And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
- BSB And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.
- NKJV And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.
- NASB And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not offer any answer.
- NLT But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.
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
Jesus stays silent under the chief priests' accusations. His refusal to defend Himself is dignified and deliberate.
Overview
Faced with a barrage of charges, Jesus offers no defense, displaying a composed silence that astonishes the court. This fulfills Isaiah's portrait of the suffering servant who, like a lamb led to slaughter, did not open His mouth. His silence reflects both His innocence and His willing submission to the Father's redemptive plan.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 26:63But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
- Isa 53:7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
- Matt 27:14And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
- Mark 15:3–5And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
- Acts 8:32The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
- John 19:9–11And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
- 1 Pet 2:23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
- Ps 38:13–14But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
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 27:12 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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