Matthew 2:4

2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ¹  he asked them where the Christ ²  was to be born.

Matthew 26:3

26:3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas.

Matthew 27:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27:1 When ³  it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him.

Matthew 21:23

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus ⁴  entered the temple courts, ⁵  the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority ⁶  are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Matthew 26:47

Betrayal and Arrest

26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas, ⁷  one of the twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people.

Matthew 13:15

13:15 For the heart of this people has become dull;

they are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ ⁸ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[27:1]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ⁷ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[26:47]  ⁷ tn Grk “behold, Judas.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[13:15]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.