Charles Ellicott Commentary John 7:32

"The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to take him." — John 7:32 (ASV)

The Pharisees heard that the people murmured.—Or, more exactly, the Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring. In the second clause of the verse, the Authorized Version follows the order of the Received Text, but almost all the better manuscripts read, “the chief priests and the Pharisees.” We have to think of the Pharisees as taking the first steps. They see that faith in Him is spreading among the multitude, and that there is no time to be lost. They hastily call together the Sanhedrin, and the chief priests, who were for the most part Sadducees, join with them in an official resolve to take Him by force.