Matthew 26:1-35

New English Translation

The Plot Against Jesus

26 When^[a] Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, ²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over^[b] to be crucified.”^[c] ³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. ⁴They^[d] planned to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵But they said, “Not during the feast, so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”^[e]

Jesus’ Anointing

⁶Now while Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,^[f] ⁷a woman came to him with an alabaster jar^[g] of expensive perfumed oil,^[h] and she poured it on his head as he was at the table.^[i] ⁸When^[j] the disciples saw this, they became indignant and said, “Why this waste? ⁹It^[k] could have been sold at a high price and the money^[l] given to the poor!” ¹⁰When^[m] Jesus learned of this, he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She^[n] has done a good service for me. ¹¹For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!^[o] ¹²When^[p] she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³I tell you the truth,^[q] wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

The Plan to Betray Jesus

¹⁴Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?”^[r] So they set out thirty silver coins for him. ¹⁶From that time^[s] on, Judas^[t] began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

The Passover

¹⁷Now on the first day of the feast of^[u] Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and said,^[v] “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”^[w] ¹⁸He^[x] said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I will observe the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’” ¹⁹So^[y] the disciples did as Jesus had instructed them, and they prepared the Passover. ²⁰When^[z] it was evening, he took his place at the table^[aa] with the twelve.^[ab] ²¹And while they were eating he said, “I tell you the truth,^[ac] one of you will betray me.”^[ad] ²²They^[ae] became greatly distressed^[af] and each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³He^[ag] answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me^[ah] will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born.” ²⁵Then^[ai] Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus^[aj] replied, “You have said it yourself.”

The Lord’s Supper

²⁶While^[ak] they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” ²⁷And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, ²⁸for this is my blood, the blood^[al] of the covenant,^[am] that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I^[an] tell you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit^[ao] of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” ³⁰After^[ap] singing a hymn,^[aq] they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Prediction of Peter’s Denial

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “This night you will all fall away because of me, for it is written:

‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’^[ar]

³²But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” ³³Peter^[as] said to him, “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!” ³⁴Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth,^[at] on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” ³⁵Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will never deny you.” And all the disciples said the same thing.

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Footnotes

Matthew 26:1 tn Grk “And it happened when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
Matthew 26:2 tn Or “will be delivered up.”
Matthew 26:2 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
Matthew 26:4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:5 sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him.
Matthew 26:6 sn See the note on leper in Matt 8:2.
Matthew 26:7 sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.
Matthew 26:7 tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205).sn Mark specifies that the perfumed oil was Nard or spikenard, which is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India (Mark 14:3). This perfumed oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.
Matthew 26:7 tn Grk “as he was reclining.”sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
Matthew 26:8 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:9 tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:9 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).
Matthew 26:10 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:10 tn Grk “For she.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:11 tn In the Greek text of this clause, “me” is in emphatic position (the first word in the clause). To convey some impression of the emphasis, an exclamation point is used in the translation.
Matthew 26:12 tn Grk “For when.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:13 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
Matthew 26:15 tn Grk “What will you give to me, and I will deliver him over to you?”
Matthew 26:16 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 26:17 tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.
Matthew 26:17 tn Grk “the disciples came to Jesus, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.
Matthew 26:17 sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 26:20). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.
Matthew 26:18 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
Matthew 26:20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:20 tn Grk “he was reclining at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
Matthew 26:20 tc Many witnesses, some of them quite significant, have μαθητῶν (mathētōn, “disciples”; א A L W Δ Θ 33 892 1241 1424 pm lat) or μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (mathētōn autou, “his disciples”; 0281 it) after δώδεκα (dōdeka, “twelve”). However, such clarifications are typical scribal expansions to the text. Further, the shorter reading (the one that ends with δώδεκα) has strong support in P^37vid,45vid B D K Γ ƒ^1,13 565 579 700 pm. Thus both internally and externally the reading that ends the verse with “the twelve” is to be preferred.
Matthew 26:21 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
Matthew 26:21 tn Or “will hand me over.”
Matthew 26:22 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:22 tn The participle λυπούμενοι (lupoumenoi) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.
Matthew 26:23 tn Grk “answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:23 sn The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me. The point of Jesus’ comment here is not to identify the specific individual per se, but to indicate that it is one who was close to him—somebody whom no one would suspect. His comment serves to heighten the treachery of Judas’ betrayal.
Matthew 26:25 tn Grk “answering, Judas.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to reflect the sequence of events in the narrative.
Matthew 26:25 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 26:26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:28 tn Grk “for this is my blood of the covenant that is poured out for many.” In order to avoid confusion about which is poured out, the translation supplies “blood” twice so that the following phrase clearly modifies “blood,” not “covenant.”
Matthew 26:28 tc Most witnesses, including several significant ones, read καινῆς (kainēs, “new”) here. Homoioteleuton is a possible reason for the omission, since the article, adjective, and noun are all first declension genitive singulars (τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης, tēs kainēs diathēkēs, “the new covenant”), but the likelihood of excellent, early, and sufficiently diverse witnesses all making the same mistake is remote. A much more probable scenario is that the addition of καινῆς was motivated by the parallel in Luke 22:20. It is a natural expansion on the text. Coupled with the fact that the shorter reading is found in such good and diverse witnesses (e.g., P^37,45vid א B L Z Θ 0298^vid 33 mae), it most likely is the initial text.sn Jesus’ death established the forgiveness promised in the new covenant of Jer 31:31. Jesus is reinterpreting the symbolism of the Passover meal, indicating the presence of a new era.
Matthew 26:29 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:29 tn Grk “produce” (“the produce of the vine” is a figurative expression for wine).
Matthew 26:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:30 sn After singing a hymn. The Hallel Psalms (Pss 113-118) were sung during the meal. Psalms 113 and 114 were sung just before the second cup and 115-118 were sung at the end of the meal, after the fourth, or hallel cup.
Matthew 26:31 sn A quotation from Zech 13:7.
Matthew 26:33 tn Grk “answering, Peter said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 26:34 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”

New English Translation (NET)

Matthew 26:1-35 New English Translation