Matthew 23:13-36
1599 Geneva Bible
13 ¶ [a]Woe therefore be unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, [b]hypocrites, because ye shut up the kingdom of heaven before men: for ye yourselves go not in, neither suffer ye them that would [c]enter, to come in.
14 (A)[d]Woe be unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye devour widows’ houses, even [e]under a color of long prayers: wherefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe be unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye compass sea and [f]land to make one of your profession: and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell, than you yourselves.
16 Woe be unto you blind guides, which say, Whosoever sweareth by the Temple, it is nothing: but whosoever sweareth by the gold of the Temple, he [g]offendeth.
17 Ye fools and blind, Whether is greater, the gold, or the Temple that [h]sanctifieth the gold?
18 And whosoever sweareth by the altar, it is nothing: but whosoever sweareth by the offering that is upon it, offendeth.
19 Ye fools and blind, whether is greater, the offering, or the altar which sanctifieth the offering?
20 Whosoever therefore sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
21 (B)And whosoever sweareth by the Temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
22 (C)And he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the [i]throne of God, and by him that sitteth theron.
23 ¶ (D)[j]Woe be to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and leave the weightier matters of the law, as judgment, and mercy and [k]fidelity. These ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 ¶ [l]Woe be to you, (E)Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye make clean the utter side of the cup, and of the platter: but within they are full of bribery and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe be to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye are like unto whited tombs, which appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and all filthiness.
28 So are ye also: for outward ye appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 (F)[m]Woe be unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye build the tombs of the Prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the Prophets.
31 So then ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them that murdered the Prophets.
32 [n]Fulfill ye also the measure of your fathers.
33 O serpents, the generation of vipers, how should ye escape the damnation of [o]hell!
34 [p]Wherefore behold, I send unto you Prophets, and wise men, and Scribes, and of them ye shall kill and crucify: and of them shall ye scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
35 [q]That upon you may come all the righteous blood that was shed upon the earth, (G)from the blood of Abel the righteous, unto the blood of Zechariah the son of [r]Berechiah, (H)whom ye slew between the Temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 23:13 Hypocrites can abide none to be better than themselves.
- Matthew 23:13 Christ when he reproveth any man sharply, uses this word, to give us to understand that there is nothing more detestable than hypocrisy and falsehood in religion.
- Matthew 23:13 Which are even at the door.
- Matthew 23:14 It is a common thing among hypocrites, to abuse the pretence of zeal to covetousness and extortion.
- Matthew 23:14 Word for word, under a color of long praying. And this word, Even, noteth a double naughtiness in them: the one, that they devoured widows’ goods: the other, that they did it under a color of godliness.
- Matthew 23:15 The dry part: now that part of that earth is called dry, which the Lord hath given us to dwell upon.
- Matthew 23:16 Is a debtor. Sins are called in the Syrian tongue, Debts, and it is certain that Christ spake in the Syrian tongue.
- Matthew 23:17 Causeth the gold to be counted holy, which is dedicated to an holy use.
- Matthew 23:22 If heaven be God’s throne, then he is no doubt above all this world.
- Matthew 23:23 Hypocrites are careful in trifles, and neglect the greatest things of purpose.
- Matthew 23:23 Faithfulness in keeping of promises.
- Matthew 23:25 Hypocrites are too much careful of outward things, and the inward they utterly contemn.
- Matthew 23:29 Hypocrites when they go most about to cover their wickedness, then do they by the just judgment of God, shame themselves.
- Matthew 23:32 A proverb used of the Jews, which hath this meaning, Go ye on also and follow your ancestors, that at length your wickedness may come to the full.
- Matthew 23:33 See also Matt. 5:22.
- Matthew 23:34 Hypocrites be cruel.
- Matthew 23:35 The end of them which persecute the Gospel, under the pretence of zeal.
- Matthew 23:35 Of Joiada, who was also called Berechiah, that is, blessed of the Lord.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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