Matthew 27 - English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

27 ^(A)When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^(B)took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ² And they bound him and ^(C)led him away and ^(D)delivered him over to ^(E)Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

³ Then when ^(F)Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus^[a] was condemned, ^(G)he changed his mind and brought back ^(H)the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^(I)See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^(J)he departed, and he went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^(K)the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸ Therefore ^(L)that field has been called the Field of Blood ^(M)to this day. ^{9 (N)}Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^(O)“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

^{11 (P)}Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^(Q)the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ^(R)“You have said so.” ^{12 (S)}But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, ^(T)“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

^{15 (U)}Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^(V)Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out ^(W)of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on ^(X)the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^(Y)that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^(Z)in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^(AA)ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^(AB)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? ^(AC)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^(AD)a riot was beginning, he took water and ^(AE)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(AF)this man's blood;^{[b] (AG)}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, ^(AH)“His blood be on us and ^(AI)on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^(AJ)scourged^[c] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^{27 (AK)}Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^(AL)governor's headquarters,^[d] and they gathered the whole ^(AM)battalion^[e] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put ^(AN)a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^(AO)mocked him, saying, “Hail, ^(AP)King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(AQ)they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ^(AR)led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^{32 (AS)(AT)}As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^(AU)carry his cross. ^{33 (AV)}And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ^{34 (AW)}they offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^(AX)gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, ^(AY)they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and ^(AZ)kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^(BA)the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two ^(BB)robbers were crucified with him, ^(BC)one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And ^(BD)those who passed by ^(BE)derided him, ^(BF)wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, ^(BG)“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^(BH)If you are ^(BI)the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ^{42 (BJ)}“He saved others; ^(BK)he cannot save himself. ^(BL)He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ^{43 (BM)}He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ^{44 (BN)}And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour^[f] there was darkness over all the land^[g] until the ninth hour.^{[h] 46} And about the ninth hour Jesus ^(BO)cried out with a loud voice, saying, ^(BP)“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^(BQ)sour wine, and put it on a reed and ^(BR)gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(BS)cried out again with a loud voice and ^(BT)yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(BU)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^(BV)the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^(BW)the saints ^(BX)who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^(BY)the holy city and appeared to many. ^{54 (BZ)}When the centurion and those who were with him, ^(CA)keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^(CB)“Truly this was the Son^[i] of God!”

⁵⁵ There were also ^(CC)many women there, looking on ^(CD)from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^(CE)ministering to him, ⁵⁶ among whom were ^(CF)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^(CG)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^{57 (CH)}When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and ^(CI)laid it in his own new tomb, ^(CJ)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^(CK)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and ^(CL)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of ^(CM)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how ^(CN)that impostor said, while he was still alive, ^(CO)‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^(CP)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have ^(CQ)a guard^[j] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by ^(CR)sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 27:3 Greek he
2. Matthew 27:24 Some manuscripts this righteous blood, or this righteous man's blood
3. Matthew 27:26 A Roman judicial penalty, consisting of a severe beating with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal
4. Matthew 27:27 Greek the praetorium
5. Matthew 27:27 Greek cohort; a tenth of a Roman legion, usually about 600 men
6. Matthew 27:45 That is, noon
7. Matthew 27:45 Or earth
8. Matthew 27:45 That is, 3 p.m.
9. Matthew 27:54 Or a son
10. Matthew 27:65 Or Take a guard

