King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 26
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And it came to pass, when had finished all these sayings, he said unto his , Ye know that after two days is the feast of , and is betrayed to be . Then assembled together the , and the , and the of the people, unto the palace of the , who was called , And consulted that they might take by subtilty, and kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people. Now when was in , in the house of the , There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his saw it, they had , saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to . When understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. Then one of the twelve, called , went unto the , And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. Now the first day of the feast of came to , saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat ? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep at thy house with my . And did as had appointed them; and they made ready . Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, , is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. goeth as of him: but woe unto that man by whom is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then , which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, took bread, and it, and brake it, and gave it to , and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took , and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of . But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of , until that day when I drink it new with you in ’s kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into . Then saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for , I will smite the , and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am again, I will go before you into . answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. said unto him, Though I should with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all . Then cometh with them unto a place called , and saith unto , Sit ye here, while I go and yonder. And he took with him and the two sons of , and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, is exceeding sorrowful, even unto : tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on , and , saying, O , if it be possible, let this pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto , and findeth them asleep, and saith unto , What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and , that ye enter not into : indeed is willing, but is weak. He went away again the second time, and , saying, O , if this may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his , and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and is betrayed into the hands of . Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, lo, , one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with and staves, from the and of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him . And forthwith he came to , and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. And said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on , and took him. And, behold, one of them which were with stretched out his hand, and drew his , and struck a the ’s, and smote off his ear. Then said unto him, Put up again thy into his place: for all they that take shall with . Thinkest thou that I cannot now to , and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of ? But how then shall be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said to the , Are ye come out as against a thief with and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in , and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that of might be fulfilled. Then all forsook him, and fled. And they that had laid hold on led him away to the , where the and the were assembled. But followed him afar off unto the ’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. Now the , and , and all , sought false against , to put him to ; But found none: yea, though many false came, yet found they none. At the last came two false , And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy of , and to build it in three days. And the arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these against thee? But held his peace. And the answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living , that thou tell us whether thou be , the Son of . saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see sitting on of , and coming in the clouds of . Then the rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of ? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of . Then did they spit in , and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, unto us, thou , Who is he that smote thee? Now sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with of . But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with of . And again he denied with an , I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to , Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to and to , saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And remembered the word of , which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.