Matthew 27:10 kjv
And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.
Matthew 27:10 nkjv
and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."
Matthew 27:10 niv
and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."
Matthew 27:10 esv
and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me."
Matthew 27:10 nlt
and purchased the potter's field,
as the LORD directed. "
Matthew 27 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ex 21:32 | "If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall pay thirty shekels..." | The price of a slave; the value put on Jesus. |
| Zec 11:12-13 | "So I weighed out for them thirty shekels of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price..." | Prophecy concerning the thirty pieces given to the potter in the house of the Lord. |
| Jer 32:6-9 | "Hanamel my uncle’s son will come to you to say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth’...I bought the field from Hanamel..." | Jeremiah buying a field as a prophetic act of future hope. |
| Mt 26:15 | "And he said to them, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver." | Judas agrees to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. |
| Mt 27:3 | "Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver..." | Judas's remorse and return of the silver. |
| Mt 27:6 | "But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury..." | The religious leaders' concern about using "blood money" for sacred purposes. |
| Mt 27:7 | "So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers." | The decision to buy the potter's field for strangers. |
| Mt 27:9 | "Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet..." | Matthew's attribution of the prophecy to Jeremiah. |
| Ac 1:18 | "(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness...)" | Peter's account of Judas's end and the field acquired. |
| Dt 23:18 | "You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow..." | Similar concept of rejecting defiled money for temple use. |
| Ps 2:2 | "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed..." | Rulers conspiring against the Lord's Anointed One. |
| Isa 53:3 | "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief..." | Jesus despised and valued little. |
| Lk 20:17-18 | "What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?" | The builders' rejection of the cornerstone. |
| Jn 10:11-12 | "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd...flee..." | Contrast between good shepherd (Jesus) and false shepherds. |
| Mk 14:10-11 | "Then Judas Iscariot...went to the chief priests in order to deliver him over to them. And when they heard it, they were glad..." | Judas's initiative to betray Jesus. |
| Isa 65:2 | "I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good..." | God's long-suffering towards rebellious people. |
| Ro 3:29 | "Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also..." | God's sovereignty over both Jews and Gentiles, implied by burial place for strangers. |
| Eph 2:19-20 | "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints..." | Believers, once strangers, brought into God's family. |
| Php 2:6-8 | "...who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped...emptied himself...obedient to the point of death..." | Jesus's humiliation and low estimation. |
| Heb 10:5-7 | "Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me..." | Christ's obedience to God's will and purpose. |
| Gen 23:16-19 | Abraham buying a field for a burial site. | Ancient practice of purchasing land for burials. |
| Jer 18:2 | "Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.”" | God's sovereignty likened to a potter over clay. |
Matthew 27 verses
Matthew 27 10 Meaning
Matthew 27:10 describes the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy regarding the thirty pieces of silver returned by Judas Iscariot. The chief priests and elders, unwilling to put "blood money" into the temple treasury, use the money to purchase a specific plot of land, the "potter's field." This action is declared to be in accordance with the Lord's divine command or arrangement through the prophets. The purchased field serves as a burial place for strangers and foreshadows how Jesus's atoning death made salvation accessible to all, including non-Jews.
Matthew 27 10 Context
This verse is situated in Matthew's account of Jesus's passion, specifically after Judas's betrayal, his remorse, and the return of the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. These religious leaders, steeped in legalistic interpretations of the Mosaic Law, deemed the money "blood money" (money used to betray an innocent man) and therefore unfit to be placed in the temple treasury. Their decision to purchase the "potter's field" for the burial of strangers, while seemingly a pragmatic solution to a ritual purity issue, becomes a direct, divinely orchestrated fulfillment of prophecy. The broader context highlights the Jewish leadership's blindness and hypocrisy—meticulously observing minor laws while rejecting the very Messiah who embodied righteousness and fulfillment of all law. Matthew frequently emphasizes the fulfillment of prophecy to underscore Jesus's Messiahship and the divine plan unfolding through His life, death, and resurrection.
