St Matthew 26
26
1AND it came to pass, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples:
2You know that after two days shall be the pasch, and the son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified:
3Then were gathered together the chief priests and ancients of the people into the court of the high priest, who was called Caiphas:
4And they consulted together, that by subtilty they might apprehend Jesus, and put him to death.
5But they said: Not on the festival day, lest perhaps there should be a tumult among the people.
6And when Jesus was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper,
7There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he was at table.
8And the disciples seeing it, had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this waste?
9For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10And Jesus knowing it, said to them: Why do you trouble this woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always.
12For she in pouring this ointment upon my body, hath done it for my burial.
13Amen I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for a memory of her.
14Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests,
15And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver.
16And from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray him.
17And on the first day of the Azymes, the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the pasch?
18But Jesus said: Go ye into the city to a certain man, and say to him: the master saith, My time is near at hand, with thee I make the pasch with my disciples.
19And the disciples did as Jesus appointed to them, and they prepared the pasch.
20But when it was evening, he sat down with his twelve disciples.
21And whilst they were eating, he said: Amen I say to you, that one of you is about to betray me.
22And they being very much troubled, began every one to say: Is it I, Lord?
23But he answering, said: He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, he shall betray me.
24The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed: it were better for him, if that man had not been born.
25And Judas that betrayed him, answering, said: Is it I, Rabbi? He saith to him: Thou hast said it.
26And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body.
27And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this.
28For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.
29And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.
30And a hymn being said, they went out unto mount Olivet.
31Then Jesus said to them: All you shall be scandalized in me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed.
32But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
33And Peter answering, said to him: Although all shall be scandalized in thee, I will never be scandalized.
34Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice.
35Peter saith to him: Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner said all the disciples.
36Then Jesus came with them into a country place which is called Gethsemani; and he said to his disciples: Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray.
37And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad.
38Then he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me.
39And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40And he cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and he saith to Peter: What? Could you not watch one hour with me?
41Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak.
42Again the second time, he went and prayed, saying: My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done.
43And he cometh again and findeth them sleeping: for their eyes were heavy.
44And leaving them, he went again: and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word.
45Then he cometh to his disciples, and saith to them: Sleep ye now and take your rest; behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46Rise, let us go: behold he is at hand that will betray me.
47As he yet spoke, behold Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the ancients of the people.
48And he that betrayed him, gave them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he, hold him fast.
49And forthwith coming to Jesus, he said: Hail, Rabbi. And he kissed him.
50And Jesus said to him: Friend, whereto art thou come? Then they came up, and laid hands on Jesus, and held him.
51And behold one of them that were with Jesus, stretching forth his hand, drew out his sword: and striking the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear.
52Then Jesus saith to him: Put up again thy sword into its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
53Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels?
54How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done?
55In that same hour Jesus said to the multitudes: You are come out as it were to a robber with swords and clubs to apprehend me. I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you laid not hands on me.
56Now all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then the disciples all leaving him, fled.
57But they holding Jesus led him to Caiphas the high priest, where the scribes and the ancients were assembled.
58And Peter followed him afar off, even to the court of the high priest. And going in, he sat with the servants, that he might see the end.
59And the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death:
60And they found not, whereas many false witnesses had come in. And last of all there came two false witnesses:
61And they said: This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and after three days to rebuild it.
62And the high priest rising up, said to him: Answerest thou nothing to the things which these witness against thee?
63But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest said to him: I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us if thou be the Christ the Son of God.
64Jesus saith to him: Thou hast said it. Nevertheless I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
65Then the high priests rent his garments, saying: He hath blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy:
66What think you? But they answering, said: He is guilty of death.
67Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him: and others struck his face with the palms of their hands,
68Saying: Prophesy unto us, O Christ, who is he that struck thee?
69But Peter sat without in the court: and there came to him a servant maid, saying: Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean.
70But he denied before them all, saying: I know not what thou sayest.
71And as he went out of the gate, another maid saw him, and she saith to them that were there: This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.
72And again he denied with an oath, I know not the man.
73And after a little while they came that stood by, and said to Peter: Surely thou also art one of them; for even thy speech doth discover thee.
74Then he began to curse and to swear that he knew not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
75And Peter remembered the word of Jesus which he had said: Before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. And going forth, he wept bitterly.
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St Matthew 26: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Matthew 26
26
Anointed for Burial
1-2When Jesus finished saying these things, he told his disciples, “You know that Passover comes in two days. That’s when the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over for crucifixion.”
