Matthew 26 · Verse 61

Matthew 26:61

And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
Matthew 26:61, King James Version

Matthew 26:61 in other translations

BSBand declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
WEBand said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.’”
ASVand said, This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
YLTsaid, ‘This one said, I am able to throw down the sanctuary of God, and after three days to build it.'
DARBYand said, He said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and in three days build it.
BBEBut later there came two who said, This man said, I am able to give the Temple of God to destruction, and to put it up again in three days.
WebsterAnd said, This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

What does Matthew 26:61 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 61. And said, This fellow said, etc. Mark has recorded this testimony differently. According to him, they said, "We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands." Probably both forms of giving in the testimony were used on the trial, and Matthew has recorded it as it was given at one time, and Mark at another; so that there is no contradiction. Mark adds, "But neither so did their witness agree together." That which they attempted to accuse him of, is what he had said respecting his body, and their destroying it. Jn 2:19, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." This he spoke of his body; they perverted it, endeavouring to show that he meant the temple at Jerusalem. They neither stated it as it was, nor did they state correctly its meaning: nor did they agree about the words used. It was, therefore, very little to their purpose.

(b) "I am able" Jn 2:19-21

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 61 I am able to destroy the temple of God - 1st. These words were not fairly quoted. Jesus had said, Joh 2:19, Destroy this temple, and I will build it again in three days. 2dly. The inuendo which they produce, applying these words to a pretended design to destroy the temple at Jerusalem, was utterly unfair; for these words he spoke of the temple of his body. It is very easy, by means of a few small alterations, to render the most holy things and innocent persons odious to the world, and even to take away the life of the innocent.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 26:57-68

Jesus was hurried into Jerusalem. It looks ill, and bodes worse, when those who are willing to be Christ's disciples, are not willing to be known to be so. Here began Peter's denying him: for to follow Christ afar off, is to begin to go back from him. It is more our concern to prepare for the end, whatever it may be, than curiously to ask what the end will be. The event is God's, but the duty is ours. Now the…

Read the full comment on Matthew 26:57-68 →

Matthew 26:61 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.

εἶπαν·eipanthey said;G2036
οὗτοςhoutosThis [man]G3778
ἔφη·ephēwas saying:G5346
δύναμαιdunamaiI am ableG1410
καταλῦσαιkatalusaito destroyG2647
τὸνtontheG3588
ναὸνnaontempleG3485
τοῦtou<the>G3588
θεοῦtheouof GodG2316
καὶkaiandG2532
διὰdiainG1223
τριῶνtriōnthreeG5140
ἡμερῶνhēmerōndaysG2250
οἰκοδομῆσαιoikodomēsaito rebuild itG3618

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

Cross references for Matthew 26:61

  • John 2:19-21

    Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.

  • Matthew 27:40

    And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

  • Mark 15:29

    And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

  • Isaiah 53:3

    He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

  • Psalms 22:6-7

    But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

  • Acts 18:13

    Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

  • Isaiah 49:7

    Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

  • 2 Kings 9:11

    Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.

  • Luke 23:2

    And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.

  • Acts 6:13-14

    And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.

  • Jeremiah 26:8-11

    Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

  • Genesis 19:9

    And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
This.
71; 12:24; Ge 19:9; 1Ki 22:27; 2Ki 9:11; Ps 22:6,7; Isa 49:7; 53:3
Lu 23:2; Joh 9:29; Ac 17:18; 18:13; 22:22
I am.The words of our Lord were widely different from this statement of them; so that the testimony of these witnesses was false, though it had the semblance of truth.
27:40; Jer 26:8-11,16-19; Mr 15:29; Joh 2:19-21; Ac 6:13

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

Context

  • Matthew 26:60

    But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

  • Matthew 26:61

    And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

  • Matthew 26:62

    And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

Read all of Matthew 26

Matthew 26:61 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Que dijeron: Este dijo: Puedo derribar el templo de Dios, y en tres días reedificarlo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
et dirent: Celui-ci a dit: Je puis détruire le temple de Dieu, et en trois jours le bâtir.
German
Elberfelder 1871
und sprachen: Dieser sagte: Ich kann den Tempel Gottes abbrechen und in drei Tagen ihn aufbauen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
et dixerunt: Hic dixit: Possum destruere templum Dei, et post triduum reædificare illud.