2 Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
3 Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
4 Grk “were seeking how.”
5 The Greek verb here means “to get rid of by execution” ( ἀναιρέω 2; cf. also L&N 20.71, which states, “to get rid of someone by execution, often with legal or quasi-legal procedures”).
6 Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him. The verb were trying is imperfect. It suggests, in this context, that they were always considering the opportunities.

In other versions

And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the people.

The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they could destroy him, because they were afraid of the people.

And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.

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