3-5At that very moment, the party of high priests and religious leaders was meeting in the chambers of the Chief Priest named Caiaphas, conspiring to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. “We don’t want a riot on our hands,” they said.
6-9When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper, a woman came up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. “That’s criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor.”
10-13When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. “Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives, but not me. When she poured this perfume on my body, what she really did was anoint me for burial. You can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired.”
14-16That is when one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the cabal of high priests and said, “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” They settled on thirty silver pieces. He began looking for just the right moment to hand him over.
The Traitor
17On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?”
18-19He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal.
20-21After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”
22They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”
23-24Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”
25Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”
Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”
The Bread and the Cup
26-29During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:
Take, eat.
This is my body.
Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:
Drink this, all of you.
This is my blood,
God’s new covenant poured out for many people
for the forgiveness of sins.
“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”
30They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.
Gethsemane
31-32Then Jesus told them, “Before the night’s over, you’re going to fall to pieces because of what happens to me. There is a Scripture that says,
I’ll strike the shepherd;
dazed and confused, the sheep will be scattered.
But after I am raised up, I, your Shepherd, will go ahead of you, leading the way to Galilee.”
33Peter broke in, “Even if everyone else falls to pieces on account of you, I won’t.”
34“Don’t be so sure,” Jesus said. “This very night, before the rooster crows up the dawn, you will deny me three times.”
35Peter protested, “Even if I had to die with you, I would never deny you.” All the others said the same thing.
36-38Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
42He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”
43-44When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.
45-46When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”
With Swords and Clubs
47-49The words were barely out of his mouth when Judas (the one from the Twelve) showed up, and with him a gang from the high priests and religious leaders brandishing swords and clubs. The betrayer had worked out a sign with them: “The one I kiss, that’s the one—seize him.” He went straight to Jesus, greeted him, “How are you, Rabbi?” and kissed him.
50-51Jesus said, “Friend, why this charade?”
Then they came on him—grabbed him and roughed him up. One of those with Jesus pulled his sword and, taking a swing at the Chief Priest’s servant, cut off his ear.
52-54Jesus said, “Put your sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords. Don’t you realize that I am able right now to call to my Father, and twelve companies—more, if I want them—of fighting angels would be here, battle-ready? But if I did that, how would the Scriptures come true that say this is the way it has to be?”
55-56Then Jesus addressed the mob: “What is this—coming out after me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I have been sitting in the Temple teaching, and you never so much as lifted a hand against me. You’ve done it this way to confirm and fulfill the prophetic writings.”
Then all the disciples cut and ran.
False Charges
57-58The gang that had seized Jesus led him before Caiaphas the Chief Priest, where the religion scholars and leaders had assembled. Peter followed at a safe distance until they got to the Chief Priest’s courtyard. Then he slipped in and mingled with the servants, watching to see how things would turn out.
59-60a The high priests, conspiring with the Jewish Council, tried to cook up charges against Jesus in order to sentence him to death. But even though many stepped up, making up one false accusation after another, nothing was believable.
60b-61 Finally two men came forward with this: “He said, ‘I can tear down this Temple of God and after three days rebuild it.’”
62The Chief Priest stood up and said, “What do you have to say to the accusation?”
63Jesus kept silent.
Then the Chief Priest said, “I command you by the authority of the living God to say if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64Jesus was curt: “You yourself said it. And that’s not all. Soon you’ll see it for yourself:
The Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Mighty One,
Arriving on the clouds of heaven.”
65-66At that, the Chief Priest lost his temper, ripping his robes, yelling, “He blasphemed! Why do we need witnesses to accuse him? You all heard him blaspheme! Are you going to stand for such blasphemy?”
They all said, “Death! That seals his death sentence.”
67-68Then they were spitting in his face and knocking him around. They jeered as they slapped him: “Prophesy, Messiah: Who hit you that time?”
Denial in the Courtyard
69All this time, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard. One servant girl came up to him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean.”
70In front of everybody there, he denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
71As he moved over toward the gate, someone else said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.”
72Again he denied it, salting his denial with an oath: “I swear, I never laid eyes on the man.”
73Shortly after that, some bystanders approached Peter. “You’ve got to be one of them. Your accent gives you away.”
74-75Then he got really nervous and swore. “I don’t know the man!”
Just then a rooster crowed. Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.