Matius 26:47-68

Betrayal and Arrest

26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas, ¹  one of the twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. 26:48 (Now the betrayer ²  had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man. ³  Arrest him!”) ⁴  26:49 Immediately ⁵  he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him. ⁶  26:50 Jesus ⁷  said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and took hold ⁸  of Jesus and arrested him. 26:51 But ⁹  one of those with Jesus grabbed ¹⁰  his sword, drew it out, and struck the high priest’s slave, ¹¹  cutting off his ear. 26:52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place! ¹²  For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword. 26:53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions ¹³  of angels right now? 26:54 How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?” 26:55 At that moment Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me like you would an outlaw? ¹⁴  Day after day I sat teaching in the temple courts, yet ¹⁵  you did not arrest me. 26:56 But this has happened so that ¹⁶  the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Condemned by the Sanhedrin

26:57 Now the ones who had arrested Jesus led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, in whose house ¹⁷  the experts in the law ¹⁸  and the elders had gathered. 26:58 But Peter was following him from a distance, all the way to the high priest’s courtyard. After ¹⁹  going in, he sat with the guards ²⁰  to see the outcome. 26:59 The ²¹  chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 26:60 But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally ²²  two came forward 26:61 and declared, “This man ²³  said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” 26:62 So ²⁴  the high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 26:63 But Jesus was silent. The ²⁵  high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, ²⁶  the Son of God.” 26:64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand ²⁷  of the Power ²⁸  and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ²⁹  26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, ³⁰  “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now ³¹  you have heard the blasphemy! 26:66 What is your verdict?” ³²  They ³³  answered, “He is guilty and deserves ³⁴  death.” 26:67 Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. And some slapped him, 26:68 saying, “Prophesy for us, you Christ! ³⁵  Who hit you?” ³⁶ 

[26:47]  ¹ tn Grk “behold, Judas.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[26:48]  ² tn Grk “the one who betrays him.”

[26:48]  ³ tn Grk “The one I kiss is he.”

[26:48]  ⁴ sn This remark is parenthetical within the narrative and has thus been placed in parentheses.

[26:49]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:49]  ⁶ sn Judas’ act of betrayal when he kissed Jesus is especially sinister when it is realized that it was common in the culture of the times for a disciple to kiss his master when greeting him.

[26:50]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:50]  ⁸ tn Grk “and put their hands on Jesus.”

[26:51]  ⁹ tn Grk “And behold one.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[26:51]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “extending his hand, drew out his sword, and struck.” Because rapid motion is implied in the circumstances, the translation “grabbed” was used.

[26:51]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[26:52]  ¹² tn The translation “put your sword back in its place” for this phrase is given in L&N 85.52.

[26:53]  ¹³ sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.

[26:55]  ¹⁴ tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30).

[26:55]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and” (καί, kai), a conjunction that is elastic enough to be used to indicate a contrast, as here.

[26:56]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.

[26:57]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “where.”

[26:57]  ¹⁸ tn Or “where the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[26:58]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:58]  ²⁰ sn The guards would have been the guards of the chief priests who had accompanied Judas to arrest Jesus.

[26:59]  ²¹ tn Grk “Now the.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:60]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:61]  ²³ tn Grk “This one.”

[26:62]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the false testimony.

[26:63]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:63]  ²⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[26:63]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[26:64]  ²⁷ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1. This is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.

[26:64]  ²⁸ sn The expression the right hand of the Power is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[26:64]  ²⁹ sn An allusion to Dan 7:13 (see also Matt 24:30).

[26:65]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”

[26:65]  ³¹ tn Grk “Behold now.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[26:66]  ³² tn Grk “What do you think?”

[26:66]  ³³ tn Grk “answering, they said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:66]  ³⁴ tn Grk “he is guilty of death.” L&N 88.313 states, “pertaining to being guilty and thus deserving some particular penalty – ‘guilty and deserving, guilty and punishable by.’ οἱ δὲ ἀποκριθέντες εἶπαν, ᾿Ενοχος θανάτου ἐστίν ‘they answered, He is guilty and deserves death’ Mt 26:66.”

[26:68]  ³⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[26:68]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[26:68]  ³⁶ tn Grk “Who is the one who hit you?”

[26:68]  sn Who hit you? This is a variation of one of three ancient games that involved blindfolds.