Luke 22:4

And Judas went to discuss with the chief priests and temple officers how he might betray Jesus to them.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Judas Iscariot approaches the chief priests and temple officers immediately after Satan enters him to negotiate the terms of betraying Jesus. The encounter occurs in private, directly preceding the leaders’ agreement to pay him.

The words — The Greek ἀπελθὼν (apelthōn) means "having gone away," and συνελάλησεν (sunelalēsen) means "he spoke with" or "conferred." These verbs frame the meeting as a deliberate, completed negotiation rather than a public declaration.

The thread — The chief priests and temple captains appear again in Matthew 26:14 and Acts 4:1, establishing a consistent pattern of religious authorities coordinating against Jesus and his followers. Their repeated presence marks them as the institutional opposition that enables the arrest and later silences the apostles.

Why it lands — The text records the precise moment spiritual influence translates into concrete political maneuvering. It asks the reader to observe how a theological claim becomes a historical conspiracy through specific, calculated actions.

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

καὶkaiAnd ἀπελθὼνapelthōnhaving gone away συνελάλησενsunelalēsenhe spoke with τοῖςtoisthe ἀρχιερεῦσινarchiereusinchief priests καὶkaiand τοῖςtoisthe στρατηγοῖςstratēgoiscaptains τὸto<the>πῶςpōshow αὐτοῖςautoisto them παραδῷparadōhe may betray αὐτόν.autonHim.

King James Version

And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.

Cross-references

Acts 4:1 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,
Acts 5:24 When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening.
Matthew 26:14 Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
Mark 14:10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.
Luke 22:52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw?
Acts 5:26 At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.