The Fallible Study Bible

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Matthew26:20–30

The Last Supper

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Matthew 26:20–30 — The Last Supper. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

20

When evening came, Jesus was reclining with the twelve disciples.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Opsias genomenēs anekeito meta tōn dōdeka mathētōn

Word by word8 · parsed
δὲdeWhenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
de: but, and, now A joining particle, not an adversative here; it ties the supper to the betrayal bargain just narrated.
ὈψίαςOpsiaseveningG3798
√ ὄψιος — lateAdjectiveGenitive Feminine Singular
opsios: late, evening The adjective of lateness, used substantivally in the genitive. Barnes sets out the two Jewish evenings and Exodus 12:6 ("between the evenings"); Gill cites the rule that on the evenings of the Passover a man might not eat until it was dark. The hour is thus the legally correct hour for the lamb, which matters for everything Matthew says next.
γενομένηςgenomenēscameG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Participle MiddleGenitive Feminine Singular
ginomai: to come to be, become Aorist middle participle in a genitive absolute. The evening does not arrive, it comes into being, and the construction subordinates the whole clock to the action of the main verb.
ἀνέκειτοanekeito[Jesus] was recliningG345
√ ἀνακεῖμαι — to recline (as a corpse or at a meal)VerbImperfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
anakeimai: to recline, as at a meal The one finite verb of the verse, imperfect: a sustained lying at table, not a single act of sitting. Cambridge notes the posture was "especially enjoined in the passover ritual"; Pulpit traces the change from the standing of Exodus 12:11 to reclining after the settlement in Canaan. Gill assembles the rabbinic rule that even the poorest man in Israel might not eat until he leaned, "because it is a token of liberty." The Lord of the feast takes the posture of a freed man on the night He is handed over.
μετὰmetawithG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
τῶνtōntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
δώδεκαdōdekatwelveG1427
√ δώδεκα — two and ten, iAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
dōdeka: twelve Not a headcount but a title. Gill records the rabbinic judgment that a company must be large enough to consume the lamb, and that the Twelve "were properly his family, and a sufficient number for a passover lamb."
μαθητῶνmathētōndisciplesG3101
√ μαθητής — a learner, iNounGenitive Masculine Plural
mathētēs: a learner, disciple Genitive plural governed by meta. The word for one who learns; the next verse will show that eleven of them have learned enough to doubt themselves and one has not.
21

And while they were eating, He said to them, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai esthiontōn eipen autōn Amēn legō hymin hoti heis ex hymōn paradōsei me

Word by word13 · parsed
καὶkaiAnd whileG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐσθιόντωνesthiontōnthey were eatingG2068
√ ἐσθίω — used only in certain tenses, the rest being supplied by G5315 (φάγω)VerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Plural
esthiō: to eat Present participle in a genitive absolute, so the clause is durative: the betrayal is announced mid-meal. Matthew will repeat the identical construction at v. 26 to time the bread, which makes the eating itself the frame of both the woe and the covenant.
εἶπενeipenHe saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτῶνautōnto themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἈμὴνAmēnTrulyG281
√ ἀμήν — properly, firm, iHebrew Word
amēn: firm, faithful A transliterated Hebrew word, not translated by Matthew and not declined. In the Gospels it moves from the end of a prayer, where a congregation ratifies another's words, to the front of Jesus's own sentence, where He ratifies His own. Here it guarantees the worst news the Twelve have yet heard.
λέγωlegōI tellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
legō: to say, lay forth Present indicative, first person: the act of speaking is the act of oath taking.
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
εἷςheisoneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
heis: one Nominative singular, left indefinite. Ellicott holds the vagueness was intentional; Pulpit adds that by naming the treachery without naming the traitor Jesus "may have given Judas a last chance of repentance before the final act."
ἐξexofG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
ὑμῶνhymōnyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
παραδώσειparadōseiwill betrayG3860
√ παραδίδωμι — to surrender, iVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
paradidōmi: to hand over, surrender Future indicative active. The verb is the hinge of the whole unit, occurring three times in four verses in three different voices and tenses (future active here, present passive in v. 24, present participle of Judas in v. 25). Matthew is holding a single action up to the light from three sides: what Judas will do, what is being done to the Son of Man, and what Judas is.
μεmeMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular
egō: I, me Accusative, the object of the handing over. The Speaker is the thing being transferred.
22

They were deeply grieved and began to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai lypoumenoi sphodra ērxanto legein autō heis hekastos eimi Mēti egō Kyrie

Word by word12 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λυπούμενοιlypoumenoiThey were deeply grievedG3076
√ λυπέω — to distressVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
lypeō: to distress, grieve Present middle or passive participle, nominative plural: grief as a state being suffered. The same verb describes the disciples at Matthew 17:23 when Jesus first foretold the betrayal and rising, a pairing the Verifier lists among the candidates for this unit.
σφόδραsphodra. . .G4970
√ σφόδρα — of uncertain derivation) as adverbAdverb
sphodra: exceedingly Adverb of extremity, qualifying the participle.
ἤρξαντοērxanto[and] beganG756
√ ἄρχομαι — to commence (in order of time)VerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Plural
λέγεινlegeinto askG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Infinitive Active
αὐτῷautōHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
εἷςheisoneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἕκαστοςhekastosafter anotherG1538
√ ἕκαστος — each or everyAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
hekastos: each, every With heis, a distributive: not a wave of questions but eleven separate self examinations. Barnes reads their readiness to suspect themselves as evidence of innocence; Pulpit adds that they "began to doubt their own constancy, though at the time conscious of their integrity."
εἰμιeimiSurely notG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ΜήτιMēti. . .G3385
√ μήτι — whether at allIntPrtcl
mēti: whether at all An interrogative particle framing a question that expects denial. It is the precise word Judas will repeat in v. 25, with only the title changed, which is how Matthew lets the reader hear the difference between fear and effrontery.
ἐγώegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egō: I Nominative and emphatic, though the verb already carries the person: each man puts himself forward as the possible traitor.
ΚύριεKyrieLordG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounVocative Masculine Singular
kyrios: lord, supreme in authority Vocative. The eleven address Him as Lord; in v. 25 Judas will say Rabbi instead. Pulpit notes the coldness of the substitution, and Gill, less persuasively, reads Rabbi as the more honourable word; the contrast in Matthew's own usage favours Pulpit.
23

Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Ho apokritheis eipen Ho embapsas tēn cheira en tō trybliō met’ emou houtos paradōsei me

