Matthew 27

1 When morning came, all the high priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put him to death.ISV — Matthew 27:1

2 They bound him with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pontius ^{a27:2 Other mss. lack Pontius} Pilate, the governor. ( )ISV — Matthew 27:2

3 Then Judas, who had betrayed him, regretted what had happened when he saw that Jesus ^{b27:3 Lit. he} was condemned. He brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the high priests and elders,ISV — Matthew 27:3

4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent ^{c27:4 Other mss. read righteous} blood.” But they replied, “What do we care? Attend to that yourself.”ISV — Matthew 27:4

5 Then he flung the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, went outside, ran away, and hanged himself.ISV — Matthew 27:5

6 The high priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money.”ISV — Matthew 27:6

7 So they decided to use the money to buy the Potter’s Field as a burial ground for foreigners.ISV — Matthew 27:7

8 That is why that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.ISV — Matthew 27:8

9 Then what had been declared through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled when he said, “They ^{d27:9 Or I} took the 30 pieces of silver, the value of the man on whom a price had been set by the Israelis,ISV — Matthew 27:9

10 and they ^{e27:10 Other mss. read I} gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” ^{f27:10 Cf. Zech 11:12-13; Jer 32:6-9} ( ; ; )ISV — Matthew 27:10

11 Meanwhile, Jesus was made to stand in front of the governor. The governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.”ISV — Matthew 27:11

12 While Jesus ^{g27:12 Lit. he} was being accused by the high priests and elders, he made no reply.ISV — Matthew 27:12

13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear how many charges they’re bringing against you?”ISV — Matthew 27:13

14 But Jesus ^{h27:14 Lit. he} did not reply at all, so that the governor was very surprised. ( ; ; )ISV — Matthew 27:14

15 At every festival ^{i27:15 i.e. Passover Festival} the governor had a custom of releasing to the crowd any prisoner whom they wanted.ISV — Matthew 27:15

16 At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. ^{j27:16 Other mss. read Jesus Barabbas}ISV — Matthew 27:16

17 So when the people ^{k27:17 Lit. they} had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to release for you—Barabbas, ^{l27:17 Other mss. read Jesus Barabbas} or Jesus who is called ‘the Messiah’?” ^{m27:17 Or Christ}ISV — Matthew 27:17

18 He did this ^{n27:18 The Gk. lacks He did this} because he knew that they had handed him over out of jealousy.ISV — Matthew 27:18

19 While he was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message ^{o27:19 The Gk. lacks a message} that said, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, because today I have suffered terribly due to a dream I had about him.”ISV — Matthew 27:19

20 But the high priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to demand that Jesus be put to death.ISV — Matthew 27:20

21 So the governor asked them, “Which of the two men do you want me to release for you?” “Barabbas!” they replied.ISV — Matthew 27:21

22 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?” ^{p27:22 Or Christ} They all said, “Let him be crucified!”ISV — Matthew 27:22

23 He asked, “What has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting louder and louder, “Let him be crucified!”ISV — Matthew 27:23

24 Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was about to break out instead. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s ^{q27:24 Other mss. read this righteous man’s} blood. Attend to that yourselves.”ISV — Matthew 27:24

25 All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and our children!”ISV — Matthew 27:25

26 Then he released Barabbas for them, but he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified. ( ; )ISV — Matthew 27:26

27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the imperial headquarters ^{r27:27 Lit. praetorium} and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.ISV — Matthew 27:27

28 They stripped ^{s27:28 Other mss. read clothed} him and put a scarlet robe on him.ISV — Matthew 27:28

29 Twisting some thorns into a victor’s crown, they placed it on his head and put ^{t27:29 The Gk. lacks put} a stick in his right hand. They knelt down in front of him and began making fun of him, saying, “Long live the king of the Jews!”ISV — Matthew 27:29

30 Then they spit on him and took the stick and hit him repeatedly on his head.ISV — Matthew 27:30

31 When they had finished making fun of him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to crucify him. ( ; ; )ISV — Matthew 27:31

32 As they were leaving, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced to carry Jesus’ ^{u27:32 Lit. his} cross.ISV — Matthew 27:32

33 When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means “Skull Place”),ISV — Matthew 27:33

34 they offered him a drink of wine mixed with gall. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it.ISV — Matthew 27:34

35 After they had crucified him, they determined who would get his clothes by throwing dice for them. ^{v27:35 The Gk. lacks for them}ISV — Matthew 27:35

