Discovery BoxMatthew 27:60 
Context27:60 and placed it 1 in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. 2 Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance 3 of the tomb and went away.
Matthew 27:66
Context27:66 So 4 they went with the soldiers 5 of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
1 tc ‡ αὐτό (auto, “it”) is found after ἔθηκεν (eqhken, “placed”) in the majority of witnesses, including many important ones, though it seems to be motivated by a need for clarification and cannot therefore easily explain the rise of the shorter reading (which is read by א L Θ Ë13 33 892 pc). Regardless of which reading is original (though with a slight preference for the shorter reading), English style requires the pronoun. NA27 includes αὐτό here, no doubt due to the overwhelming external attestation.
2 tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.25).
3 tn Or “to the door,” “against the door.”
4 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Pilate’s order.
5 tn Grk “with the guard.” The words “soldiers of the” have been supplied in the translation to prevent “guard” from being misunderstood as a single individual.