Word by word16 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὉHoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἀποκριθεὶςapokritheis[Jesus] answeredG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
apokrinomai: to answer, conclude for oneself Aorist passive participle with active force, in the Semitic idiom of answering and saying.
εἶπενeipen. . .G2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὉHoThe [one]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἐμβάψαςembapsaswho has dippedG1686
√ ἐμβάπτω — to whelm on, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
embaptō: to dip in Aorist active participle: a single completed dipping. Gill refuses to generalise it: this "is not the general description of one, that sat at the table, and ate of his bread with him," but "a particular action then performed by Judas." Geneva takes the other road, reading it as an allusion to table fellowship rather than a live gesture. The tense favours Gill; the Psalm 41:9 allusion is real either way.
τὴνtēn[his]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
χεῖραcheirahandG5495
√ χείρ — the hand (literally or figuratively (power)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
cheir: the hand, power Accusative object of the dipping, with the article doing the work of the possessive. The hand that dips is the hand that will hand Him over.
ἐνenintoG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῷtōtheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
τρυβλίῳtrybliōbowlG5165
√ τρύβλιον — a bowlNounDative Neuter Singular
trublion: a bowl A single shared vessel of the Passover sauce, identified with the charoseth by Barnes, Gill and Cambridge. Gill's rabbinic sources describe it as deliberately thick, in memory of the clay of Egypt: the bitterness of bondage is in the dish into which the betrayer's hand goes.
μετ’met’withG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
ἐμοῦemouMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
οὗτόςhoutosG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
houtos: this one Nominative demonstrative, untranslated in the BSB. It is the sharpest word in the verse, and the reason Ellicott can suppose that only the nearest disciples heard it.
παραδώσειparadōseiwill betrayG3860
√ παραδίδωμι — to surrender, iVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
paradidōmi: to hand over, surrender Future indicative, repeated verbatim from v. 21 so that the vague "one of you" and the identified "this one" carry the same verb, unchanged.
μεmeMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular
24

The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

men ho Huios tou anthrōpou hypagei kathōs gegraptai peri autou de ouai ekeinō tō anthrōpō di’ hou ho Huios tou anthrōpou paradidotai ēn kalon autō ei ekeinos ho anthrōpos ouk egennēthē

Word by word31 · parsed
μὲνmenG3303
√ μέν — properly, indicative of affirmation or concession (in fact)Conjunction
ὁhoTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΥἱὸςHuiosSonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Singular
huios: son With anthrōpou, the title Jesus uses of Himself throughout Matthew. It is repeated twice in this verse, once as the one who departs according to what is written and once as the one being handed over, so that the Scripture and the crime are fastened to the same person.
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpouof ManG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
ὑπάγειhypageiwill goG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
hypagō: to lead oneself under, depart Present indicative, active, no agent expressed. The one verb in the unit that makes the Passion something Jesus does rather than something done to Him. Set beside the passive paradidotai eleven words later, the verse holds both at once without resolving them.
καθὼςkathōsjust asG2531
√ καθώς — just (or inasmuch) as, thatAdverb
γέγραπταιgegraptaiit is writtenG1125
√ γράφω — to "grave", especially to writeVerbPerfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
graphō: to grave, to write Perfect passive: written and still standing written. The perfect is why the appeal is not to a prediction that might yet fail but to a settled text, and why Ellicott can treat this as the moment the Passion is first bound openly to Scripture.
περὶperiaboutG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
αὐτοῦautouHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
δὲdebutG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
οὐαὶouaiwoeG3759
√ οὐαί — "woe"Interjection
ouai: woe An interjection, not a verb: no curse is pronounced, no sentence is passed, a cry is uttered. Benson builds his whole argument on the fact that the woe stands in the same breath as the foreknowledge: "the foreknowledge and prediction that he should suffer, and that by the treachery of Judas, laid no antecedent necessity upon Judas of doing this action."
ἐκείνῳekeinōto thatG1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounDative Masculine Singular
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἀνθρώπῳanthrōpōmanG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounDative Masculine Singular
anthrōpos: man Used three times in the verse (twice in the title Son of Man, once of the betrayer), so that the one handed over and the one who hands Him over are named by the same word.
δι’di’byG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
οὗhouwhomG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
ὁho[He]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΥἱὸςHuios. . .G5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Singular
τοῦtou. . .G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpou. . .G444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
παραδίδοταιparadidotaiis betrayedG3860
√ παραδίδωμι — to surrender, iVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
paradidōmi: to hand over, surrender Present indicative middle or passive, third occurrence of the root in four verses. Grammatically the middle and passive are identical here; the sense the context requires is passive, and the unnamed agent is the same silence as gegraptai.
ἦνēnIt would beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
καλὸνkalonbetterG2570
√ καλός — X better, fair, good(-ly), honest, meet, well, worthyAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
kalos: good, fair, honest Predicate of the imperfect ēn in an unreal condition. Cambridge: a familiar rabbinic phrase "used here with awful depth of certainty." Barnes and Benson both draw from it an argument that the punishment cannot be temporary, since a finally blessed existence would make birth a gain; that inference goes beyond the idiom, which in Gill's rabbinic parallels is a formula of extreme reproach.
αὐτῷautōfor himG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
εἰeiifG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
ἐκεῖνοςekeinos[he]G1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ὁho. . .G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἄνθρωποςanthrōpos. . .G444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounNominative Masculine Singular
οὐκoukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἐγεννήθηegennēthēhad not been bornG1080
√ γεννάω — to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother)VerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
gennaō: to beget, be born Aorist passive: "had not been born." The verb of generation, used at the end of a verse about what was written beforehand.
25

Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said it yourself.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Ioudas ho paradidous auton Apokritheis eipen eimi Mēti egō rhabbi Legei autō Sy eipas

Word by word15 · parsed
δὲdeThenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἸούδαςIoudasJudasG2455
√ Ἰούδας — Judas (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ὁhowhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
παραδιδοὺςparadidouswould betrayG3860
√ παραδίδωμι — to surrender, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
paradidōmi: to hand over, surrender Present active participle, attributive with the article: Judas is defined by the act while the act is under way. Set against v. 24's passive paradidotai, the two participles hold the agent and the victim of one verb in the same paragraph.
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἈποκριθεὶςApokritheissaidG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
εἶπενeipen. . .G2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εἰμιeimiSurelyG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ΜήτιMētinotG3385
√ μήτι — whether at allIntPrtcl
ἐγώegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egō: I Emphatic nominative, repeated from v. 22 word for word. Matthew's economy is the whole point: the traitor's question is grammatically indistinguishable from the innocents' question.
ῥαββίrhabbiRabbiG4461
√ ῥαββί — my master, iNounVocative Masculine Singular
rhabbi: my master A transliterated Hebrew address, not the Kyrios of v. 22. Matthew uses it again only in the garden at v. 49, on Judas's lips again, which is strong internal support for Pulpit's reading of it as distance rather than Gill's reading of it as honour.
ΛέγειLegei[Jesus] answeredG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
legō: to say Historic present in a run of aorists, bringing the reply into the foreground.
αὐτῷautō. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΣὺSyYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Singular
εἶπαςeipashave said [it] yourselfG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
epō: to speak, say Aorist, second person singular, with the emphatic Sy: a two word formula of assent. Jesus neither denies nor announces; He hands the sentence back to the man who framed it. Barnes and Cambridge agree it means yes; Cambridge and Pulpit add that it was probably not heard by the others, which is why the eleven can still be ignorant in v. 26.
26

