Matthew 27 5

Matthew 27:5 kjv

And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Matthew 27:5 nkjv

Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Matthew 27:5 niv

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Matthew 27:5 esv

And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.

Matthew 27:5 nlt

Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

Matthew 27 verses

Matthew 27 5 Meaning

This verse records Judas Iscariot's final acts following his betrayal of Jesus. Overwhelmed by remorse and guilt for delivering innocent blood, he dramatically throws the thirty pieces of silver, the payment for his betrayal, into the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Immediately thereafter, driven by despair rather than true repentance, he withdraws from society and takes his own life by hanging himself.

Matthew 27 5 Context

Matthew 27:5 immediately follows Judas's agonizing realization and declaration that he had betrayed innocent blood (Matt 27:3-4). This confession comes after Jesus has been condemned to death by the Jewish council and handed over to Pilate. The verses before depict the climax of Jesus' trial and rejection, making Judas's reaction a swift and tragic consequence of his treacherous act. Historically and culturally, the Jewish Temple, specifically the naos (the sanctuary or holy place), was considered the dwelling place of God, intensely sacred. Throwing money, especially blood money, into such a revered space was a desperate, almost defiant act of defilement or perhaps a misguided attempt to undo his sin or rid himself of the polluted payment. The chief priests' subsequent decision not to put the "blood money" into the treasury (Matt 27:6) further highlights the sacrilege. Suicide was generally viewed negatively in Jewish tradition, typically a sign of utter despair or judgment.

Matthew 27 5 Word analysis

• And casting down (Greek: ῥίψας - rhipsas): This word signifies a forceful, abrupt, and often violent action of throwing away. It implies a sense of repulsion, disgust, and a desperate effort to sever himself from the tainted money. This was not a careful placement but an angry, remorseful ejection of what he had gained from his sin, suggesting a profound internal torment.
• the pieces of silver (Greek: ἀργύρια - argyria): Refers to the thirty pieces of silver, the specific sum agreed upon for Jesus' betrayal. This "blood money" (Matt 27:6) was the direct symbol of his transgression and Jesus' condemnation. Its quantity directly fulfilled Zechariah 11:12-13.
• in the temple (Greek: εἰς τὸν ναόν - eis ton naon): Crucially, "naos" here refers to the inner sanctuary, the sacred edifice itself where the priests officiated, not the general temple courts (ἱερόν - hieron). This indicates Judas went beyond merely leaving the money in the general complex; he desecrated the holy space directly with the "wages of unrighteousness" (Acts 1:18). This act highlights his extreme despair and possibly his futile attempt to burden the religious authorities with his sin or publicly renounce his crime at the holiest accessible spot.
• he departed (Greek: ἀπελθών - apelthon): Simple but profound. It denotes a turning away, a withdrawal. This departure signifies not only his physical removal from the temple but also his severance from the disciples, the Jewish leadership, and ultimately, any path to repentance and redemption. It indicates a turning toward isolation and the finality of his despair.
• and went and hanged himself (Greek: καὶ ἀπῆλθεν καὶ ἀπήγξατο - kai apēgxato): This describes the act of suicide by strangulation. It's an act of utter self-destruction driven by overwhelming guilt, shame, and despair that did not lead to repentance but to a permanent severance from life. This contrasts sharply with Peter's deep remorse over denying Jesus, which led to weeping bitterly and eventual restoration through repentance (Matt 26:75, Luke 22:62). The Greek word suggests the action of hanging until death by suffocation.

• "Casting down the pieces of silver in the temple": This entire phrase depicts Judas's desperate attempt to undo his act or rid himself of the physical embodiment of his sin. By casting the blood money into the most sacred part of the Temple, he also ritually defiled it in the eyes of the priests, making the money unfit for the temple treasury, highlighting their own hypocrisy as they were more concerned with ritual purity than with the shedding of innocent blood (Matt 27:6-8). This dramatic gesture marks the culmination of his public, albeit misguided, remorse.
• "he departed, and went and hanged himself": This phrase succinctly presents the progression from his dramatic act in the temple to his ultimate despair and self-inflicted death. His departure signals a final break, not just from the physical space but from all hope. The act of hanging himself symbolizes the full and tragic consequence of betraying innocent blood, demonstrating "worldly sorrow" that "produces death" (2 Cor 7:10) rather than the "godly sorrow" that leads to true repentance and salvation. This action mirrors Ahithophel's suicide in 2 Samuel 17:23, another act of a trusted confidant turning against a leader. While Matthew states he "hanged himself," Acts 1:18 gives a fuller description of the outcome (falling headlong and bursting open), suggesting the body remained suspended and eventually gave way, presenting complementary perspectives rather than contradictions.

Matthew 27 5 Bonus section

The apparent difference between Matthew 27:5 ("hanged himself") and Acts 1:18 ("falling headlong he burst open in the middle") concerning Judas's death is generally understood by scholars not as a contradiction, but as complementary accounts describing different aspects or stages of the same event. Matthew emphasizes the method of death – suicide by hanging. Acts, perhaps describing what happened later, portrays the result or circumstance surrounding his death: after hanging, the body might have decayed, the rope could have broken, or he fell from a high place, leading to it bursting open upon impact. Both accounts underscore the horrifying and ignominious end of Judas, a consequence of his ultimate betrayal and despair. This double description serves to heighten the tragic impact and confirms his complete destruction as "a spectacle for all to see" (Acts 1:19).

Matthew 27 5 Commentary

Matthew 27:5 portrays the tragic climax of Judas Iscariot's life, driven by a profound and overwhelming guilt that devolved into despair rather than leading to redemptive repentance. His violent rejection of the thirty pieces of silver, casting them into the temple's most sacred area, speaks volumes of his agony and his futile attempt to reverse his actions or rid himself of the blood money. This act created a significant problem for the chief priests, revealing their misplaced priorities – meticulous concern for ritual purity over genuine justice and the sanctity of life. Judas's subsequent self-execution underscores the ultimate destructive power of unforgiven sin and worldly sorrow that lacks access to grace. Unlike Peter, whose sorrow for denying Jesus led to restoration, Judas's despair isolated him from all hope, leading him to a solitary and bitter end. His fate stands as a stark warning about the perilous consequences of unrepented sin and the futility of seeking to undo grave wrong through human means apart from God's forgiveness.