Matthew 27 10 Word analysis
And gave: Greek edōkan (ἔδωκαν), "they gave." The implicit subject is the chief priests and elders (from Mt 27:6-7), who are executing a transaction with the money rejected by Judas. This action reveals their agency in fulfilling God's plan, albeit unknowingly or unwillingly.
them: Refers to the "thirty pieces of silver" (Mt 27:9), the specific price for which Jesus was betrayed. This small sum underscores the profound undervaluation of Jesus by those who conspired against Him.
for the potter's field: Greek eis ton agron tou keramēos (εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦ κεραμέως).
- potter's field: A place where a potter would get clay or discard broken pottery. It was likely a low-value, undesirable piece of land, fitting for a purchase made with "blood money." The imagery connects to divine judgment and God's sovereignty over humanity, as a potter has authority over clay (Jer 18).
- agron (ἀγρόν): "field" or "land."
- keramēos (κεραμέως): "potter" or "maker of earthenware." The "potter's field" eventually became known as Akeldama (Aramaic for "Field of Blood"), underscoring its grim origin. Its designation as a burial place for "strangers" (Mt 27:7) symbolically represents the Gentiles (strangers to Israel's covenant) being brought near through Christ's shed blood.
as: Greek kathā (καθὰ), meaning "just as" or "even as." This adverb strongly signals a direct correspondence between the event and a preceding divine decree, emphasizing divine intentionality and precise prophetic fulfillment.
the Lord: Greek Kyrios (Κύριος). Refers to God, indicating divine authority and sovereign command. This emphasizes that these seemingly human decisions and transactions were ultimately part of God's overarching plan for redemption.
appointed me: Greek synetaxen moi (συνέταξέν μοι).
- synetaxen (συνέταξεν): Aorist active indicative of syntassō (συντάσσω), meaning "to arrange with," "to order," "to command," "to appoint." This implies a prior, definite divine arrangement or directive.
- moi (μοι): Dative pronoun, "to me" or "for me." In the context of Matthew 27:9 (where the fulfillment is explicitly attributed to "Jeremiah the prophet"), "me" most naturally refers to the prophet Jeremiah (and perhaps Zechariah, as their prophecies are interwoven), indicating that God's command was spoken through the prophetic voice. It highlights God's pre-ordained plan being articulated through His chosen messengers long before its physical manifestation.
"for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me": This phrase encapsulates the central theme of divine fulfillment. The purchase of a specific field, for a specific purpose (burial of strangers), using money gained from the betrayal of the Messiah, all falls under the umbrella of God's sovereign command and arrangement through the prophets. It speaks to the meticulous detail of God's prophetic word.
Matthew 27 10 Bonus section
The conflation of Zechariah 11:12-13 and Jeremiah 32:6-15 (and possibly other Jeremiah passages like Jeremiah 18-19, concerning the potter and shattering pots) in Matthew's citation is a significant point of scholarly discussion. Some propose that "Jeremiah" functions as a titular head of the prophetic books, especially the Latter Prophets. Others suggest Matthew is deliberately interweaving themes: Jeremiah offers the theme of purchasing a field as a sign of hope (Jer 32) and the potter's house (Jer 18), while Zechariah provides the explicit "thirty pieces of silver" and casting "to the potter." Matthew's composite citation reveals a deeper theological hermeneutic, where multiple prophetic streams converge to illuminate the Messiah's multifaceted experience—his undervaluing, his betrayal, and the broader scope of salvation for all. This intertextual approach reinforces that all of Scripture points to Christ, often in complex ways that go beyond single, isolated predictions.
Matthew 27 10 Commentary
Matthew 27:10 solidifies the theme of prophetic fulfillment pervading Matthew's Gospel. The specific purchase of the "potter's field" with the thirty pieces of silver is presented not as a mere historical accident, but as an integral part of God's preordained plan, commanded by the Lord through His prophets, primarily Zechariah and Jeremiah. This verse emphasizes divine sovereignty even in the midst of human treachery and religious hypocrisy. The religious leaders' attempts to navigate ritual purity ironically become the means by which a prophecy of Jesus's undervalued price and the redemption extended to "strangers" (Gentiles) is precisely fulfilled. It portrays Jesus as the foreordained Messiah, whose suffering and death were part of God's eternal redemptive design, unfolding in precise detail according to the ancient word.