Cross references

1. Matthew 27:1 : Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66
2. Matthew 27:1 : See ch. 26:4
3. Matthew 27:2 : Luke 23:1; John 18:28
4. Matthew 27:2 : See ch. 20:19
5. Matthew 27:2 : Luke 3:1; 13:1; Acts 3:13; 4:27; 1 Tim. 6:13
6. Matthew 27:3 : See ch. 26:14
7. Matthew 27:3 : ch. 21:29
8. Matthew 27:3 : ch. 26:15
9. Matthew 27:4 : ver. 24
10. Matthew 27:5 : [2 Sam. 17:23; Acts 1:18]
11. Matthew 27:6 : Mark 12:41, 43; Luke 21:1; John 8:20
12. Matthew 27:8 : Acts 1:19
13. Matthew 27:8 : ch. 28:15
14. Matthew 27:9 : See ch. 1:22
15. Matthew 27:9 : Cited from Zech. 11:13
16. Matthew 27:11 : For ver. 11-14, see Mark 15:2-5; Luke 23:2, 3; John 18:29-38
17. Matthew 27:11 : ver. 29, 37; ch. 2:2; John 18:39; 19:3; [ver. 42]
18. Matthew 27:11 : [1 Tim. 6:13]; See Luke 22:70
19. Matthew 27:12 : See ch. 26:63
20. Matthew 27:13 : John 19:10
21. Matthew 27:15 : For ver. 15-26, see Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:39, 40; 19:16
22. Matthew 27:17 : ver. 22
23. Matthew 27:18 : [John 12:19]
24. Matthew 27:19 : John 19:13
25. Matthew 27:19 : ver. 24; [Luke 23:47]
26. Matthew 27:19 : See ch. 2:12
27. Matthew 27:20 : Acts 3:14
28. Matthew 27:22 : Acts 13:28
29. Matthew 27:23 : [Luke 23:41; John 8:46]
30. Matthew 27:24 : ch. 26:5
31. Matthew 27:24 : [Deut. 21:6-8; Ps. 26:6; 73:13]
32. Matthew 27:24 : ver. 19
33. Matthew 27:24 : ver. 4
34. Matthew 27:25 : [ch. 23:35, 36; Josh. 2:19; Acts 5:28]
35. Matthew 27:25 : [Ex. 20:5; Lam. 5:7]
36. Matthew 27:26 : ch. 20:19; Isa. 50:6; 53:5; [Luke 23:16; John 19:1]
37. Matthew 27:27 : For ver. 27-31, see Mark 15:16-20; John 19:2, 3
38. Matthew 27:27 : John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35; Phil. 1:13 (Gk.)
39. Matthew 27:27 : See Acts 10:1 (Gk.)
40. Matthew 27:28 : Rev. 18:12, 16; [Luke 23:11]
41. Matthew 27:29 : ch. 20:19
42. Matthew 27:29 : See ver. 11
43. Matthew 27:30 : See ch. 26:67
44. Matthew 27:31 : Isa. 53:7
45. Matthew 27:32 : Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26; [John 19:17]
46. Matthew 27:32 : Heb. 13:12; [ch. 21:39; Num. 15:35]
47. Matthew 27:32 : Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26; [John 19:17]
48. Matthew 27:33 : For ver. 33-51, see Mark 15:22-38; Luke 23:32-38, 44-46; John 19:17-19, 23, 24, 28-30
49. Matthew 27:34 : [Ps. 69:21]
50. Matthew 27:34 : Acts 8:23
51. Matthew 27:35 : Ps. 22:18
52. Matthew 27:36 : ver. 54; [Ps. 22:17]
53. Matthew 27:37 : ver. 11, 29
54. Matthew 27:38 : [John 18:40]
55. Matthew 27:38 : [ch. 20:21]
56. Matthew 27:39 : Ps. 22:7; 109:25; [Lam. 1:12]
57. Matthew 27:39 : Luke 22:65; 23:39; [James 2:7]
58. Matthew 27:39 : Job 16:4; Isa. 37:22; Jer. 18:16; Lam. 2:15
59. Matthew 27:40 : ch. 26:61
60. Matthew 27:40 : ch. 4:3, 6
61. Matthew 27:40 : ver. 43; ch. 26:63; See ch. 14:33
62. Matthew 27:42 : [Luke 4:23]
63. Matthew 27:42 : [ch. 26:53, 54; John 10:18]
64. Matthew 27:42 : John 1:49; 12:13; [ver. 37]
65. Matthew 27:43 : Cited from Ps. 22:8
66. Matthew 27:44 : [Luke 23:39-43]
67. Matthew 27:46 : [Heb. 5:7]
68. Matthew 27:46 : Cited from Ps. 22:1
69. Matthew 27:48 : Ruth 2:14
70. Matthew 27:48 : Ps. 69:21
71. Matthew 27:50 : ver. 46
72. Matthew 27:50 : [John 10:18]
73. Matthew 27:51 : Ex. 26:31-33; 2 Chr. 3:14
74. Matthew 27:51 : ver. 54
75. Matthew 27:52 : [Dan. 7:18, 22]
76. Matthew 27:52 : John 11:11-13; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Cor. 15:6, 18, 20; 1 Thess. 4:13-15; 2 Pet. 3:4
77. Matthew 27:53 : See ch. 4:5
78. Matthew 27:54 : For ver. 54-56, see Mark 15:39-41; Luke 23:47, 49
79. Matthew 27:54 : ver. 36
80. Matthew 27:54 : ver. 43
81. Matthew 27:55 : John 19:25
82. Matthew 27:55 : Ps. 38:11
83. Matthew 27:55 : See Luke 8:2, 3
84. Matthew 27:56 : [See ver. 55 above]; See Luke 8:2, 3
85. Matthew 27:56 : ch. 20:20; [Mark 15:40]
86. Matthew 27:57 : For ver. 57-61, see Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42
87. Matthew 27:60 : [Isa. 53:9]
88. Matthew 27:60 : Isa. 22:16
89. Matthew 27:60 : Mark 16:4; [John 11:38]
90. Matthew 27:61 : ver. 56; ch. 28:1
91. Matthew 27:62 : Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42
92. Matthew 27:63 : [ver. 64; John 7:12]
93. Matthew 27:63 : ch. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 28:6; Mark 8:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:6, 7; [ch. 26:61; John 2:19]
94. Matthew 27:64 : [ch. 28:13]
95. Matthew 27:65 : ch. 28:11
96. Matthew 27:66 : Dan. 6:17