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Matthew 26
New Century Version
Matthew 26
New Century Version
The Plan to Kill Jesus
26 After Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his followers, 2 “You know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be crucified.”
3 Then the leading priests and the elders had a meeting at the palace of the high priest, named Caiaphas. 4 At the meeting, they planned to set a trap to arrest Jesus and kill him. 5 But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”
Perfume for Jesus’ Burial
6 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. 7 While Jesus was there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.
8 His followers were upset when they saw the woman do this. They asked, “Why waste that perfume? 9 It could have been sold for a great deal of money and the money given to the poor.”
10 Knowing what had happened, Jesus said, “Why are you troubling this woman? She did an excellent thing for me. 11 You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 This woman poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. 13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”
Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus
14 Then one of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests. 15 He said, “What will you pay me for giving Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty silver coins. 16 After that, Judas watched for the best time to turn Jesus in.
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18 Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: “The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover with my followers at your house.”’” 19 The followers did what Jesus told them to do, and they prepared the Passover meal.
20 In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his twelve followers. 21 As they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”
22 This made the followers very sad. Each one began to say to Jesus, “Surely, Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you, am I?”
23 Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl is the one who will turn against me. 24 The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
25 Then Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one, am I?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
The Lord’s Supper
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it; this is my body.”
27 Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. 28 This is my blood which is the new[a] agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins. 29 I tell you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine[b] again until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him
31 Jesus told his followers, “Tonight you will all stumble in your faith on account of me, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will kill the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.’ Zechariah 13:7
32 But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith because of you, but I will not.”
34 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
35 But Peter said, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone
36 Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. 38 He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”
39 After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup[c] of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” 40 Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”
42 Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, I pray that what you want will be done.”
43 Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then Jesus went back to his followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people. 46 Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against me.”
Jesus Is Arrested
47 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came up. With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the leading priests and the Jewish elders of the people. 48 Judas had planned to give them a signal, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him.” 49 At once Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Teacher!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus answered, “Friend, do what you came to do.”
Then the people came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51 When that happened, one of Jesus’ followers reached for his sword and pulled it out. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
52 Jesus said to the man, “Put your sword back in its place. All who use swords will be killed with swords. 53 Surely you know I could ask my Father, and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. 54 But it must happen this way to bring about what the Scriptures say.”
55 Then Jesus said to the crowd, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Temple teaching, and you did not arrest me there. 56 But all these things have happened so that it will come about as the prophets wrote.” Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
Jesus Before the Leaders
57 Those people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders were gathered. 58 Peter followed far behind to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, and he sat down with the guards to see what would happen to Jesus.
59 The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so they could kill him. 60 Many people came and told lies about him, but the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came and said, 61 “This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” 63 But Jesus said nothing.
Again the high priest said to Jesus, “I command you by the power of the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus answered, “Those are your words. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”
65 When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses; you all heard him say these things against God. 66 What do you think?”
The people answered, “He should die.”
67 Then the people there spat in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68 They said, “Prove to us that you are a prophet, you Christ! Tell us who hit you!”
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
69 At that time, as Peter was sitting in the courtyard, a servant girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But Peter said to all the people there that he was never with Jesus. He said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71 When he left the courtyard and was at the gate, another girl saw him. She said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again, Peter said he was never with him, saying, “I swear I don’t know this man Jesus!”
73 A short time later, some people standing there went to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus. The way you talk shows it.”
74 Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know the man.” At once, a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.
Footnotes
- 26:28 new Some Greek copies do not have this word. Compare Luke 22:20.
- 26:29 fruit of the vine Product of the grapevine; this may also be translated “wine.”
- 26:39 cup Jesus is talking about the terrible things that will happen to him. Accepting these things will be very hard, like drinking a cup of something bitter.
Matthew 26
New International Version
Matthew 26
New International Version
The Plot Against Jesus(A)
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,(B) he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover(C) is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled(D) in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,(E) 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.(F) 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot(G) among the people.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany(H)(I)
6 While Jesus was in Bethany(J) in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a](K) but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.(L) 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus(M)
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot(N)—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.(O) 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
The Last Supper(P)(Q)(R)
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(S) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”(T)
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time(U) is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”(V)
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.(W) 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.(X) But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him,(Y) said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”(Z)
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it(AA) and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup,(AB) and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[b] covenant,(AC) which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.(AD) 29 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(AE) in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.(AF)
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(AG)
31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me,(AH) for it is written:
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”(AJ)
33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”(AK)
35 But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you,(AL) I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
Gethsemane(AM)
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee(AN) along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow(AO) to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”(AP)
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup(AQ) be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”(AR)
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me(AS) for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.(AT) The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”(AU)
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour(AV) has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested(AW)
47 While he was still speaking, Judas,(AX) one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!”(AY) and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”[d](AZ)
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword,(BA) drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.(BB)
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.(BC) 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?(BD) 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled(BE) that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching,(BF) and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”(BG) Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin(BH)
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas(BI) the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest.(BJ) He entered and sat down with the guards(BK) to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin(BL) were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses(BM) came forward.
Finally two(BN) came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”(BO)
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.(BP)
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath(BQ) by the living God:(BR) Tell us if you are the Messiah,(BS) the Son of God.”(BT)
64 “You have said so,”(BU) Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One(BV) and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[e](BW)
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes(BX) and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,”(BY) they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.(BZ) Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”(CA)
Peter Disowns Jesus(CB)
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”(CC) And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnotes
- Matthew 26:11 See Deut. 15:11.
- Matthew 26:28 Some manuscripts the new
- Matthew 26:31 Zech. 13:7
- Matthew 26:50 Or “Why have you come, friend?”
- Matthew 26:64 See Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:13.
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.