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de autōn Esthiontōn ho Iēsous labōn arton kai eulogēsas eklasen kai dous tois mathētais eipen Labete phagete touto estin mou to sōma

Word by word22 · parsed
δὲdeWhileG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
αὐτῶνautōntheyG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἘσθιόντωνEsthiontōnwere eatingG2068
√ ἐσθίω — used only in certain tenses, the rest being supplied by G5315 (φάγω)VerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Plural
esthiō: to eat The same genitive absolute as v. 21, deliberately repeated: the institution happens inside the same meal as the announcement of the traitor, not in a separate ceremony. Gill argues from the rabbinic rule that the lamb was eaten last that "the paschal supper was now concluded, when Christ entered upon the institution of his own supper."
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
λαβὼνlabōntookG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
lambanō: to take, receive Aorist participle. Gill notes the rabbinic requirement that one who blesses bread take it into his hands "that all may see that he blesses over it"; Pulpit sees in the four accounts' agreement on this detail "a formal action or elevation, like the wave offering in the old Law."
ἄρτονartonbreadG740
√ ἄρτος — bread (as raised) or a loafNounAccusative Masculine Singular
artos: bread, a loaf Accusative. Unleavened, necessarily, on this night; Poole observes that no other was to be had in any Jewish house, and draws from that the conclusion that unleavened bread is not therefore binding on the Church.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐλογήσαςeulogēsasspoke a blessingG2127
√ εὐλογέω — to speak well of, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
eulogeō: to speak well of, bless Aorist participle, with no stated object. Whether the blessing falls on God for the bread or on the bread itself is the fault line between Geneva's reading and the sacramental readings, and the Greek does not decide it.
ἔκλασενeklasen[and] broke [it]G2806
√ κλάω — to break (specially, of bread)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
klaō: to break, of bread The governing finite verb of the sentence and a rare word, occurring in only fourteen verses of the New Testament. Its rarity is what makes the Verifier's link to 1 Corinthians 10:16 and Acts 27:35 a real verbal one, and it is the act from which the earliest name of the rite was taken.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
δοὺςdousgave [it]G1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
τοῖςtoisto theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
μαθηταῖςmathētaisdisciplesG3101
√ μαθητής — a learner, iNounDative Masculine Plural
εἶπενeipensayingG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ΛάβετεLabeteTakeG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
lambanō: to take, receive Aorist imperative plural, the same root as the participle at index 5: what He took, they are to take.
φάγετεphagete[and] eatG5315
√ φάγω — to eat (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
phagō: to eat Aorist imperative plural. Matthew alone of the synoptists records this second command; Cambridge notes that Luke and Paul instead preserve "this do in remembrance of me."
τοῦτόtoutothisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Neuter Singular
houtos: this Neuter demonstrative, agreeing with neither arton (masculine) nor any noun in the sentence but with the predicate sōma. Barnes suspects a gesture: "it is not improbable that our Lord pointed to the broken bread."
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
eimi: to be Present indicative, the bare copula on which the whole eucharistic controversy has turned. Cambridge paraphrases without deciding, glossing the sentence as saying that the bread, and not the paschal lamb, represents (is, to the faithful) the body of the one who is even now being offered a sacrifice.
μουmouMyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
σῶμάsōmabodyG4983
√ σῶμα — the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figurativelyNounNominative Neuter Singular
sōma: the body as a sound whole Nominative neuter, the predicate. Not sarx (flesh), which is the word of John 6:51 to 57; Cambridge and Ellicott both reach back to that discourse anyway, since the disciples had heard it. Cambridge notes the exact Greek order is "this is the body of me," the possessive last and emphatic.
27

Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai labōn potērion kai eucharistēsas edōken autois legōn Piete ex autou pantes

Word by word12 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λαβὼνlabōnHe tookG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
lambanō: to take, receive Aorist participle, repeated from v. 26: the same gesture over the second element.
ποτήριονpotērion[the] cupG4221
√ ποτήριον — a drinking-vesselNounAccusative Neuter Singular
potērion: a drinking vessel Accusative, without the article in the better manuscripts. Both Ellicott and Cambridge print "a cup"; the Received Text's article is what the English definite article preserves. Barnes and Pulpit identify it with the third Passover cup, drunk after the meal, which Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25 both place "after supper."
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐχαριστήσαςeucharistēsasgave thanksG2168
√ εὐχαριστέω — to be grateful, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
eucharisteō: to be grateful, give thanks Aorist participle. The word behind Eucharist. Gill records that the Jews blessed the wine as well as the food, and preserves the formula naming God as the one "who hast created the fruit of the vine," which is the phrase Jesus picks up at v. 29.
ἔδωκενedōken[and] gave [it]G1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
λέγωνlegōnsayingG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ΠίετεPieteDrinkG4095
√ πίνω — to imbibe (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
pinō: to drink Aorist imperative plural. The command is plain, and Geneva and Pulpit both use it against withholding the cup from the laity; that is a polemical application of the verse, honestly labelled as such by both.
ἐξexfromG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
ek: out of, from Partitive with the genitive: each drinks out of the one cup.
αὐτοῦautouitG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Neuter 3rd Person Singular
πάντεςpantesall of youG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
pas: all, every Nominative masculine plural, agreeing with the plural subject of the imperative, not with the neuter potērion. The grammar is the answer to the old misreading Barnes corrects.
28

This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

gar touto estin mou to haima tēs diathēkēs to ekchynnomenon peri pollōn eis aphesin hamartiōn

Word by word15 · parsed
γάρgarG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
τοῦτοtoutoThisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Neuter Singular
houtos: this Neuter demonstrative, as at v. 26, agreeing with the neuter predicate haima rather than with the masculine potērion of the previous verse. Barnes takes the referent to be the wine in the cup and not the cup itself.
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
μουmouMyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
αἷμάhaimabloodG129
√ αἷμα — blood, literally (of men or animals), figuratively (the juice of grapes) or specially (the atoning blood of Christ)NounNominative Neuter Singular
haima: blood The noun carries both the literal sense and, as the lexicon notes, "the atoning blood of Christ." Barnes grounds the efficacy in the Levitical identification of blood with life, citing Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17:14, so that to say the blood is poured out is to say the life is given. Gill notes the rabbinic requirement that the Passover wine be red, "that it should be red," which is why the cup can stand for it at all.
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
διαθήκηςdiathēkēscovenantG1242
√ διαθήκη — properly, a disposition, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
diathēkē: a disposition, covenant Genitive, qualifying the blood: blood belonging to a covenant, the phrase of Exodus 24:8. This single word is why every voice on the page turns to Sinai, and why Ellicott can carry it forward to Jeremiah 31:31 to 34 whether or not the adjective "new" was spoken. Cambridge observes drily that the title of the New Testament as a book is derived from this verse.
τὸtowhichG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
ἐκχυννόμενονekchynnomenonis poured outG1632
√ ἐκχέω — to pour forthVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Neuter Singular
ekcheō: to pour forth Present participle, middle or passive, nominative neuter, attributive to the blood. The tense is the point: the pouring is presented as in progress. The same verb group describes the sprinkling and pouring of sacrificial blood at the altar, which is the action Exodus 24:6 to 8 divides between altar and people.
περὶperiforG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
πολλῶνpollōnmanyG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
polys: many Genitive plural after peri. Matthew has used the same phrase at 20:28, a ransom for many, which Ellicott, Cambridge and Pulpit all cross reference here, and which is also the language of Isaiah 53:11 to 12. Whether it restricts or is a Semitic way of saying all is the one dispute among these sources that the vocabulary cannot decide.
εἰςeisforG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ἄφεσινaphesin[the] forgivenessG859
√ ἄφεσις — freedomNounAccusative Feminine Singular
aphesis: freedom, release Accusative after eis, expressing purpose: in order that there may be release. A word of liberation rather than of pardon in the abstract, and Cambridge notes the whole phrase is peculiar to Matthew among the accounts of the institution.
ἁμαρτιῶνhamartiōnof sinsG266
√ ἁμαρτία — a sin (properly abstract)NounGenitive Feminine Plural
hamartia: a sin Genitive plural: release of sins, the thing let go. Pulpit fastens the clause to Hebrews 9:22 and 1 John 1:7 and calls it "our Lord's most complete announcement of the propitiatory nature of his sacrifice."
29

