 When the talmidim saw it, they became very angry. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor.” 10 But Yeshua, aware of what was going on, said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 She poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13 Yes! I tell you that throughout the whole world, wherever this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory.”
14 Then one of the Twelve, the one called Y’hudah from K’riot, went to the head cohanim 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I turn Yeshua over to you?” They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to Y’hudah.[a] 16 From then on he looked for a good opportunity to betray him.
17 On the first day for matzah, the talmidim came to Yeshua and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare your Seder?” 18 “Go into the city, to so-and-so,” he replied, “and tell him that the Rabbi says, ‘My time is near, my talmidim and I are celebrating Pesach at your house.’” 19 The talmidim did as Yeshua directed and prepared the Seder.
20 When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim; 21 and as they were eating, he said, “Yes, I tell you that one of you is going to betray me.” 22 They became terribly upset and began asking him, one after the other, “Lord, you don’t mean me, do you?” 23 He answered, “The one who dips his matzah in the dish with me is the one who will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will die just as the Tanakh says he will; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him had he never been born!” 25 Y’hudah, the one who was betraying him, then asked, “Surely, Rabbi, you don’t mean me?” He answered, “The words are yours.”
26 While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, “Take! Eat! This is my body!” 27 Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah, and gave it to them, saying, “All of you, drink from it! 28 For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven. 29 I tell you, I will not drink this ‘fruit of the vine’ again until the day I drink new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
30 After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Yeshua then said to them, “Tonight you will all lose faith in me, as the Tanakh says, ‘I will strike the shepherd dead, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’[b] 32 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil.” 33 “I will never lose faith in you,” Kefa answered, “even if everyone else does.” 34 Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I tell you that tonight before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” 35 “Even if I must die with you,” Kefa replied, “I will never disown you!” And all the talmidim said the same thing.
36 Then Yeshua went with his talmidim to a place called Gat-Sh’manim and said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took with him Kefa and Zavdai’s two sons. Grief and anguish came over him, 38 and he said to them, “My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39 Going on a little farther, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet — not what I want, but what you want!” 40 He returned to the talmidim and found them sleeping. He said to Kefa, “Were you so weak that you couldn’t stay awake with me for even an hour? 41 Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test — the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak.”
42 A second time he went off and prayed. “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, let what you want be done.” 43 Again he returned and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy.
44 Leaving them again, he went off and prayed a third time, saying the same words. 45 Then he came to the talmidim and said, “For now, go on sleeping, take your rest. . . . Look! The time has come for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up! Let’s go! Here comes my betrayer!”
47 While Yeshua was still speaking, Y’hudah (one of the Twelve!) came, and with him a large crowd carrying swords and clubs, from the head cohanim and elders of the people. 48 The betrayer had arranged to give them a signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want — grab him!” 49 He went straight up to Yeshua, said, “Shalom, Rabbi!” and kissed him. 50 Yeshua said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they moved forward, laid hold of Yeshua and arrested him.
51 At that, one of the men with Yeshua reached for his sword, drew it out and struck at the servant of the cohen hagadol, cutting off his ear. 52 Yeshua said to him, “Put your sword back where it belongs, for everyone who uses the sword will die by the sword. 53 Don’t you know that I can ask my Father, and he will instantly provide more than a dozen armies of angels to help me? 54 But if I did that, how could the passages in the Tanakh be fulfilled that say it has to happen this way?”
55 Then Yeshua addressed the crowd: “So you came out to take me with swords and clubs, the way you would the leader of a rebellion? Every day I sat in the Temple court, teaching; and you didn’t seize me then. 56 But all this has happened so that what the prophets wrote may be fulfilled.” Then the talmidim all deserted him and ran away.
57 Those who had seized Yeshua led him off to Kayafa the cohen hagadol, where the Torah-teachers and elders were assembled. 58 Kefa followed him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; then he went inside and sat down with the guards to see what the outcome would be.
59 The head cohanim and the whole Sanhedrin looked for some false evidence against Yeshua, so that they might put him to death. 60 But they didn’t find any, even though many liars came forward to give testimony. At last, however, two people came forward and said, 61 “This man said, ‘I can tear down God’s Temple and build it again in three days.’” 62 The cohen hagadol stood up and said, “Have you nothing to say to the accusation these men are making?” 63 Yeshua remained silent. The cohen hagadol said to him, “I put you under oath! By the living God, tell us if you are the Mashiach, the Son of God!” 64 Yeshua said to him, “The words are your own. But I tell you that one day you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of HaG’vurah and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[c] 65 At this, the cohen hagadol tore his robes. “Blasphemy!” he said. “Why do we still need witnesses? You heard him blaspheme! 66 What is your verdict?” “Guilty,” they answered. “He deserves death!” 67 Then they spit in his face and pounded him with their fists; and those who were beating him 68 said, “Now, you ‘Messiah,’ ‘prophesy’ to us: who hit you that time?”
