Matthew 23:34-24:2
New English Translation
34 “For this reason I[a] am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law,[b] some of whom you will kill and crucify,[c] and some you will flog[d] in your synagogues[e] and pursue from town to town, 35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah,[f] whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth,[g] this generation will be held responsible for all these things![h]
Judgment on Israel
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,[i] you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you![j] How often I have longed[k] to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but[l] you would have none of it![m] 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate! 39 For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[n]
The Destruction of the Temple
24 Now[o] as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings.[p] 2 And he said to them,[q] “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth,[r] not one stone will be left on another.[s] All will be torn down!”[t]
Footnotes
- Matthew 23:34 tn Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
- Matthew 23:34 tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
- Matthew 23:34 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
- Matthew 23:34 tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”
- Matthew 23:34 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.
- Matthew 23:35 sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Barachiou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).
- Matthew 23:36 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
- Matthew 23:36 tn Grk “all these things will come on this generation.”
- Matthew 23:37 sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.
- Matthew 23:37 tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your…you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill…sent to you”).
- Matthew 23:37 sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.
- Matthew 23:37 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
- Matthew 23:37 tn Grk “you were not willing.”
- Matthew 23:39 sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.
- Matthew 24:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
- Matthew 24:1 sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.
- Matthew 24:2 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
- Matthew 24:2 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
- Matthew 24:2 sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.
- Matthew 24:2 tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on a stone which will not be thrown down.”
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