Matthew 26 · Verse 15

Matthew 26:15

And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 26:15, King James Version

Matthew 26:15 in other translations

BSBand asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
WEBand said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you?” So they weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
ASVand said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver.
YLT‘What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him up to you?' and they weighed out to him thirty silverlings,
DARBYand said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him up to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver.
BBEWhat will you give me, if I give him up to you? And the price was fixed at thirty bits of silver.
WebsterAnd said, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him to you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

What does Matthew 26:15 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 15. And they covenanted with him. Made a bargain with him. Agreed to give him. Mark says they promised to give him money. They did not pay it to him then, lest he should deceive them. When the deed was done, and before he was made sensible of its guilt, they paid him. See Mt 27:3, Acts 1:18.

Thirty pieces of silver. Mark and Luke do not mention the sum. They say that they promised him money--in the original, silver. In Matthew, in the original, it is thirty silvers, or silverlings. This was the price of a slave. See Ex 21:32. And it is not unlikely that this sum was fixed on by them to show their contempt of Jesus, and that they regarded him as of little value. There is no doubt, also, that they understood that such was the anxiety of Judas to obtain money, that he would betray his Lord for any sum. The money usually denoted by pieces of silver, when the precise sum is not mentioned, is a shekel --a silver Jewish coin, amounting to about fifty cents, [or 2s. 3d.] The whole sum, therefore, for which Judas committed this crime, was fifteen dollars, [or 3l 7s. 6d.]

(x) "covenanted" Zech 11:12,13, Mt 27:3

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 Thirty pieces of silver - Τριακοντα αργυρια, thirty silverlings; but στατηρας, staters, is the reading of the Codex Bezae, three copies of the Itala, Eusebius, and Origen sometimes; and στατηρας αργυριου, silver staters, is the reading of the famous Basil MS. No. 1, in Griesbach, and one copy of the Itala. A stater was the same as the shekel, and worth about 3s. English money, according to Dean Prideaux: a goodly price for the Savior of the world! Thirty staters, about 4l. 10s. the common price for the meanest slave! See Exo 21:32. The rabbins say, thirty סלעין selain of pure silver was the standard price for a slave, whether good or bad, male or female. See tract Erachin, fol. 14, and Shekalim, cap. 1. Each selaa weighed 384 barley-corns; the same number was contained in a shekel; and therefore the shekel and the selaa were the same. See the notes on Gen 20:16, and Exo 38:24.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 26:14-16

There were but twelve called apostles, and one of them was like a devil; surely we must never expect any society to be quite pure on this side heaven. The greater profession men make of religion, the greater opportunity they have of doing mischief, if their hearts be not right with God. Observe, that Christ's own disciple, who knew so well his doctrine and manner of his life, and was false to him, could not charge…

Read the full comment on Matthew 26:14-16 →

Matthew 26:15 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

εἶπεν·eipenhe said;G2036
τίtiWhatG5101
θέλετέtheleteare you willingG2309
μοιmoimeG3165
δοῦναι,dounaito give,G1325
κἀγὼkagōand I myselfG1473
ὑμῖνhuminto youG4771
παραδώσωparadōsōwill betrayG3860
αὐτόν;¶autonHim?G846
ΟἱHoi<the>G3588
δὲdeAndG1161
ἔστησανestēsanthey appointedG2476
αὐτῷautōto himG846
τριάκονταtriakontathirtyG5144
ἀργύρια.arguriapieces of silver.G694

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 26:15

  • Zechariah 11:12-13

    And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

  • Genesis 37:26-28

    And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

  • Exodus 21:32

    If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

  • 1 Timothy 6:9-10

    But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

  • 2 Peter 2:3

    And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

  • Genesis 38:16

    And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

  • Judges 18:19-20

    And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

  • Matthew 27:3-5

    Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

  • 2 Peter 2:14-15

    Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

  • Judges 16:5

    And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

  • Acts 1:18

    Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

  • Judges 17:10

    And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
What.
Ge 38:16; Jud 16:5; 17:10; 18:19,20; Isa 56:11; 1Ti 3:3; 6:9,10
2Pe 2:3,14,15
thirty.Probably shekels or staters, as some read, which, reckoning the shekels at 3s., with Prideaux, would amount to about 4£ 10s., the price for the meanest slave! (See Ex 21:32)
27:3-5; Ge 37:26-28; Zec 11:12,13; Ac 1:18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 26:14

    Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

  • Matthew 26:15

    And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

  • Matthew 26:16

    And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Read all of Matthew 26

Matthew 26:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y les dijo: ¿Qué me queréis dar, y yo os lo entregaré? Y ellos le señalaron treinta piezas de plata.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et dit: Que voulez-vous me donner, et moi, je vous le livrerai? Et ils lui comptèrent 30 pièces d’argent.
German
Elberfelder 1871		und sprach: Was wollt ihr mir geben, und ich werde ihn euch überliefern? Sie aber stellten ihm dreißig Silberlinge fest.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et ait illis: Quid vultis mihi dare, et ego vobis eum tradam? At illi constituerunt ei triginta argenteos.