and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.
Parallel translations
- WEB and said, “What are you willing to give me, that I should deliver him to you?” They weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
- KJV And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
- BSB and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
- NKJV and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
- NASB and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
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
Judas asks a price for handing over Jesus and is paid thirty pieces of silver. He values the Son of God at the price of a slave.
Overview
Judas initiates the transaction, exposing greed as a motive. The thirty pieces of silver, the compensation for a gored slave in Exodus 21:32, fulfill Zechariah 11:12 and underscore the contempt placed on Jesus. The contrast with the priceless ointment just poured out could hardly be sharper.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Zech 11:12–13I said to them, “If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them.” So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
- Gen 37:26–28Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
- Exod 21:32If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
- 1 Tim 6:9–10But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
- 2 Pet 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
- Judg 17:10Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food.” So the Levite went in.
- Matt 27:3–5Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
- Judg 16:5The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, “Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
- Acts 1:18Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his wickedness, and falling headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines gushed out.
- 2 Pet 2:14–15having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;
- Judg 18:19–20They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”
- Gen 38:16He turned to her by the way, and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he didn’t know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
- 1 Tim 3:3not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
- Isa 56:11Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
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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 26:15 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
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