Immediately he came to Jesus, and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
Parallel Translations
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Immediately he came to Jesus, and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
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And forth with all he came to Iesus and sayde: hayle master and kyssed him.
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And forthwith he came to Iesus, and sayd, God saue thee, Master, and kissed him.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Matthew 26:49 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 26:25 Judas, who betrayed him, answered, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You said it.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
- Genesis 27:26 His father Isaac said to him, “Come near now, and kiss me, my son.”
- 1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?
- 2 Samuel 20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
- Proverbs 27:6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
- Matthew 27:29-30 They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.
- Mark 14:45-46 When he had come, immediately he came to him, and said, “Rabbi! Rabbi!” and kissed him. They laid their hands on him, and seized him.
- Mark 15:18 They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- Luke 7:45 You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet.
- John 19:3 They kept saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and they kept slapping him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said,…
49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
Ver. 49. Hail, Master, and kissed him] But love is not always in a kiss, saith Philo the Jew; nor in crying Rabbi, Rabbi, as the traitor here did, Mar 14:45, out of a seeming pity of his Master’s misery. There are those who think that he would have carried his treachery so cunningly, as if he had had no hand in it; and therefore kissed him as a friend, and so would still have been taken. (Aretius.)
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Jesus said unto him, friend,.... Not in an…
And Jesus said unto him, friend,.... Not in an ironical and sarcastic way, but because he pretended to be his friend, by saluting and kissing him, in the manner he had done; or rather, because Christ had always used him as his friend, his familiar friend, who had been of his councils, and had ate at his table; and therefore this carried in it something very cutting, had Judas had any conscience, or sense of gratitude:
wherefore art thou come? The Ethiopic version reads, "my friend, art thou not come?" that is, art thou come as my friend? is thy coming as a friend, or as an enemy? if as a friend, what means this company with swords and staves? if as an enemy, why this salutation and kiss? or what is thine end in coming at this time of night? what is thy business here? thou hast left my company, and my disciples, what dost thou do here? The Syriac version reads it,
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"to that";
and the Arabic,
"to this art thou come?"
to kiss me, and by a kiss to deliver me into the hands of my enemies? to which agrees what is said in Luke,
"Judas, betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss?"
Luk 22:48. This he said, to let him know he knew him, and therefore he calls him by name; and that he knew his design in kissing him, and that what he was doing was against light and knowledge; he, at the same time, knowing that he was the son of man, the true Messiah,
Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him; that is, the multitude, the Roman band, the captains and officers of the Jews, when Judas had given the sign; though not till Christ had given them a specimen of his power, in striking them to the ground; to let them know, that Judas could never have put him into their hands, nor could they have laid hold on him, had he not thought fit to surrender himself to them. The seizing and apprehending him is related by Luke and John as after the following circumstance; though the Ethiopic version here reads, "they lift up their hands, and did not lay hold on the Lord Jesus".
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Hail, Rabbi. And he kissed him. This kind of…
Hail, Rabbi. And he kissed him. This kind of salutation was ordinary with the Jews. St. Luke tells us, Christ called Judas friend; and added, Is it with a kiss thou betrayest the Son of man? By what we read in St. John, these men that came with Judas, seem not to have known our Saviour: for when he asked then, whom seek you? they do not answer, thyself, but Jesus of Nazareth. There were struck with a blindness, which St. John Chrysostom looks upon as done miraculously. The second miracle was, that when Christ said, I am he, they fell to the ground, as thunder-struck. The third was, let these go, by which they had no power to seize any one of his disciples. The fourth was, the healing of Malchus’ ear. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 49. Forthwith he came to Jesus… and kissed him…
49. Forthwith he came to Jesus… and kissed him — As, in Mat_26:46, Jesus said, “Let us be going,” he turned his firm face to his foes, yet unseen, and walked forth to meet them. His disciples — first the three, and then the eight — start as we may suppose from their slumbers, and follow him along in irregular train. Thus, as Jesus alone leads the little band of his peaceful followers, Judas leads the hostile multitude of assailants. They two singly meet — the Divine victim and the diabolical betrayer — face to face. The traitor, prostituting the purest signal of love to the purpose of death, accomplishes the greatest masterpiece of treachery known to the universe. The Saviour calmly accepts the kiss; and surely, amid all the mockeries he suffered, this kiss was the most repulsive. Well did the German writer, Pfenninger, (quoted by Stier,) remark: “Wouldst thou know what Satan can do and God can suffer — what the basest of mankind can commit and the best of mankind can bear? behold the lips of Judas who kisses, and the cheek of Jesus who receives the kiss!” Hail, Master — The same lips that gave the false kiss preceded it with this false salutation. It was doubtless uttered with a loud voice. It proclaimed to the soldiery, “I have found the man I betray.” It proclaimed to our Lord, “You have found the man who betrays you.” The question at the supper-table, “Master, is it I?” now changes to the affirmation, “Master, it is I!”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 49. Hail, master] Rather, Rabbi.
49. Hail, master] Rather, Rabbi.
kissed him] The Greek verb is forcible, kissed him with fervour or repeatedly.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (49) Hail, master.—Better, Rabbi, both St. Matthew and St.…
(49) Hail, master.—Better, Rabbi, both St. Matthew and St. Mark (Mar_14:45) giving the Hebrew word. The Greek word for “hail” is somewhat more familiar than the English has come to be for us. It was, we may believe, the disciples’ usual greeting.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Forthwith. The blood money was to become due on…
Forthwith. The blood money was to become due on the accomplishment of the betrayal; so Judas, now that the opportunity had arrived, lost no time in completing his part of the bargain. Kissed him (katefilhsen , a strong word, kissed him eagerly, or, kissed him much). Judas was more than usually demonstrative in his salutation. "The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords". (Psa_55:21) So Joab treated Amasa before he murdered him. (2Sa_20:9, 2Sa_20:10) What infinite patience for the Lord to submit to this hypocritical caress! It is a type of the wonderful goodness and long suffering of God towards sinners, how he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 he came up to Jesus
he came up to Jesus
"Judas came up to Jesus"
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kissed him
"met him with a kiss." Good friends would kiss each other on the cheek, but a disciple would probably kiss his master on the hand to show respect. No one knows for sure how Judas kissed Jesus.
Then they came
Here "they" refers to the people with clubs and swords that came with Judas and the religious leaders.
laid hands on Jesus, and seized him
"grabbed Jesus, and arrested him"
translationWords
Rabbi
kiss
seize
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 26:49 Judas . . . gave him the kiss:…
26:49 Judas . . . gave him the kiss: Judas’s use of a sign of affection to betray Jesus amplifies the heinousness of his betrayal.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.