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Matthew 28:12
ESV And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers
NIV When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
NASB And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
CSB After the priests had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money
NLT A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe.
KJV And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

What does Matthew 28:12 mean?

The Roman soldiers have come to the chief priests to report what they saw at Jesus' tomb (Matthew 28:2–4). It's quite a report. The body had been undisturbed since the tomb was sealed (Matthew 27:62–66) until an angel from heaven arrived and rolled away the stone. In terror, the soldiers passed out at the sight of this spiritual being. There had been an earthquake. The body was gone.

Matthew does not reveal how much of the story the soldiers reported or what the Jewish religious leaders believed. All that mattered to them was that Jesus' body was gone. They had to act fast to counter the report that He had been raised from the dead. The chief priests and elders came up with a plan. They would bribe the guards to distribute a better story for their cause.

Because of the cash and the later promise to protect them from Pilate (Matthew 28:13–14), the soldiers agreed to play along (Matthew 28:15).
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