I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de legō hymin ou mē piō ek toutou tou genēmatos tēs ampelou ap’ arti heōs ekeinēs tēs hēmeras hotan pinō auto kainon meth’ hymōn en mou tou Patros tē basileia

Word by word30 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
λέγωlegōI tellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
οὐouvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
μὴmēvvvG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
mē: not (with ou, emphatic) The pair ou mē with the aorist subjunctive is the strongest negation Greek has for the future. It is a vow, not a preference.
πίωpiōI will not drinkG4095
√ πίνω — to imbibe (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Singular
pinō: to drink Aorist subjunctive under the double negative. Whether He had just drunk of this cup is disputed on the page: Gill infers from the rabbinic rule about blessing and tasting that He did, Pulpit judges the probability against it. Matthew does not say.
ἐκekofG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
τούτουtoutouthisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounGenitive Neuter Singular
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Singular
γενήματοςgenēmatosfruitG1081
√ γέννημα — offspringNounGenitive Neuter Singular
genēma: offspring, product A rare noun, in only eight verses, and the shared lexeme that links this saying verbally to Luke 22:18. Gill's citation of the cup blessing over "the fruit of the vine" is the best explanation of why the phrase is liturgical rather than merely poetic.
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἀμπέλουampelouvineG288
√ ἄμπελος — a vine (as coiling about a support)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
ampelos: a vine, as coiling about a support Genitive: the vine that bears the offspring. The word is rare (nine verses) and is the vine of John 15:1, though nothing in this verse makes that connection for us.
ἀπ’ap’fromG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
ἄρτιartinow onG737
√ ἄρτι — just nowAdverb
arti: just now With apo, "from this moment." The adverb draws a line at the cup just handed over: after this, nothing until the day named.
ἕωςheōsuntilG2193
√ ἕως — a conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance, until (of time and place)Preposition
ἐκείνηςekeinēsthatG1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounGenitive Feminine Singular
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἡμέραςhēmerasdayG2250
√ ἡμέρα — day, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
hēmera: day Genitive after heōs, with ekeinēs: that day, unspecified. The construction heōs ... hotan with the subjunctive leaves the date entirely open, which is why Benson can list three readings without choosing and Pulpit can say the meaning "must remain uncertain."
ὅτανhotanwhenG3752
√ ὅταν — whenever (implying hypothesis or more or less uncertainty)Conjunction
πίνωpinōI drinkG4095
√ πίνω — to imbibe (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Subjunctive Active1st Person Singular
αὐτὸautoitG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Neuter 3rd Person Singular
καινὸνkainonanewG2537
√ καινός — newAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
kainos: new New in kind. Accusative neuter agreeing with auto: the same cup, drunk in a new manner. Cambridge connects it to the new wine of Matthew 9:17, and Maclaren's whole exposition turns on this word making the memorial a prophecy.
μεθ’meth’withG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
ὑμῶνhymōnyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
sy: thou, you Genitive plural with meta. The promise is not that He will drink, but that He will drink with them; Benson ends on exactly this, "and of this you also shall partake with me."
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
μουmouMyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΠατρόςPatrosFather’sG3962
√ πατήρ — a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote)NounGenitive Masculine Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
βασιλείᾳbasileiakingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounDative Feminine Singular
basileia: royalty, kingdom Dative after en, qualified by "of my Father." Henry reads the phrase of the future state, Barnes of heaven under the image of a feast, Cambridge of the glorified life with a possible reference to the Eucharist itself; Gill distinguishes it from the kingdom of the Son already come. None of these is settled by the Greek, and the honest statement is that Matthew gives a place and not a date.
30

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai hymnēsantes exēlthon eis to oros tōn Elaiōn

Word by word8 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiAnd [when]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὑμνήσαντεςhymnēsantesthey had sung a hymnG5214
√ ὑμνέω — to hymn, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
hymneō: to hymn, sing praise Aorist participle, objectless, and rare: four verses in the whole New Testament. Barnes, Benson, Cambridge and Gill agree that what was sung was the Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, divided so that the second part closed the meal. Gill adds the detail worth most here, that Jewish tradition located "the sorrows of the Messiah" in that latter portion, and that Christ deferred it to the end. The other three occurrences of the verb are the parallel at Mark 14:26, Paul and Silas singing in the stocks at Acts 16:25, and Hebrews 2:12, where Psalm 22:22 is put on Christ's own lips.
ἐξῆλθονexēlthonthey went outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
exerchomai: to issue, go out Aorist indicative plural, the only finite verb. Pulpit and Gill both note that leaving the house conflicts with the ritual expectation of Exodus 12:22 and of the rabbinic rule about lodging, which Gill answers by saying Christ "had more important business to attend unto."
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ὄροςorosMountG3735
√ ὄρος — perhaps akin to G142 (αἴρω)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
oros: a mountain Accusative after eis. Luke 21:37 and 22:39 record that this had been His nightly resort through the week, so the movement is habit as much as decision; Matthew does not comment.
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Plural
ἘλαιῶνElaiōnof OlivesG1636
√ ἐλαία — an olive (the tree or the fruit)NounGenitive Feminine Plural
elaia: an olive, the tree or the fruit Genitive plural with the article. A rare noun (fifteen verses), and the place where the hymn of deliverance ends and Gethsemane begins.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. Evening, the reclining, and one of you — 26:20-26:22

