Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.
Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.
And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.
The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.