Matthew 26:1-8

The Plot Against Jesus

26:1 When ¹  Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, 26:2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over ²  to be crucified.” 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. 26:4 They ⁴  planned to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 26:5 But they said, “Not during the feast, so that there won’t be a riot among the people.” ⁵ 

Jesus’ Anointing

26:6 Now while Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 26:7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar ⁶  of expensive perfumed oil, ⁷  and she poured it on his head as he was at the table. ⁸  26:8 When ⁹  the disciples saw this, they became indignant and said, “Why this waste?

[26:1]  ¹ tn Grk “And it happened when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[26:2]  ² tn Or “will be delivered up.”

[26:2]  ³ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[26:4]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:5]  ⁴ sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him.

[26:7]  ⁵ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[26:7]  ⁶ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205).

[26:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “as he was reclining at table.”

[26:8]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.