Matthew 26:54
New International Version
But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

New Living Translation
But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

English Standard Version
But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

Berean Standard Bible
But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

Berean Literal Bible
How then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?"

King James Bible
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

New King James Version
How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

New American Standard Bible
How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

NASB 1995
“How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

NASB 1977
“How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?”

Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore, how will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

Amplified Bible
How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?”

Christian Standard Bible
How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

American Standard Version
How then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Contemporary English Version
But then, how could the words of the Scriptures come true, which say this must happen?"

English Revised Version
How then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
How, then, are the Scriptures to be fulfilled that say this must happen?"

Good News Translation
But in that case, how could the Scriptures come true which say that this is what must happen?"

International Standard Version
How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say this must happen?"

Majority Standard Bible
But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way??

NET Bible
How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?"

New Heart English Bible
How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?"

Webster's Bible Translation
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Weymouth New Testament
In that case how are the Scriptures to be fulfilled which declare that thus it must be?"

World English Bible
How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
How then may the Writings be fulfilled, that thus it must happen?”

Berean Literal Bible
How then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?"

Young's Literal Translation
how then may the Writings be fulfilled, that thus it behoveth to happen?'

Smith's Literal Translation
How then would the writings be filled up, that so it must be?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done?

Catholic Public Domain Version
How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must be so?”

New American Bible
But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?”

New Revised Standard Version
But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
How then could the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Godbey New Testament
How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, because it is necessary thus to be done?

Haweis New Testament
But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Mace New Testament
but how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, which say, that thus it must happen?

Weymouth New Testament
In that case how are the Scriptures to be fulfilled which declare that thus it must be?"

Worrell New Testament
How, then, could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"

Worsley New Testament
but how then should the scriptures be fulfilled, which say that thus it must be?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Betrayal of Jesus
53Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” 55At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me.…

Cross References
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

Zechariah 13:7
Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.

John 18:11
“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”

Luke 24:44
Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

Acts 2:23
He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.

Acts 4:27-28
In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. / They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

John 19:36
Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”

John 10:35
If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—

Mark 14:49
Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. But this has happened that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.”

Luke 22:37
For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment.”

John 12:38-41
This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” / For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says: / “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.” ...

Psalm 22:1-18
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning? / I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest. / Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. ...

Psalm 69:21
They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.

Isaiah 50:6
I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.

Daniel 9:24-26
Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. / Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress. / Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.


Treasury of Scripture

But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Matthew 26:24
The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

Psalm 22:1-31
To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? …

Psalm 69:1-36
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul…

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Behoveth Case Declare Fulfilled Scriptures True. Way Writings
Matthew 26
1. Jesus foretells his own death.
3. The rulers conspire against him.
6. The woman anoints his feet.
14. Judas bargains to betray him.
17. Jesus eats the Passover;
26. institutes his holy supper;
30. foretells the desertion of his disciples, and Peter's denial;
36. prays in the garden;
47. and being betrayed by a kiss,
57. is carried to Caiaphas,
69. and denied by Peter.














But how then
This phrase introduces a rhetorical question posed by Jesus, emphasizing the necessity of the events that are unfolding. The Greek word for "how" (πῶς, pōs) suggests a sense of inevitability and divine orchestration. Jesus is highlighting the divine plan that is beyond human intervention. This phrase invites believers to trust in God's sovereign plan, even when it defies human understanding.

would the Scriptures be fulfilled
The term "Scriptures" refers to the sacred writings of the Old Testament, which were considered authoritative and prophetic by Jesus and His contemporaries. The Greek word for "fulfilled" (πληρωθῶσιν, plērōthōsin) implies completion or bringing to full measure. This fulfillment is not merely a prediction coming true but the realization of God's redemptive plan as foretold by the prophets. It underscores the reliability and divine inspiration of the Scriptures, affirming that God's word is both true and unchangeable.

that say
This phrase indicates that the Scriptures are not silent but actively "speak" to the events at hand. The Greek word for "say" (λέγουσιν, legousin) suggests a present and ongoing declaration. It reflects the living nature of God's word, which continues to communicate and reveal truth to each generation. This highlights the dynamic relationship between the written word and the unfolding of God's plan in history.

it must happen this way
The necessity of the events is emphasized by the word "must" (δεῖ, dei), which in Greek conveys a sense of divine necessity or obligation. This phrase points to the predetermined plan of God, which is being carried out through Jesus' actions and the events of His passion. It reassures believers that even in moments of apparent chaos or suffering, God's purposes are being accomplished. The phrase "this way" indicates the specific manner in which God's plan is to be fulfilled, pointing to the unique and sacrificial path of Jesus as the Messiah. This serves as a reminder of the depth of God's love and the lengths to which He will go to redeem humanity.

(54) How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled?--The words indicate what one may reverently speak of as the source of the peace and calmness which had come to our Lord's human soul out of the depths of its agony. All that was sharpest and most bitter was part of a pre-ordained discipline. Not otherwise could the Scriptures be fulfilled, which had painted, if we may so speak, the picture of the ideal Sufferer not less vividly than that of the ideal Conqueror and King. It was meet that He too should be made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10).

Verse 54. - But how then (οϋν, i.e. if I now resist) shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be! There is no" but" in the original. In what way, Christ asks, shall God's determined counsel be accomplished, if you turn to the arm of the flesh, or if I use my Divine power to save myself? The will of God, as declared in Scripture, was that Jesus should be betrayed, seized, should suffer and die. Christ's will was one with the Father's and one with the Spirit's who inspired the Scripture, and therefore he must pass through each stage, undergo each detail, which the sacred volume specified. It was not merely that events were so arranged that they thus befell; nor merely that prophets of old foretold them; but there was some special moral duty and obligation in fulfilling them, which Christ, as one with the Father and the Holy Ghost, was minded to carry out in all perfection. Here was a ray of comfort for Peter and the other apostles. All was foreordained; its announcement in God's book proved it came from God, was under his control and ordering. Patience, therefore, and silent acquiescence were the duties now incumbent. "Be still, then, and know that I am God."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
But how
πῶς (pōs)
Adverb
Strong's 4459: Adverb from the base of pou; an interrogative particle of manner; in what way?; also as exclamation, how much!

then
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

{would} the
αἱ (hai)
Article - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Scriptures
γραφαὶ (graphai)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 1124: (a) a writing, (b) a passage of scripture; plur: the scriptures. A document, i.e. Holy Writ.

be fulfilled
πληρωθῶσιν (plērōthōsin)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4137: From pleres; to make replete, i.e. to cram, level up, or to furnish, satisfy, execute, finish, verify, etc.

that say
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

it must
δεῖ (dei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1163: Third person singular active present of deo; also deon deh-on'; neuter active participle of the same; both used impersonally; it is Necessary.

happen
γενέσθαι (genesthai)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

this way?”
οὕτως (houtōs)
Adverb
Strong's 3779: Thus, so, in this manner. Or (referring to what precedes or follows).


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Matthew 26:53
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