Matthew times the scene twice over. Ὀψίας γενομένης is a genitive absolute, evening having come to be, and Barnes fixes it against Exodus 12:6 by distinguishing the two Jewish evenings, while Gill cites the rule that on the evenings of the Passover a man might not eat until it was dark: the hour is the legally correct hour for the lamb. Then the posture. ἀνέκειτο is imperfect, he was lying back, and Cambridge corrects the older English without qualification: "Rather, reclined with." Pulpit traces the change from the standing of Exodus 12:11 to reclining "after the settlement in Canaan," and both Gill and Poole preserve the rabbinic reason, that leaning is the posture of a free man and so a memorial of the Exodus; Poole quotes Levi through Lightfoot, that it is "the manner of servants to eat standing" and that they lean instead "to show that they were got out of servitude into freedom". So the Lord of the feast takes the posture of a freed man on the night He is handed over. Into that comfort Matthew drops the announcement, and drops it mid meal, in the same construction as before: ἐσθιόντων, while they are eating. Ellicott judges the wording "intentionally vague, as if to rouse some of those who heard them to self-questioning"; Pulpit reads the same restraint as mercy, that by declining to name the traitor Jesus "may have given Judas a last chance of repentance." The reply is grammatically exact: Μήτι ἐγώ εἰμι is a question framed for the answer no, which Pulpit renders "It is not I, is it?", and εἷς ἕκαστος makes it eleven separate examinations rather than one murmur. Barnes takes their readiness to suspect themselves as the mark of innocence: "The guilty would, if possible, always conceal their crimes." Gill, more sharply, has them distrusting not their intentions but their hearts, "which they could not trust to." Cambridge, uniquely among these voices, leaves the text for the painting, and is included here as a witness to the verse's reception rather than to its sense.

ii. The hand in the bowl: written, and still guilty — 26:23-26:25

The identification turns on a tense. ἐμβάψας is an aorist participle, and Ellicott insists on it: "Better, he that dipped, as of an act just passed." Gill builds on the same grammar to deny that the saying is a general remark about table fellowship, since that "was saying no more than he had before done"; it points instead to "a particular action then performed by Judas." Geneva takes the opposite road, naming Psalm 41:9 as the background but holding that Judas's hand was not literally in the dish at that moment, "for that would have been an undoubted sign." Both cannot be right, and the FSSB records the disagreement rather than choosing for the reader; what neither disputes is the Psalm, and Barnes states the cross reference plainly, "Compare Psalm 41:9 with John 13:18." The bowl itself is documented: Barnes, Gill and Cambridge all identify τρυβλίῳ with the charoseth, and Gill's rabbinic sources say it was made deliberately thick in memory of the clay of Egypt. Pulpit adds the social weight, "the fact of eating together made in the Easterns' view, the treachery more monstrous." Then v. 24 sets two things side by side and refuses to dissolve either. ὑπάγει is present and active with no agent, which Pulpit takes as declaring "the voluntary nature of his sufferings"; γέγραπται is perfect, it stands written, and Ellicott calls this "the first direct reference of the coming passion and death to the Scriptures." Yet the woe follows in the same breath. Benson's is the fullest statement on this page: the foreknowledge "laid no antecedent necessity upon Judas of doing this action, for if it had, it not only would have lessened the wo due to him, but would have taken away all his guilt." Ellicott says the same more briefly, and the Pulpit commentator reaches for Chrysostom: "Judas was not a traitor because God foresaw it, but he foresaw it because Judas would be so." Gill agrees from the other direction: the decrees "did not in the least excuse, or extenuate the blackness of his crime." The closing sentence is idiom, not innovation; Cambridge identifies it as "a familiar phrase in the Rabbinical Schools," and Gill produces the Talmudic and Zoharic parallels. Barnes and Benson both press it into an argument for eternal punishment, which goes further than the formula itself will carry, and is marked here as their inference. Finally Judas asks, and the Greek is merciless in its economy: Μήτι ἐγώ εἰμι again, word for word as the eleven, with ῥαββί in place of Κύριε. Pulpit calls Rabbi "a coldly ceremonious title" and notes it recurs on Judas's lips in the garden at v. 49; Gill reads it, less convincingly, as an excess of honour meant as cover. The answer is two words, Σὺ εἶπας, which Cambridge identifies as "a formula of assent both in Hebrew and Greek" and Barnes renders "Thou art the man."

iii. Bread and cup: the covenant in His blood — 26:26-26:28

Matthew repeats the genitive absolute of v. 21 to place the institution inside the same meal as the betrayal: Ἐσθιόντων αὐτῶν. Gill argues from the rabbinic order, in which the lamb was eaten last, that "the paschal supper was now concluded, when Christ entered upon the institution of his own supper." Cambridge draws the decisive absence: "But at the Last Supper there was no paschal lamb. There was no need now of the typical lamb without blemish, for the antitype was there." The syntax then does theological work. Taking, blessing and giving are all participles; the one finite verb is ἔκλασεν, broke. Pulpit notes that the fraction "gave its name to the whole rite," and the rarity of G2806, in only fourteen verses, is what makes the Verifier's link to 1 Corinthians 10:16 a real verbal one. Over the four words τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου the commentators divide, and the Greek does not arbitrate: Benson answers with Hebrew usage, "This bread is, that is, signifies or represents, my body, according to the style of the sacred writers"; Geneva names the figure, "metonymy: that is to say, the giving of one name for another"; Henry offers the image of the sun, whose beams and not whose substance reach us; Ellicott declines the whole question as "alien to the mind of Christ," which is itself a position and is labelled as one. The cup follows with a textual footnote of its own: Ellicott and Cambridge both print "a cup," the article being absent from the better manuscripts, and the thanksgiving word changes to εὐχαριστήσας, from which, as Pulpit says, the rite is called Eucharist. Barnes settles the old ambiguity by grammar, "all of you, disciples, drink of it," not "drink all the wine," since pantes agrees with the drinkers. Then v. 28 names the covenant. διαθήκης is covenant, not testament; Cambridge says the first sense "is the preferable sense here," and Ellicott calls the popular use of New Testament for a collection of books "singularly infelicitous." The word "new" is absent from the best manuscripts here and in Mark, as Ellicott, Cambridge and Pulpit all state. Every voice on the page reaches for the same two Old Testament places: Ellicott, that "the blood of the covenant is obviously a reference to the history of Exodus 24:4-8," and that the word turns the disciples' thoughts to Jeremiah 31:31 to 34; Gill, that "the allusion is to the first covenant, and the book of it being sprinkled with the blood of bulls"; Barnes, quoting Exodus 24:8 outright; Pulpit, adding Hebrews 9:22, "without shedding of blood is no remission." One real disagreement remains unresolved on the page and is left unresolved here: περὶ πολλῶν, for many. Gill reads the many as "all the elect of God," "the many that were ordained to eternal life"; Pulpit reads it as equivalent to all, "redemption is universal, though all men do not accept the offer," and quotes Calvin against Gill's restriction. Ellicott sides with Pulpit from 1 Timothy 2:6. The Greek word is simply polloi.

