Matthew 26:4

4 and made a counsel to hold Jesus with guile, and slay him; [and made a counsel, that they should hold Jesus with guile, and slay him;]

Matthew 26:4 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 26:4

And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety
The Jews had often attempted his life, but he escaped out of their hands; they had sent officers to apprehend him, but to no purpose; they therefore meet and consult together, to form some scheme, and make use of some stratagem, that they might lay hold on him, and keep him; they were for doing this in the most private manner they could:

and kill him;
not with their own hands, nor privately; but their scheme was to apprehend him privately, by some secret artifice, and then deliver him to the Roman governor; to put him to death according to law, publicly, for crimes they had to charge him with; hereby ( Psalms 2:2 ) , had its accomplishment, at least in part.

Matthew 26:4 In-Context

2 Ye know, that after two days pask shall be made, and man's Son shall be betaken to be crucified.

3 Then the princes of priests and the elder men of the people were gathered into the hall of the prince of priests, that was said Caiaphas,

4 and made a counsel to hold Jesus with guile, and slay him; [and made a counsel, that they should hold Jesus with guile, and slay him;]

5 but they said, Not in the holiday [soothly they said, Not in the feast day], lest peradventure noise were made in the people.

6 And when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leprous,