And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.

And he that betrayed him, had given them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he; lay hold on him, and lead him away carefully.

Now he that delivered him up had given them a sign between them, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he; seize him, and lead him away safely.

and he who is delivering him up had given a token to them, saying, 'Whomsoever I shall kiss, he it is, lay hold on him, and lead him away safely,'

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them. "The one I kiss," he said, "is the man: lay hold of him, and take him safely away."

Now he who had been false to him had given them a sign, saying, The one to whom I give a kiss, that is he; take him, and get him away safely.

Now he who betrayed him had given them a sign, saying, 'Whomever I will kiss, that is he. Seize him, and lead him away safely.'

Now his betrayer had given them a sign, saying: "He whom I shall kiss, it is he. Take hold of him, and lead him away cautiously."

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them. "The man whom I kiss," he had said, "will be the one; arrest him and take him away safely."

And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead [him] away (i) safely.
(i) So diligently that he cannot escape out of your hand.

And he that betrayed him had given them a token,.... A common sign, in which they agreed; and so this same Greek word is used by the Jews (c):
"said R. Phinehas in the name of R. Reuben, did you ever see one man go out of the north, and another from the south, and meet each other, except they made, "a common sign", between them.''
Such an one the traitor gave his company;
saying, whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he; Jesus of Nazareth; who was to be delivered to them:
take him, and lead him away safely; with care and caution, lest he should get out of their hands, and make his escape, as he had sometimes done: the word "safely", is omitted in the Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions. The Vulgate Latin renders it "cautiously", and so does the Syriac version, which joins it to the words, "take him"; See Gill on Matthew 26:48.
(c) Midras Samuel, sect. 9. apud Buxtorf. Lex. Rab. p. 1519.

Whomsoever I shall kiss - Probably our Lord, in great condescension, had used (according to the Jewish custom) to permit his disciples to do this, after they had been some time absent.