Bible / Matthew
Matthew 26
Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation
1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples:
2 You know that after two days shall be the pasch: and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified.
3 Then were gathered together the chief priests and ancients of the people, into the court of the high priest, who was called Caiphas:
4 And they consulted together that by subtilty they might apprehend Jesus and put him to death.
5 But they said: Not on the festival day, lest perhaps there should be a tumult among the people.
6 And when Jesus was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment and poured it on his head as he was at table.
8 And the disciples seeing it had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this might have been sold for much and given to the poor.
10 And Jesus knowing it, said to them: Why do you trouble this woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always.
12 For she in pouring this ointment on my body hath done it for my burial.
13 Amen I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done shall be told for a memory of her.
14 Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests.
15 And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray him.
17 And on the first day of the Azymes, the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the pasch? CCC
18 But Jesus said: Go ye into the city to a certain man and say to him: The master saith, My time is near at hand. With thee I make the pasch with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus appointed to them: and they prepared the pasch.
20 But when it was evening, he sat down with his twelve disciples. CCC
21 And whilst they were eating, he said: Amen I say to you that one of you is about to betray me.
22 And they being very much troubled began every one to say: Is it I, Lord?
23 But he answering said: He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, he shall betray me.
24 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed. It were better for him, if that man had not been born. Fathers
25 And Judas that betrayed him answering, said: Is it I, Rabbi? He saith to him: Thou hast said it.
26 And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread and blessed and broke and gave to his disciples and said: Take ye and eat. This is my body. CCC · Fathers
27 And taking the chalice, he gave thanks and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. Fathers
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. CCC
29 And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father. CCC
30 And a hymn being said, they went out unto mount Olivet.
31 Then Jesus saith to them: All you shall be scandalized in me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd: and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. CCC
32 But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
33 And Peter answering, said to him: Although all shall be scandalized in thee, I will never be scandalized.
34 Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice.
35 Peter saith to him: Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner said all the disciples. Fathers
36 Then Jesus came with them into a country place which is called Gethsemani. And he said to his disciples: Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray. CCC
37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad.
38 Then he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Stay you here and watch with me. CCC · Fathers
39 And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt. CCC · Fathers
40 And he cometh to his disciples and findeth them asleep. And he saith to Peter: What? Could you not watch one hour with me? CCC
41 Watch ye: and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak. CCC · Fathers
42 Again the second time, he went and prayed, saying: My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done. CCC
43 And he cometh again and findeth them sleeping: for their eyes were heavy.
44 And leaving them, he went again: and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word.
45 Then he cometh to his disciples and said to them: Sleep ye now and take your rest. Behold the hour is at hand: and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise: let us go. Behold he is at hand that will betray me.
47 As he yet spoke, behold Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the ancients of the people.
48 And he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he. Hold him fast.
49 And forthwith coming to Jesus, he said: Hail, Rabbi. And he kissed him.
50 And Jesus said to him: Friend, whereto art thou come? Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and held him.
51 And behold one of them that were with Jesus, stretching forth his hand, drew out his sword: and striking the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear.
52 Then Jesus saith to him: Put up again thy sword into its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. CCC
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels? CCC
54 How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done? CCC
55 In that same hour, Jesus said to the multitudes: You are come out, as it were to a robber, with swords and clubs to apprehend me. I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple: and you laid not hands on me.
56 Now all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then the disciples, all leaving him, fled.
57 But they holding Jesus led him to Caiphas the high priest, where the scribes and the ancients were assembled.
58 And Peter followed him afar off, even to the court of the high priest, And going in, he sat with the servants, that he might see the end.
59 And the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death.
60 And they found not, whereas many false witnesses had come in. And last of all there came two false witnesses:
61 And they said: This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and after three days to rebuild it.
62 And the high priest rising up, said to him: Answerest thou nothing to the things which these witness against thee?
63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest said to him: I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us if thou be the Christ the Son of God.