69 Kefa was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him. “You too were with Yeshua from the Galil,” she said. 70 But he denied it in front of everyone — “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” 71 He went out onto the porch, and another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Yeshua of Natzeret.” 72 Again he denied it, swearing, “I don’t know the man!” 73 After a little while, the bystanders approached Kefa and said, “You must be one of them — your accent gives you away.” 74 This time he began to invoke a curse on himself as he swore, “I do not know the man!” — and immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Kefa remembered what Yeshua had said, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times”; and he went outside and cried bitterly.
Footnotes
- Matthew 26:15 Zechariah 11:12
- Matthew 26:31 Zechariah 13:7
- Matthew 26:64 Daniel 7:13; Psalm 110:1
Matthew 26
Christian Standard Bible
The Plot to Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,(A) he told his disciples, 2 “You know[a] that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”(B)
3 Then the chief priests[b] and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,(C) 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.(D) 5 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon(E) the leper,[c] 7 a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples(F) saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me. 11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.(G) 12 By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel(H) is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14 Then(I) one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests(J) 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.(K) 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.
Betrayal at the Passover
17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread(L) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18 “Go into the city to a certain man,” he said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place[d] with my disciples.’”(M) 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”(N)
22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23 He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl—he will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him,(O) but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Judas, his betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” (P)
“You have said it,” he told him.
The First Lord’s Supper
26 As they were eating,(Q) Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples,(R) and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.”(S) 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant,[e] which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.(T) 29 But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”(U) 30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.(V)
Peter’s Denial Predicted
31 Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written:
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”(X)
33 Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”(Y)
35 “Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.
The Prayer in the Garden
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,(Z) and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.(AA) 38 He said to them, “I am deeply grieved[g] to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”(AB) 39 Going a little farther,[h] he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”(AC)
40 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this[i] cannot pass[j] unless I drink it, your will be done.”(AD) 43 And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.
44 After leaving them, he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? See, the time is near. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.(AE) 46 Get up; let’s go. See, my betrayer is near.”
Judas’s Betrayal of Jesus
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived.(AF) A large mob with swords and clubs was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 His betrayer had given them a sign: “The one I kiss, he’s the one; arrest him.” 49 So immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 “Friend,”(AG) Jesus asked him, “why have you come?”[k]
Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him. 51 At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.(AH)
52 Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.(AI) 53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels?(AJ) 54 How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled(AK) that say it must happen this way?”
55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal,[l] to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me.(AL) 56 But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets(AM) would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples(AN) deserted him and ran away.
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
57 Those(AO) who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas(AP) the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. 58 Peter was following him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and was sitting with the servants to see the outcome.(AQ)
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,(AR) 60 but they could not find any, even though many false witnesses(AS) came forward.[m] Finally, two[n] who came forward 61 stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God(AT) and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 The high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” 63 But(AU) Jesus kept silent.(AV) The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath(AW) by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”(AX)
64 “You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future[o] you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[p](AY)
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed!(AZ) Why do we still need witnesses? See, now you’ve heard the blasphemy.(BA) 66 What is your decision?”
They answered, “He deserves death!” (BB) 67 Then they spat in his face(BC) and beat him; others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you?” (BD)
Peter Denies His Lord
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.(BE) A servant girl approached him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”
70 But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!” (BF)
72 And again he denied it with an oath:(BG) “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You really are one of them, since even your accent[q] gives you away.”
74 Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, 75 and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”(BH) And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnotes
- 26:2 Or “Know (as a command)
- 26:3 Other mss add and the scribes
- 26:6 Gk lepros; a term for various skin diseases; see Lv 13–14
- 26:18 Lit Passover with you
- 26:28 Other mss read new covenant
- 26:31 Zch 13:7
- 26:38 Lit “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow
- 26:39 Other mss read Drawing nearer
- 26:42 Other mss add cup
- 26:42 Other mss add from me
- 26:50 Or Jesus told him, “do what you have come for.”
- 26:55 Lit as against a criminal
- 26:60 Other mss add they found none
- 26:60 Other mss add false witnesses
- 26:64 Lit you, from now
- 26:64 Ps 110:1; Dn 7:13
- 26:73 Or speech
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.