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Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.
Matthew 22:15 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
  • KJV Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.
  • NKJV Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.
  • NASB Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said.
  • NLT Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The Pharisees plot to trap Jesus in His words. Their hostility now turns to calculated entrapment.

Overview

Having been exposed by the parables, the Pharisees scheme to catch Jesus in a politically dangerous statement. Their plotting reveals hearts set on destroying Him rather than learning from Him. This begins a series of test-questions designed to discredit Jesus, each of which He turns into an occasion for revealing truth.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Luke 20:20–26So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.
  • Mark 12:13–17Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words.
  • Ps 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
  • Ps 56:5–7All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.
  • Ps 59:3See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.
  • Luke 11:53–54As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
  • Ps 57:6They spread a net for my feet; my soul was despondent. They dug a pit before me, but they themselves have fallen into it! Selah
  • Jer 20:10For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.”
  • Heb 12:3Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
  • Ps 41:6My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.
  • Jer 18:18Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
  • Isa 29:21those who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 22:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 22:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.