64 Jesus saith to him: Thou hast said it. Nevertheless I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God and coming in the clouds of heaven. CCC
65 Then the high priest rent his garments, saying: He hath blasphemed: What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. CCC
66 What think you? But they answering, said: He is guilty of death. CCC
67 Then did they spit in his face and buffeted him. And others struck his face with the palms of their hands,
68 Saying: Prophesy unto us, O Christ. Who is he that struck thee?
69 But Peter sat without in the court. And there came to him a servant maid, saying: Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean.
70 But he denied before them all, saying: I know not what thou sayest.
71 And as he went out of the gate, another maid saw him; and she saith to them that were there: This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.
72 And again he denied with an oath: I know not the man.
73 And after a little while, they came that stood by and said to Peter: Surely thou also art one of them. For even thy speech doth discover thee.
74 Then he began to curse and to swear that he knew not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus which he had said: Before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. And going forth, he wept bitterly.
This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church
Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text.
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- CCC 1339 “Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum: giving his disciples his Body and his Blood:…”
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- CCC 610 “Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night…”
Read the Fathers
“… Him, taking compassion upon them; while they keep silence with regard to His judgment; and all those things which shall come upon such as have heard His words, but done them not, and that it were better for them if they had not been born,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 1328 “The inexhaustible richness of this sacrament is expressed in the different names we give it. Each name evokes certain aspects of it.…”
- CCC 1329 “The Lord's Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his…”
- CCC 1376 “The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that…”
“… His disciples to offer to God the first-fruits of His own, created things – not as if He stood in need of them, but that they might be themselves neither unfruitful nor ungrateful – He took that created thing, bread, and gave thanks, and said, "This is My body.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XVII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of this vine, until that day when I will drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 545 “Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." He invites them to…”
- CCC 610 “Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night…”
- CCC 613 “Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away…”
- CCC 1365 “Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice. the sacrificial character of the Eucharist is manifested…”
- CCC 1846 “The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to sinners. The angel announced to Joseph: "You shall call his…”
- CCC 2839 “With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking…”
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- CCC 1403 “At the Last Supper the Lord himself directed his disciples' attention toward the fulfillment of the Passover in the kingdom of God:…”
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- CCC 764 “This Kingdom shines out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of Christ." To welcome Jesus' word…”
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“… think about them, but they shall find in it joy and exultation." Now this is what has been said by the apostle: "For the fashion of this world passeth away." To the same purpose did the Lord also declare, "Heaven and earth shall pass away.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 2849 “Such a battle and such a victory become possible only through prayer. It is by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter,…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 363 “In Sacred Scripture the term "soul" often refers to human life or the entire human person. But "soul" also refers to the…”
“… the journey, was sitting [to rest];" nor would David have proclaimed of Him beforehand, "They have added to the grief of my wounds;" nor would He have wept over Lazarus, nor have sweated great drops of blood; nor have declared, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful;”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 612 “The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him…”
“For on the day on which He was to be crucified, having taken three of His disciples to the hill called Olivet, situated opposite to the temple in Jerusalem, He prayed in these words: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter XCIX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 2719 “Contemplative prayer is a communion of love bearing Life for the multitude, to the extent that it consents to abide in the…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 2733 “Another temptation, to which presumption opens the gate, is acedia. the spiritual writers understand by this a form of depression due to…”
“doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning; "watching unto prayer," and persevering in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God "not to lead us into temptation,”
Quoted in Letter to the Philippians, St. Polycarp of Smyrna (early 2nd century), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“… which has been handed down to us from the beginning; "watching unto prayer," and persevering in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God "not to lead us into temptation," as the Lord has said: "The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Quoted in Letter to the Philippians, St. Polycarp of Smyrna (early 2nd century), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“For as the Lord has testified that "the flesh is weak," so [does He also say] that "the spirit is willing.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter IX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 612 “The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him…”
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- CCC 2262 “In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment, "You shall not kill," and adds to it the proscription of…”
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- CCC 600 “To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination", he includes…”
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- CCC 591 “Jesus asked the religious authorities of Jerusalem to believe in him because of the Father's works which he accomplished. But such an…”
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- CCC 591 “Jesus asked the religious authorities of Jerusalem to believe in him because of the Father's works which he accomplished. But such an…”
- CCC 596 “The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take towards Jesus. The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers.…”
A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.