And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
Parallel translations
- WEB They took counsel together that they might take Jesus by deceit, and kill him.
- BSB and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.
- NKJV and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.
- NASB and they plotted together to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.
- NLT plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.
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 leaders plot to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him. Their reliance on deceit exposes the injustice of their cause.
Overview
Knowing Jesus's popularity, the leaders resolve to seize Him secretly rather than openly. Their need for trickery reveals they have no legitimate grounds; truth does not require deceit. Yet even their scheming serves God's redemptive purpose, for through this conspiracy the Lamb of God would be offered up for sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 12:14Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
- Acts 13:10And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
- Ps 2:2The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
- Matt 23:33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
- Acts 7:19The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
- Gen 3:1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
- 2 Cor 11:3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 26:4 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.