Bible Strands
John 11:57
But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where He was must report it, so that they could arrest Him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chief priests and Pharisees issue a directive to the temple crowds during the feast, ordering anyone who knows Jesus's location to report it for immediate arrest. This follows the people's search for Him in the temple courts and their uncertainty about His arrival.
The words — δεδώκεισαν (dedōkeisan) translates literally as "had given orders" or "had commanded," indicating a formal, completed directive. The conjunction δὲ (de) marks a narrative shift from the crowd's questioning to the authorities' decisive action.
The thread — This pattern of religious leaders seeking to arrest Jesus appears in John 5:16 and John 8:59, where His actions provoke escalating hostility. The dynamic of persecution meeting prayer is echoed in Psalms 109:4.
Why it lands — The text explicitly states that the authorities issued a binding order to locate and arrest Jesus, establishing the immediate historical reality of their pursuit. It requires the reader to acknowledge this calculated opposition and trace its continuity through the cited passages without softening the confrontation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.
Cross-references
- Psalms 109:4 In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
- John 5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.
- John 8:59 At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
- John 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
- John 10:39 At this, they tried again to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.