And now for the first time He told them, "The Son of Man must endure much suffering, and be rejected by the Elders and the High Priests and the Scribes, and be put to death, and after two days rise to life."

"See," He said, "we are going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the High Priests and the Scribes. They will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles;

This the High Priests and Scribes heard, and they began to devise means to destroy Him. For they were afraid of Him, because of the deep impression produced on all the people by His teaching.

They came again to Jerusalem; and as He was walking in the Temple, the High Priests, Scribes and Elders came to Him

It was now two days before the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the High Priests and Scribes were bent on finding how to seize Him by stratagem and put Him to death.

But Judas Iscariot, already mentioned as one of the Twelve, went to the High Priests to betray Jesus to them.

Immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came and with him a crowd of men armed with swords and cudgels, sent by the High Priests and Scribes and Elders.

But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck a blow at the High Priest's servant, cutting off his ear.

So they led Jesus away to the High Priest, and with him there assembled all the High Priests, Elders, and Scribes.

Peter followed Jesus at a distance, as far as the outer court of the High Priest's palace. But there he remained sitting among the officers, and warming himself by the fire.

Meanwhile the High Priests and the entire Sanhedrin were endeavouring to get evidence against Jesus in order to put Him to death, but could find none;

At last the High Priest stood up, and advancing into the midst of them all, asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What is the meaning of all this that these witnesses allege against you?"

But He remained silent, and gave no reply. A second time the High Priest questioned Him. "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" he said.

Rending his garments the High Priest exclaimed, "What need have we of witnesses after that?

Now while Peter was below in the quadrangle, one of the High Priest's maidservants came,

At earliest dawn, after the High Priests had held a consultation with the Elders and Scribes, they and the entire Sanhedrin bound Jesus and took Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.

Then, as the High Priests went on heaping accusations on Him,

For he could see that it was out of sheer spite that the High Priests had handed Him over.

But the High Priests urged on the crowd to obtain Barabbas's release in preference;

In the same way the High Priests also, as well as the Scribes, kept on scoffing at Him, saying to one another, "He has saved others: himself he cannot save!