Matthew 21:12-17
New King James Version
Jesus Cleanses the Temple(A)
12 (B)Then Jesus went into the temple [a]of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the (C)money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, (D)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a (E)‘den of thieves.’ ”
14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the (F)Son of David!” they were [b]indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
(G)‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”
17 Then He left them and (H)went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 21:12 NU omits of God
- Matthew 21:15 angry
Matthew 21:12-17
The Message
He Kicked Over the Tables
12-14 Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text:
My house was designated a house of prayer;
You have made it a hangout for thieves.
Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.
15-16 When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, “Hosanna to David’s Son!” they were up in arms and took him to task. “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
Jesus said, “Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?”
17 Fed up, Jesus spun around and left the city for Bethany, where he spent the night.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson