The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is unlawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, “It’s not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.”
- KJV And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
- NKJV But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.”
- NASB The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.”
- NLT The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”
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 priests scruple to put the blood money in the treasury, calling it the price of blood. They are meticulous about ritual law while guilty of murder.
Overview
The chief priests recognize the returned silver as tainted 'blood money' unfit for the temple treasury. Their careful legal scruple stands in glaring contrast to their willingness to engineer an innocent man's death. The irony exposes a religion of outward precision that is inwardly blind to grave moral evil.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 6:7–9Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
- Deut 23:18You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.
- Isa 61:8For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity; in My faithfulness I will give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them.
- John 18:28Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
- Matt 23:24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
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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.'
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Original language
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