Matthew 27:1-26

New English Translation

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27 When^[a] it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him. ²They^[b] tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate^[c] the governor.^[d]

Judas’ Suicide

³Now when^[e] Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus^[f] had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!” ⁵So^[g] Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself. ⁶The^[h] chief priests took the silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷After^[i] consulting together they bought the Potter’s Field with it, as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken by Jeremiah^[j] the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel,^[k] ¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”^[l]

Jesus and Pilate

¹¹Then^[m] Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him,^[n] “Are you the king^[o] of the Jews?” Jesus^[p] said, “You say so.”^[q] ¹²But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he did not respond. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many charges they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴But he did not answer even one accusation, so that the governor was quite amazed.

¹⁵During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd,^[r] whomever they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus^[s] Barabbas. ¹⁷So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus^[t] Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?”^[u] ¹⁸(For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.)^[v] ¹⁹As^[w] he was sitting on the judgment seat,^[x] his wife sent a message^[y] to him:^[z] “Have nothing to do with that innocent man;^[aa] I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream^[ab] about him today.” ²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. ²¹The^[ac] governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!” ²²Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?”^[ad] They all said, “Crucify him!”^[ae] ²³He asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!”

Jesus is Condemned and Mocked

²⁴When^[af] Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves!”^[ag] ²⁵In^[ah] reply all the people said, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶Then he released Barabbas for them. But after he had Jesus flogged,^[ai] he handed him over^[aj] to be crucified.^[ak]

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Footnotes

Matthew 27:1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:2 tc Most mss (A C W Γ Δ Θ 0250 ƒ^1,13 565 579 700 1241 1424 M latt) have Ποντίῳ (Pontiō, “Pontius”) before Πιλάτῳ (Pilatō, “Pilate”), but there seems to be no reason for omitting the tribal name, either intentionally or unintentionally. Adding “Pontius,” however, is a natural expansion on the text, and is in keeping with several other NT and patristic references to the Roman governor (cf. Luke 3:1; Acts 4:27; 1 Tim 6:13; Ign. Magn. 11.1; Ign. Trall. 9.1; Ign. Smyrn. 1.2; Justin Martyr, passim). See TCGNT 52-53. The shorter reading, supported by א B L 0281 33 co, is thus strongly preferred.
Matthew 27:2 sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it from being used to execute Roman sympathizers.
Matthew 27:3 tn Grk “Then when.” Here τότε (tote) has been translated as “now” to indicate a somewhat parenthetical interlude in the sequence of events.
Matthew 27:3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 27:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the leaders’ response to Judas.
Matthew 27:6 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:9 tc The problematic citing of Jeremiah for a text which appears to come from Zechariah has prompted certain scribes to alter it. Codex 22 has Ζαχαρίου (Zachariou, “Zechariah”) while Φ 33 and several versional witnesses omit the prophet’s name altogether. And codex 21 and the Latin ms l change the prophet’s name to “Isaiah,” in accordance with natural scribal proclivities to alter the text toward the most prominent OT prophet. But unquestionably the name Jeremiah is the wording of the original here, because it is supported by virtually all witnesses and because it is the harder reading. See D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” EBC 8:562-63, for a discussion of the textual and especially hermeneutical problem.
Matthew 27:9 tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” an idiom referring to the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58).
Matthew 27:10 sn The source of this citation is debated (see the tc note on Jeremiah in v. 9 above for a related discussion). The quotation is most closely related to Zech 11:12-13, but the reference to Jeremiah in v. 9 as the source leads one to look there as well. There is no exact match for this text in Jeremiah, but there are some conceptual parallels: In Jer 18:2-6 the prophet visits a potter, and in Jer 32:6-15 he buys a field. D. A. Carson argues that Jer 19:1-13 is the source of the quotation augmented with various phrases drawn from Zech 11:12-13 (“Matthew,” EBC 8:563). W. D. Davies and D. C. Allison argue that the reference to Jeremiah is not meant to refer to one specific text from that prophet, but instead to signal that his writings as a whole are a source from which the quotation is drawn (Matthew [ICC], 3:568-69). Although the exact source of the citation is uncertain, it is reasonable to see texts from the books of Jeremiah and Zechariah both coming into play here.
Matthew 27:11 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Matthew 27:11 tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
Matthew 27:11 sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.
Matthew 27:11 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:11 sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership in 26:64.
Matthew 27:15 sn The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15; John 18:39).
Matthew 27:16 tc Although the external evidence for the inclusion of “Jesus” before “Barabbas” (in vv. 16 and 17) is rather sparse, being restricted virtually to mss of what was formally labeled the “Caesarean” text (Θ ƒ¹ 700* sy^s arm geo²; Or^mss), the omission of the Lord’s name in apposition to “Barabbas” is such a strongly motivated reading that it can hardly be original. There is no good explanation for a scribe unintentionally adding ᾿Ιησοῦν (Iēsoun) before Βαραββᾶν (Barabban), especially since Barabbas is mentioned first in each verse (thus dittography is ruled out). Further, the addition of τὸν λεγόμενον Χριστόν (ton legomenon Christon, “who is called Christ”) to ᾿Ιησοῦν in v. 17 makes better sense if Barabbas is also called “Jesus” (otherwise, a mere “Jesus” would have been a sufficient appellation to distinguish the two). Metzger notes that codex S, a tenth-century majuscule, along with a score of minuscules, have a marginal comment on this verse as follows: “In many ancient copies which I have met with I found Barabbas himself likewise called ‘Jesus.’” The attribution of this scholium is variously given as Anastasius, Chrysostom, or even Origen (TCGNT 56).
Matthew 27:17 tc Again, as in v. 16, the name “Jesus” is supplied before “Barabbas” in Θ ƒ¹ 700* sy^s Or^mss (Θ 700* lack the article τόν [ton] before Βαραββᾶν [Barabban]). The same argument for accepting the inclusion of “Jesus” as the earlier reading in the previous verse applies here as well.
Matthew 27:17 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
Matthew 27:18 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
Matthew 27:19 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:19 tn Or “the judge’s seat.”sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bēma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and usually furnished with a seat. It was used by officials in addressing an assembly or making official pronouncements, often of a judicial nature.
Matthew 27:19 tn The word “message” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
Matthew 27:19 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
Matthew 27:19 tn The Greek particle γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated here.
Matthew 27:19 tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.
Matthew 27:21 tn Grk “answering, the governor said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:22 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
Matthew 27:22 tn Grk “Him—be crucified!” The third person imperative is difficult to translate because English has no corresponding third person form for the imperative. The traditional translation “Let him be crucified” sounds as if the crowd is giving consent or permission. “He must be crucified” is closer, but it is more natural in English to convert the passive to active and simply say “Crucify him.”sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
Matthew 27:24 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:24 sn You take care of it yourselves! Compare the response of the chief priests and elders to Judas in 27:4. The expression is identical except that in 27:4 it is singular and here it is plural.
Matthew 27:25 tn Grk “answering, all the people said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
Matthew 27:26 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (phragelloō) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”sn A Roman flogging (traditionally, “scourging”) was an excruciating punishment. The victim was stripped of his clothes and bound to a post with his hands fastened above him (or sometimes he was thrown to the ground). Guards standing on either side of the victim would incessantly beat him with a whip (flagellum) made out of leather with pieces of lead and bone inserted into its ends. While the Jews only allowed 39 lashes, the Romans had no such limit; many people who received such a beating died as a result. See C. Schneider, TDNT, 4:515-19.
Matthew 27:26 tn Or “delivered him up.”
Matthew 27:26 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.