Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
How therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you [tomorrow], (the bracketed word is clearly not genuine.)
As though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him. That these high ecclesiastics fell in readily with this infamous plot is clear; indeed, what will not unscrupulous and hypocritical religionists do under the mask of religion? The narrative bears unmistakeable internal marks of truth.
And we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him. Their plan was to assassinate him on his way down from the barracks to the council. The case was critical; but He who had pledged His word to him, that he should testify for Him at Rome, provided unexpected means of defeating this well-laid scheme.