iv. The cup not drunk, and the hymn — 26:29-26:30

The oath of abstinence is emphatic: οὐ μὴ πίω, the double negative with the aorist subjunctive, by no means shall I drink. Ellicott would soften the English to "I shall not drink," "as implying the acceptance of what had been ordained by God rather than an act of volition." The object is the odd phrase τούτου τοῦ γενήματος τῆς ἀμπέλου, this offspring of the vine, which Gill traces to the Jewish blessing over wine that he had already quoted at v. 27. Pulpit is blunt that the phrase settles nothing about fermentation. The forward looking word is καινὸν, new in kind. Cambridge says the new wine signifies "the new higher existence" which Christ would share with His Saints, and links it to the new wine of Matthew 9:17. Benson lays out three readings honestly and does not choose between them, including "I will taste no more wine till I drink wine of quite another kind in the glorious kingdom of my Father"; Barnes reads the kingdom as heaven under the image of a feast; Pulpit records Chrysostom's reading of the resurrection meals and then prefers the marriage supper of the Lamb, admitting the meaning "must remain uncertain." Maclaren makes the structural observation that governs the movement: this saying "converts what is primarily a memorial into a prophecy. It bids us hope as well as, and because we, remember." Then the hymn. ὑμνήσαντες is an aorist participle of a verb the Verifier finds in only four verses of the New Testament, and Barnes, Benson, Cambridge and Gill agree on what was sung: the Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, divided, the second part reserved to the close. Gill adds the detail that most repays attention, that Jewish tradition found "the sorrows of the Messiah" in this latter part, and that Christ "deferred to the close of his supper" the portion that spoke of Him. Then they go out, which Pulpit notes they "could not lawfully have done had they been celebrating the usual Jewish Passover," citing Exodus 12:22. Gill has them crossing to Olivet, and reads the high priest's causeway of the red heifer as their road; that figural reading is Gill's own and is marked as such below.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text. What holds this unit together is not the institution but a single verb used four times in six verses: παραδίδωμι, to hand over. In v. 21 it is Judas's future act, in v. 24 a present passive done to the Son of Man with no agent named, in v. 25 a present participle that is Judas's name, and behind all three stands γέγραπται, it stands written. Matthew never reconciles them, and the human voices on this page split along exactly that fault: Benson and Ellicott and Chrysostom, through Pulpit, defending the freedom of the traitor; Gill insisting that the decree stands and the guilt stands with it. The machine's reading is that the verse refuses the choice on purpose, and that the refusal is the meaning: the handing over is at once a crime with a culprit and a gift with a giver, because ὑπάγει in v. 24 is active and has no agent but the Son of Man Himself. Read that way, the bread and the cup are not a second subject but the same verb turned round. He is handed over by Judas and He hands Himself over in the same hour, and He puts it in the disciples' hands before anyone lays hands on Him: Λάβετε, take, the same root He used of His own taking of the bread. The covenant word makes the direction plain. At Exodus 24:8 Moses threw the blood outward onto the people; here the blood of the covenant is handed in, to be drunk, and the covenant is not ratified over the participants but inside them, which is the burden of Jeremiah 31:33 as Ellicott reads it. One further thing this reading holds, under correction: Matthew places the cup after the woe, in the same meal, with the traitor's question still hanging in the room, and does not tell us that Judas left. Ellicott and Barnes conclude from John that he did; Gill assumes he stayed. The tool does not know. But the order Matthew gives is that the covenant in blood is announced at a table where betrayal has already been named and not yet undone, and that is more mercy than any harmonisation improves on.

The handing over runs both ways at this table, and only one of the two hands is guilty. (⚙ synthesis, not Scripture; offered to be tested.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The hymn: a rare verb, and where else it is sung verbal / quotation: confirmed

The participle ὑμνήσαντες (hymneō, G5214) is one of the rarest verbs in this unit. The Verifier finds it in only four verses of the New Testament, and three of them are in the recorded bases here: the parallel at Mark 14:26, Hebrews 2:12, where the words of Psalm 22:22 are placed on Christ's own lips, and Paul and Silas in the inner prison at Acts 16:25. Barnes, Benson, Cambridge and Gill all identify what was sung at the table as the Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, and Gill adds that Jewish tradition found "the sorrows of the Messiah" in its second part, which is the part Christ kept until last. The verbal link is confirmed by shared lexeme and is within the Greek New Testament throughout; the Psalm behind Hebrews 2:12 is noted as background, not claimed as part of the verbal basis.

Mark 14:26 · Hebrews 2:12 · Acts 16:25

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G5214 ὑμνέω, which occurs in only 4 verses of the New Testament (Mark 14:26, Hebrews 2:12, Acts 16:25 and Matthew 26:30 itself). A genuinely rare shared lexeme, all refs Greek to Greek.

The blood of the covenant: Sinai thrown outward, Jerusalem handed in structural / thematic: confirmed

Every human voice on Matthew 26:28 goes to the same place. Ellicott: "the blood of the covenant is obviously a reference to the history of Exodus 24:4-8." Gill: "the allusion is to the first covenant, and the book of it being sprinkled with the blood of bulls, and therefore called the blood of the covenant, Exodus 24:8." Barnes quotes Exodus 24:8 in full and adds that ancient covenants were ratified by blood. Ellicott then carries the word "new," whether or not it was spoken here, to Jeremiah 31:31 to 34, whose substance is the law written inward and iniquity forgiven, which is exactly the pair of things Matthew's clause names: covenant and remission of sins. ⚙ The structural difference worth noting is the direction of the blood. At Sinai Moses threw it outward onto the people; here it is handed in, to be drunk. The link is as close to quotation as this unit comes, and it still cannot be tiered verbal: the refs cross from Greek into Hebrew, so no shared Strong's lexeme exists to record as a basis, and the New Testament addendum to this project forbids a verbal tier on refs that mix the Testaments. The tier is a limit on the recorded evidence, not a doubt about the link.

Exodus 24:8 · Jeremiah 31:31-34 · Hebrews 9:22

basis: Cross Testament (Greek Matthew to Hebrew Exodus and Jeremiah), so shared Strong's numbers are impossible and no verbal basis can be computed or claimed. Recorded basis is the named citation of Exodus 24:8 by Ellicott, Gill and Barnes, and of Jeremiah 31:31-34 by Ellicott, plus the shared clause structure (blood, covenant, many, forgiveness). Near verbatim and structurally decisive, and still not tierable verbal because the refs cross the Testaments.

The hand in the bowl: Psalm 41:9, and the verse John cites for it structural / thematic: confirmed

Matthew does not quote a Psalm at v. 23; the commentators supply it and disagree about how tightly it fits. Geneva names it directly: "alluding in this to Ps 41:9, which is not to be understood as though just as the Lord spoke these words Judas had his hand in the dish." Pulpit quotes the Psalm on the page, "Mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." Barnes gives the cross reference as a bare instruction, "Compare Psalm 41:9 with John 13:18," and John 13:18 is the place where the fourth Gospel makes the citation explicit for the very same betrayal. Gill, holding to the aorist participle, refuses to let the saying be reduced to the Psalm's general table fellowship, and that caution is preserved here. ⚙ The shared element is a friend at the writer's own table, named by the sharing of food and not by any other mark, which is the whole content of Matthew's identification.

