Why do the nations plan rebellion? Why do people make their useless plots?

"Let us free ourselves from their rule," they say; "let us throw off their control."

Look! They are waiting to kill me; cruel people are gathering against me. It is not because of any sin or wrong I have done,

My enemies want to kill me; they talk and plot against me.

They are always plotting evil, always stirring up quarrels.

Then the chief priests and the elders met together in the palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest,

and made plans to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the teachers of the Law and the elders had gathered together.

Early in the morning all the chief priests and the elders made their plans against Jesus to put him to death.

The next day the Jewish leaders, the elders, and the teachers of the Law gathered in Jerusalem.

They met with the High Priest Annas and with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the others who belonged to the High Priest's family.

The next morning some Jews met together and made a plan. They took a vow that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.

Then they went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn vow together not to eat a thing until we have killed Paul.

They hide themselves in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They spy on their helpless victims;

The helpless victims lie crushed; brute strength has defeated them.

Protect me from the plots of the wicked, from mobs of evil people.

They are quick to spread their shameless lies; they destroy good people with cowardly slander.

They make evil plans and say, "We have planned a perfect crime." The human heart and mind are a mystery.

Then the other supervisors and the governors tried to find something wrong with the way Daniel administered the empire, but they couldn't, because Daniel was reliable and did not do anything wrong or dishonest.

Wicked people watch good people and try to kill them;

My enemies have spread a net to catch me; I am overcome with distress. They dug a pit in my path, but fell into it themselves.

Your enemies insult your chosen king, O LORD! They insult him wherever he goes.

Then you will watch every step I take, but you will not keep track of my sins.

God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take.

I hear everybody whispering, "Terror is everywhere! So let's report him to the authorities!" Even my close friends wait for my downfall. "Perhaps he can be tricked," they say; "then we can catch him and get revenge."

So they looked for an opportunity. They bribed some men to pretend they were sincere, and they sent them to trap Jesus with questions, so that they could hand him over to the authority and power of the Roman Governor.