36 Then they sat down there and continued guarding him.ISV — Matthew 27:36

37 Above his head they placed the charge against him. It read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”ISV — Matthew 27:37

38 At that time two bandits ^{w27:38 Or revolutionaries} were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.ISV — Matthew 27:38

39 Those who passed by kept insulting ^{x27:39 Or blaspheming} him, shaking their heads,ISV — Matthew 27:39

40 and saying, “You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days—save yourself! If you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross!”ISV — Matthew 27:40

41 In the same way the high priests, along with the scribes and elders, were also making fun of him. They kept saying,ISV — Matthew 27:41

42 “He saved others but can’t save himself! He is the king of Israel. Let him ^{y27:42 Other mss. read If he is the king of Israel, let him} come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.ISV — Matthew 27:42

43 He trusts in God. Let God ^{z27:43 Lit. him} rescue him, if he wants to do so now. After all, he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”ISV — Matthew 27:43

44 In a similar way, the bandits ^{aa27:44 Or revolutionaries} who were being crucified with him kept insulting him. ( ; ; )ISV — Matthew 27:44

45 From noon ^{bb27:45 Lit. the sixth hour} on, darkness came over the whole land ^{cc27:45 Or earth} until three in the afternoon. ^{dd27:45 Lit. the ninth hour}ISV — Matthew 27:45

46 About three o’clock, ^{ee27:46 Lit. the ninth hour} Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, eli, ^{ff27:46 Eli, eli are Gk. transliterations for the Heb. My God, my God in Ps 22:1} lema sabachthani?” , ^{gg27:46 lema sabachthani is a Gk. transliteration for the Aram. rendering of the Heb. in Ps 22:1, which means Why have you forsaken me?} which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ^{hh27:46 Cf. Ps 22:1}ISV — Matthew 27:46

47 When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” ^{ii27:47 Elijah in Heb. sounds like Eli}ISV — Matthew 27:47

48 So one of the men ran off at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus ^{jj27:48 Lit. him} a drink.ISV — Matthew 27:48

49 But the others kept saying, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.” ^{kk27:49 Other mss. read save him.” And another took a spear and pierced his side, and water and blood came out.}ISV — Matthew 27:49

50 Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice again and died. ^{ll27:50 Or and gave up his spirit}ISV — Matthew 27:50

51 Suddenly, the curtain ^{mm27:51 This curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.} in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, rocks were split open,ISV — Matthew 27:51

52 tombs were opened, and many ^{nn27:52 Lit. and the corpses of many} saints who had died ^{oo27:52 Lit. fallen asleep} were brought back to life.ISV — Matthew 27:52

53 After his resurrection, they came out of their tombs, went into the Holy City, ^{pp27:53 i.e. Jerusalem} and appeared to many people.ISV — Matthew 27:53

54 When the centurion ^{qq27:54 A Roman centurion commanded about 100 men.} and those guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things that were taking place, they were terrified and said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”ISV — Matthew 27:54

55 Now many women were also there, watching from a distance. They had accompanied Jesus from Galilee and had ministered to ^{rr27:55 Or provided for} him.ISV — Matthew 27:55

56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, ^{ss27:56 Or Mary of Magdala} Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. ( ; ; )ISV — Matthew 27:56

57 Later that evening, a rich man arrived from Arimathea. His name was Joseph, and he had become a disciple of Jesus.ISV — Matthew 27:57

58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered it to be done.ISV — Matthew 27:58

59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.ISV — Matthew 27:59

60 Then he placed it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock. After rolling a large stone across the door of the tomb, he left,ISV — Matthew 27:60

61 but Mary Magdalene ^{tt27:61 Or Mary of Magdala} and the other Mary remained there, sitting in front of the tomb.ISV — Matthew 27:61

62 The following day (that is, after the Day of Preparation), the high priests and Pharisees gathered before PilateISV — Matthew 27:62

63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘I will be raised after three days.’ISV — Matthew 27:63

64 Therefore, order the tomb to be secured until the third day, or his disciples may go and steal him and then tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ Then the last deception would be worse than the first one.”ISV — Matthew 27:64

65 Pilate told them, “You have ^{uu27:65 Or Take} a military guard. Go and make the tomb ^{vv27:65 Lit. it} as secure as you know how.”ISV — Matthew 27:65

66 So they went and secured the tomb by putting a seal on the stone in the presence of the guards.ISV — Matthew 27:66