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And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
Matthew 28:12 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,
  • BSB And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money
  • NKJV When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
  • NASB And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
  • NLT A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe.

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 chief priests and elders meet, take counsel, and bribe the soldiers with a large sum of money. They scheme to cover up the resurrection.

Overview

Faced with clear testimony, the leaders choose conspiracy over repentance, using money to manipulate the truth. Their deliberate plotting shows that unbelief is often a matter of the will rather than lack of evidence. The same authorities who paid Judas now pay again to bury the news of the risen Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Matt 27:62–64Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
  • Matt 27:1–2When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
  • Matt 26:3–4Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
  • Acts 4:5–22And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
  • Acts 5:33–34When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
  • Ps 2:1–7Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
  • John 12:10–11But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;
  • John 11:47Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
  • Acts 5:40And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

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 28:12YouTube · 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 28:12 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

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.