It is quite clear then, that Judas threw down the money and went and hanged himself. And that the chief priests took the money and sent someone with it to buy the potter`s field.
Luke picks up the story in the book of Acts chapter 1 verse 18: Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper language, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
It may appear at first reading of Acts 1:16-18, that the man spoken of in verse 18 is in fact Judas Iscariot, indeed nearly all bible scholars teach that, however, the fact that Matthew records that he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and went and hanged himself while the chief priests took the money and bought the field, makes it quite clear that the man spoken of in Acts 1:18 could not have been Judas.
Finally, it is significant to note that the gruesome, fatal fall occurred in the Potter's field (for which reason they called it "The Field of Blood"), and the field was not purchased until after Judas had hanged himself! Needless to say, it is highly unlikely that out of all places in the entire city of Jerusalem in which Judas could decide to hang himself, would turn out to be the very same field that the chief priests would decide to purchase. No, contrary to popular opinion, the man who fell after purchasing the field was not Judas Iscariot, but possibly even one of the chief priests or a man sent by them. The correct translation of Acts 1:18, therefore, should be: "Now a man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."
