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Matthew 22:23-40
New English Translation

Marriage and the Resurrection

23 The same day Sadducees[a] (who say there is no resurrection)[b] came to him and asked him,[c] 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children[d] for his brother.’[e] 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother. 26 The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last[f] of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”[g] 29 Jesus[h] answered them, “You are deceived,[i] because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels[j] in heaven. 31 Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God,[k] 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[l] He is not the God of the dead but of the living!”[m] 33 When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.

The Greatest Commandment

34 Now when the Pharisees[n] heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,[o] they assembled together.[p] 35 And one of them, an expert in religious law,[q] asked him a question to test[r] him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”[s] 37 Jesus[t] said to him, “‘Love[u] the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[v] 38 This is the first and greatest[w] commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[x] 40 All the law and the prophets depend[y] on these two commandments.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 22:23 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
  2. Matthew 22:23 sn This remark is best regarded as a parenthetical note by the author.
  3. Matthew 22:23 tn Grk “and asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  4. Matthew 22:24 tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for fathering children (L&N 23.59).
  5. Matthew 22:24 sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.
  6. Matthew 22:27 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  7. Matthew 22:28 tn Grk “For all had her.”
  8. Matthew 22:29 tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
  9. Matthew 22:29 tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).
  10. Matthew 22:30 tc Most witnesses have “of God” after “angels,” although some mss read ἄγγελοι θεοῦ (angeloi theou; א L ƒ13 28 33 892 1241 1424) while others have ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ (angeloi tou theou; W Γ Δ 0102 0161 565 579 M). Whether with or without the article, the reading “of God” appears to be a motivated addition. A few significant witnesses lack the adjunct (B D Θ 0233 ƒ1 700 sa); this coupled with strong internal evidence argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading.sn Angels do not die, nor do they eat according to Jewish tradition (1 En. 15:6; 51:4; Wis 5:5; 2 Bar. 51:10; 1QH 3.21-23).
  11. Matthew 22:31 tn Grk “spoken to you by God, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  12. Matthew 22:32 sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.
  13. Matthew 22:32 sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.
  14. Matthew 22:34 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
  15. Matthew 22:34 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
  16. Matthew 22:34 tn Grk “for the same.” That is, for the same purpose that the Sadducees had of testing Jesus.
  17. Matthew 22:35 tn Traditionally, “a lawyer.” This was an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law.
  18. Matthew 22:35 tn Grk “testing.” The participle, however, is telic in force.
  19. Matthew 22:36 tn Or possibly “What sort of commandment in the law is great?”
  20. Matthew 22:37 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  21. Matthew 22:37 tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).
  22. Matthew 22:37 sn A quotation from Deut 6:5. The threefold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.
  23. Matthew 22:38 tn Grk “the great and first.”
  24. Matthew 22:39 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
  25. Matthew 22:40 tn Grk “hang.” The verb κρεμάννυμι (kremannumi) is used here with a figurative meaning (cf. BDAG 566 s.v. 2.b).
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