Psalm 41:9 · John 13:18

basis: Cross Testament (Greek Matthew to Hebrew Psalm), so no shared Strong's lexeme can be computed and no verbal tier is permissible under the project's New Testament rule, even though John 13:18 makes the citation explicit and the wording is close. Recorded basis: Psalm 41:9 named by Geneva, Barnes and Pulpit at this verse; John 13:18 named by Barnes as the New Testament place that cites it for this same act. One of the two clearest cases in this unit, and still structural for the reason given.

Just as it is written about Him: the unnamed Scripture flagged: verify source

γέγραπται at v. 24 is a perfect passive with no reference attached, and the commentators fill the blank differently. Barnes lists Psalm 41:9 with John 13:18, then Daniel 9:26 to 27 and Isaiah 53:4 to 9. Gill lists Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 and Daniel 9. Ellicott names no chapter at all and calls the clause "the first direct reference of the coming passion and death to the Scriptures which prophesied of the Messiah." Luke 22:22, as Barnes notes, says instead "as it was determined," which reads the writing as the divine purpose rather than a particular text, and Gill takes it both ways at once, "in the book of God's eternal purposes and decrees" and "as it was recorded in the books of the Old Testament." ⚙ This thread is flagged rather than confirmed because the provenance is exactly what is in dispute: the refs below are the candidates the sources offer, not a citation Matthew makes. Anyone using this link should know that the identification is the commentators' and not the evangelist's.

Isaiah 53:4-9 · Psalm 22:1 · Daniel 9:26

basis: Matthew names no Scripture; the referent is supplied differently by Barnes (Psalm 41:9, Daniel 9:26-27, Isaiah 53:4-9), Gill (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Daniel 9) and Luke 22:22 ("as it was determined", read as decree rather than text). Contested provenance, cross Testament, no computable verbal basis. Flagged so the reader can check the attribution.

Poured out for many: the Servant's wording, and the limit of the check structural / thematic: confirmed

The clause τὸ ἐκχυννόμενον περὶ πολλῶν (G1632 with G4183) has long been read against Isaiah 53:11 to 12, where the Servant pours out his soul and bears the sin of many, and against Matthew 20:28, a ransom for many, which several voices here cross reference. Pulpit stresses the present participle, is being shed, against the Vulgate future, and holds that "many" here is equivalent to all, quoting Calvin; Gill restricts it to the elect. ⚙ Two honest limits. First, the closest verbal resemblance is to the Greek of the Septuagint at Isaiah 53, not to the Hebrew, and this brief's Verifier computes bases from Strong's numbers, which cannot cross from Greek to Hebrew; no lexeme basis is recorded and none is claimed. Second, Matthew himself does not cite Isaiah here, so the link is an echo recognised by the tradition, not a quotation marked in the text. It is offered as structural for both reasons.

Isaiah 53:11-12 · Matthew 20:28

basis: Cross Testament for the Isaiah ref (Greek Matthew to Hebrew Isaiah): no shared Strong's lexeme is computable, so a verbal tier is barred by the project's New Testament rule and is not claimed. Recorded basis: the shared clause pattern (a pouring out, on behalf of many, for sin) plus the internal Matthean parallel at 20:28, which Ellicott, Pulpit and Cambridge all invoke at this verse.

This fruit of the vine: the same saying in the parallel Gospels verbal / quotation: confirmed

The vow of v. 29 is preserved in all three synoptics, and the Verifier's bases show it: Luke 22:18 shares γέννημα (G1081, in only 8 verses), ἄμπελος (G288, in 9 verses) and πίνω, and Mark 14:25 shares amēn, ekeinos and pinō. Benson observes that Jesus "had made the same declaration concerning the passover-cup, Luke 22:18," which raises a real question about whether Matthew and Luke record one saying or two; Pulpit takes them as two, over two different cups. Gill supplies the reason for the unusual noun, quoting the Jewish blessing over wine that names God as the one "who hast created the fruit of the vine." The Verifier also lists James 3:12 on ampelos and elaia together, which is a lexical coincidence with no thematic claim attached and is mentioned here only so that it is not mistaken for a link.

Luke 22:18 · Mark 14:25

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G1081 γέννημα (in 8 vv) and G288 ἄμπελος (in 9 vv) with Luke 22:18, both rare, plus G4095 πίνω; and G281 ἀμήν, G1565 ἐκεῖνος, G4095 πίνω with Mark 14:25. Greek to Greek throughout, and a synoptic parallel of the same saying.

Breaking and blessing: the rite named from its verb structural / thematic: confirmed

ἔκλασεν (klaō, G2806) is a narrow word, to break, specially of bread, found in only fourteen verses. The Verifier pairs Matthew 26:26 with 1 Corinthians 10:16, which has both that verb and εὐλογέω (G2127) and ἄρτος (G740), and with Acts 27:35, where Paul on the foundering ship gives thanks and breaks bread. Pulpit draws the historical consequence: the fraction "was so important and essential a part of the institution, that it gave its name to the whole rite," citing Acts 2:42 and 46. Barnes and Pulpit also identify the cup of v. 27 with the cup of blessing of 1 Corinthians 10:16 on liturgical grounds. ⚙ The tier is held at structural deliberately: the shared lexemes are real and the link is confirmed, but Paul is not quoting Matthew and Matthew is not quoting Paul, so "verbal / quotation" would overclaim what the shared vocabulary of one rite establishes.

1 Corinthians 10:16 · Acts 27:35 · Mark 14:22

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G2806 κλάω (in 14 vv, rare) with 1 Corinthians 10:16 and Acts 27:35, plus G2127 εὐλογέω (in 39 vv) and G740 ἄρτος with 1 Corinthians 10:16, and G2068 ἐσθίω, G2806 κλάω, G2983 λαμβάνω with Mark 14:22. Downgraded from verbal to structural on purpose: the rare lexeme is genuine but no party quotes another, so this is shared rite vocabulary, not quotation.

The Hallel: the Psalms that were in His mouth on the way out typological

Matthew says only that they hymned, but the sources are unanimous about what. Barnes: the Passover was observed "by singing or chanting Psalm 113-118," divided into two parts. Benson: "It consisted of six psalms, from the 113th to the 118th." Cambridge sets the first part (Psalms 113, 114) during the meal and the second (Psalms 115 to 118) at the close. Gill adds what the others do not, that Jewish tradition located "the sorrows of the Messiah" in that second portion, and that Christ "deferred to the close of his supper" precisely the part that spoke of Him. ⚙ The figural reading offered here is the tool's own and is offered to be tested: if the second Hallel is what was sung, then the last words on His lips before Gethsemane included the Psalter's cup of salvation and its rejected stone made the head of the corner, sung by the one about to take the cup and be rejected. The Hallel identification is sourced and widely held; this particular reading of which lines fell where is not the tradition's common ground and is marked novel.

