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Matthew 27:3
ESV Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,
NIV When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.
NASB Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
CSB Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.
NLT When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.
KJV Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

What does Matthew 27:3 mean?

As before, Matthew shifts the scene away from Jesus to one of His disciples. The previous chapter ended with Peter denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, just as the Lord said he would (Matthew 26:69–75). He then escaped, weeping bitterly at his failure to stand with Jesus at the risk of his own life.

Now the scene turns to Judas, again labeled as a disloyal traitor. Unlike Peter, Judas did not lose a struggle with himself to stay true to Jesus. He made a commitment to betray Jesus, in advance, then followed through with it (Matthew 26:14–16). Only after the betrayal was complete did Judas begin to regret his choice.

Seeing Jesus' death sentence from the Sanhedrin apparently changed Judas' mind. It is unknown what he expected to happen to Jesus. Perhaps he could not imagine any crime for which Jesus could be found guilty. Perhaps he wanted to force Jesus to use His extraordinary powers in a confrontation that would finally bring Him to the throne of Israel. He might simply have come to realize the hateful evil of what he had done. In any case, it is only now, after the fact, that Judas seems to believe Jesus should not die (Matthew 27:4).

The chief priests and elders had given Judas thirty pieces of silver for his role as a traitor. Now Judas brings it back, hoping to reverse his action in some way. Here, as well, it's unclear what he hoped to accomplish.
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