Bible Strands
Matthew 26:4
and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chief priests and elders of the people assemble in the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas to coordinate their response to Jesus.
The words — συνεβουλεύσαντο (suneboulesanto) means "they plotted together," and δόλῳ (dolō) translates to "by guile" or covertly.
The thread — This coordinated opposition appears in Matthew 12:14, where the Pharisees plot to kill Jesus, and reflects the gathered rulers in Psalms 2:2 who stand against the LORD and His Anointed One.
Why it lands — The text records a deliberate conspiracy to seize and execute Jesus without causing a public riot, requiring the reader to recognize the calculated hostility preceding his arrest.
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
And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
Cross-references
- Matthew 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
- Psalms 2:2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
- Acts 13:10 and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
- Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
- Matthew 23:33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
- Acts 7:19 He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.
- 2 Corinthians 11:3 I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.