Psalm 116:13 · Psalm 118:22 · Psalm 113:1

basis: Cross Testament (Greek Matthew to Hebrew Psalms): no shared Strong's lexeme is computable, so no verbal tier is possible or claimed, per the project's New Testament rule. Sourced basis: the identification of the hymn as the Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, by Barnes, Benson, Cambridge, Ellicott, Geneva and Gill, and Gill's report that Jewish tradition read the sorrows of the Messiah in its second part. The figural application to particular verses of the Hallel is the machine's own (novel), not the tradition's.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

A Passover with no lamb on the table ancient/widely-held

Cambridge sets out the paschal order step by step and then points at the gap: "But at the Last Supper there was no paschal lamb. There was no need now of the typical lamb without blemish, for the antitype was there. Christ Himself was our Passover sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). He was there being slain for us" and adds that His body was being given and His blood being shed. Cambridge places the institution exactly where the lamb would have been eaten. Gill reaches the same point from the rabbinic rule that the lamb was eaten last, so that the paschal supper was finished when Christ began His own. Henry states the substitution plainly: "This ordinance of the Lord's supper is to us the passover supper, by which we commemorate a much greater deliverance than that of Israel out of Egypt." ⚙ The grammar supports them: the present participles that Cambridge, Ellicott and Pulpit all note in the fuller reports, being given and being shed, place the sacrifice as already under way at the table, before any hand is laid on Him.

Exodus 12:8 · 1 Corinthians 5:7 · Matthew 26:26

Bread and wine from a priest who is not of Aaron ancient/widely-held

Pulpit reads the elevation of the bread as priestly action: "We see here the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek bringing forth bread and wine like his great prototype (Psalm 110:4), and by anticipation offering himself as victim." The elements themselves are the ones Melchizedek brought out at Genesis 14:18, and Hebrews 7 makes the order of Melchizedek the ground on which Christ's priesthood stands outside the Levitical line, which is what Matthew's scene requires: no Levitical priest could offer himself. ⚙ This is offered as the widely held reading of a priest who blesses with bread and wine rather than with the blood of animals; it should be said honestly that Matthew himself names neither Melchizedek nor Psalm 110 in this unit, and that the connection is made by Pulpit and by Hebrews rather than by the evangelist here.

Genesis 14:18 · Psalm 110:4 · Hebrews 7:27

The covenant written inward: the mediator of the better promise ancient/widely-held

Ellicott draws the line from the table to both covenants at once: the blood the Son of Man was about to shed "was to be to the true Israel of God what the blood which Moses had sprinkled on the people had been to the outward Israel. It was the true blood of sprinkling (Hebrews 12:24), and Jesus was thus the Mediator of the New Covenant as Moses had been of the Old." He then names the substance of Jeremiah's promise, the law put in the inward parts, a truer knowledge of God, and forgiveness of iniquity, "and all this, they were told, was to be brought about through the sacrifice of the death of Christ." Cambridge adds the contrast that the new covenant is sealed under a sign "under which there is no shedding of blood," the blood having been shed once. Pulpit brings Hebrews 9:22 to the same clause, and Barnes reads "in my blood" as ratified, sealed, or sanctioned by it. ⚙ Matthew's own clause carries three of Jeremiah's four notes in nine words: covenant, many, forgiveness of sins.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 · Exodus 24:8 · Hebrews 12:24

The road of the red heifer (Gill's figure, recorded as his own) novel

Gill ends his note on v. 30 with a figure he does not attribute to anyone else. The Mount of Olives, he observes from rabbinic sources, was where the high priest burned the red heifer and sprinkled its blood, and a raised causeway ran from the temple to that mount, along which the priest and "all his assistants" went. "In this same way it is very probable, went Christ the great high priest, who was typified by the red heifer, and his companions the disciples, to the same place, where he had his bloody sweat, and where his sorrows and sufferings began." ⚙ The typology of the red heifer, a victim burned outside the camp whose ashes cleanse, is treated at Hebrews 13:11 to 12 without naming this causeway; the specific reading of Matthew 26:30 as the high priest walking the heifer's road is Gill's, and it rests on his rabbinic topography rather than on anything Matthew says. It is recorded here because it is a genuine human reading worth testing, and marked novel because it is not the tradition's common ground.

Numbers 19:2-3 · Hebrews 13:11-12 · Matthew 26:30

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. Two textual questions touch this unit and both are named by the sources themselves. At v. 27 the article before ποτήριον is absent from the better manuscripts, so Ellicott and Cambridge both print "a cup" rather than "the cup"; Pulpit accepts the omission but judges the sense unchanged, since only one cup was then on the table. At v. 28 the word "new" before διαθήκης is absent from the oldest manuscripts here and in Mark, as Ellicott, Cambridge and Pulpit all state, and Ellicott suggests it entered later copies from Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25. The BSB text used here reads "My blood of the covenant" without "new," which matches the critical text.

Interlinear alignment. In several verses the Berean interlinear's English glosses are distributed across the Greek words in English order rather than Greek order, most visibly at v. 22 and v. 25, where "Surely not" is attached to eimi and Mēti carries an ellipsis, and at v. 24, where the second occurrence of Son of Man is left as "...". The note indices in this synthesis follow the brief's numbering exactly, so a note index is a position in the Greek, not in the English sentence.

Sources. Of the eleven commentators in the brief, nine are quoted here (Ellicott, Benson, Henry, Barnes, Poole, Gill, Geneva, Cambridge, Pulpit) and Maclaren is quoted once at v. 29. JFB is not quoted at all: the entry supplied for every verse of this unit is the single cross reference "For the exposition, see on Lu 22:7-23," which contains no exposition of Matthew to quote. Poole's entries for vv. 20 to 24 are likewise bare pointers to his note at v. 25, and his entry at v. 25 is a harmony of the whole section rather than a comment on "Thou hast said," which is why the excerpt taken from it is a harmonising judgment about Luke's order and is labelled as such. Several long entries (Benson at v. 20, Gill at several verses, Poole, Maclaren, Pulpit at v. 26, Ellicott at v. 28) are capped in the brief; no claim here depends on text beyond the caps, and no capped entry was expanded.

What is uncertain. Three substantive disagreements among the sources are recorded rather than resolved. (1) Whether Judas was present for the bread and cup: Ellicott and Barnes conclude from John 13:27 to 30 that he left before the institution, while Gill assumes he remained; Matthew says nothing either way, and this synthesis does not decide it. (2) Whether Judas's hand was literally in the dish as Jesus spoke: Gill says yes on the strength of the aorist participle, Geneva says no and reads a general allusion to table fellowship. (3) Whether πολλῶν at v. 28 means all or the elect: Pulpit, quoting Calvin, and Ellicott, from 1 Timothy 2:6, say all; Gill says the elect. The Greek word decides none of these.

Limits of the verbal check. The Verifier computes thread bases from shared Strong's numbers, which exist only within one language. Every Old Testament link in this unit (Exodus 24:8, Jeremiah 31, Psalm 41:9, Isaiah 53, Psalms 113 to 118) therefore carries no computed lexeme basis and is tiered structural, typological or flagged, never verbal, however close the wording. The rabbinic and Talmudic citations in Gill and Poole are reproduced as their own attributions and have not been independently checked here. The Verifier also lists James 3:12, Luke 9:13 and John 18:35 as lexical neighbours; those are coincidences of common vocabulary and no thread is built on them.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)