Matthew Chapter 23
Showing all 39 verses for Matthew Chapter 23.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, "
"Then Jesus turned to speak to the crowds and to his own disciples."
I am about to speak plainly and in public, because honest teaching about hypocrisy is not gossip - it is something everyone deserves to hear openly, said where all can weigh it for themselves.
"Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: "
"He said: the teachers of the law and the Pharisees hold the seat of authority for teaching Moses' law."
I recognise real authority and real teaching even where I'm about to challenge the people who hold it - my quarrel was never with sound instruction, only with those who don't live by their own words.
"All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. "
"So do everything they tell you to do, but don't copy their example - because they talk about it but don't actually do it."
I ask you to weigh advice on its own truth, not reject wisdom just because the person giving it fails to live it - but I also warn you against becoming someone whose words and actions don't match.
"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. "
"They load people down with heavy, difficult religious demands, but won't lift a finger themselves to help carry that weight."
I never wanted my teaching to crush you under impossible demands - I offer a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light, carried together with me, not piled onto you by people unwilling to share it.
"But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, "
"Everything they do is for show - they make their scripture boxes extra large and their prayer tassels extra long, so people will notice."
I care about what happens in your heart when no one's watching, not how impressive your outward signals of devotion look to others - don't perform goodness for an audience.
"And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, "
"They love the best seats at banquets and the most honoured seats in the synagogue."
I notice when people chase status and recognition, and I tell you plainly that greatness in my eyes has nothing to do with who gets the best seat in the room.
"And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. "
"They love being greeted with respect in the marketplace and being called 'Rabbi, Rabbi' by everyone."
I don't need grand titles to prove your respect - what matters to me is how you treat the people around you, not the honour you seek for yourself.
"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. "
"But don't let people call you 'Rabbi' - you have only one Teacher, and you are all equals, like brothers and sisters."
I want my followers to see each other as equals and family, not to build ranks and titles among yourselves - real community forms around shared learning, not competing for the top spot.
"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. "
"And don't call anyone on earth your spiritual 'father' - you have one Father, and he is in heaven."
I point you past any human authority figure to a real, unearned relationship with God as Father - no religious leader, including me, should stand between you and that.
"Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. "
"And don't be called 'master' or 'leader' either - you have one master, the Messiah."
I am the one guide you ultimately answer to - don't let anyone, however respected, take that place in your life, and don't seek that place over others yourself.
"But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. "
"The greatest among you will be the one who serves everyone else."
I showed you, and I'm telling you again, that the path to real greatness is serving others, not climbing over them - measure your life by what you give, not what you're given.
"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. "
"Whoever lifts themselves up will be brought low, and whoever makes themselves low will be lifted up."
I tell you this because it's true, not as a strategy - chase your own glory and you end up smaller for it; let go of that need and you find a strength pride could never give you.
"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither ye them that are entering to go in. "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven - you won't go in yourselves, and you stop others who are trying to enter."
I grieve, not just condemn, when people meant to guide others end up blocking the way instead - if you have any influence over someone's path in life, I ask you to open doors, never shut them.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. "
"How terrible for you, hypocrites! You cheat widows out of their homes and property, then cover it up with long, showy prayers - so your punishment will be even harsher."
I take special notice when someone's public piety is used as cover for harming the vulnerable - real faith protects widows and the powerless, it never preys on them.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. "
"How terrible for you, hypocrites! You travel far and wide to win a single convert, and once you've won him, you make him twice as bad as yourselves."
I care about the substance of what you pass on to others, not just your enthusiasm for spreading it - make sure what you're multiplying in the world is genuinely good, not a copy of your own worst habits.
"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! "
"How terrible for you, blind guides! You say that swearing an oath 'by the temple' means nothing, but swearing 'by the gold in the temple' is binding."
I want your word to mean something without needing clever escape clauses - say what you mean and mean what you say, rather than building loopholes to wriggle out of promises.
"Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? "
"You fools, you're blind! Which is more important - the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred in the first place?"
I ask you to check when money has quietly become more important to you than the deeper thing that gives it meaning - don't let what's valuable eclipse what's sacred.
"And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. "
"And you also say swearing 'by the altar' doesn't count, but swearing 'by the gift on it' does."
I keep pointing out the same pattern because it matters - watch for how self-interest can hide inside rules that sound technical or precise.
"Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? "
"You blind fools! Which is greater - the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?"
I want you to keep first things first - don't let what you're offering, giving, or achieving become more important in your mind than the deeper relationship it's meant to serve.
"Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. "
"So anyone who swears by the altar is swearing by it and by everything on it too."
I want you to see that things are connected - you can't cherry-pick which part of your commitments count and which don't; integrity covers the whole of what you say and do.
"And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. "
"And anyone who swears by the temple is swearing by it and by God, who lives there."
I remind you that everything sacred ultimately points back to God - don't get so caught up in symbols and structures that you lose sight of the presence they represent.
"And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. "
"And anyone who swears by heaven is swearing by God's throne and by God himself, who sits on it."
I want your promises to carry real weight in every direction, because ultimately you're always answerable to something bigger than the technicality you're hiding behind.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. "
"How terrible for you, hypocrites! You carefully give a tenth of even your kitchen herbs - mint, dill and cumin - but you've neglected the truly important things in the law: justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have done both, not dropped the first to focus only on the second."
I ask you to check your own life for this exact trap - are you meticulous about small, easy rules while ignoring the harder work of being just, merciful and faithful to people? Do both, but never let the small things substitute for the big ones.
"Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. "
"You blind guides! You strain your drink to filter out a tiny gnat, but you swallow a camel whole."
I use a ridiculous picture on purpose so you'll remember it - notice when you're sweating small stuff while ignoring something massive right in front of you.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the plaster, but within they are full of extortion and excess. "
"How terrible for you, hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside they're full of greed and self-indulgence."
I care far more about what's happening inside you - your desires, your honesty with yourself - than about how clean and controlled your outward image looks to others.
"Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and plaster, that the outside of them may be clean also. "
"Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too."
I don't ask you to manage appearances better - I ask you to deal honestly with what's inside you first, and let that reshape how you actually live.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. "
"How terrible for you, hypocrites! You're like whitewashed tombs - beautiful on the outside, but full of dead bones and decay inside."
I want you to know that no amount of polish or reputation can substitute for genuine life inside you - don't let yourself become someone who looks impressive but is spiritually empty.
"Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. "
"In the same way, you look righteous to people on the outside, but inside you're full of hypocrisy and wrongdoing."
I judge by what's real, not by reputation - don't measure your own life by what others think of you, but by honest examination of what's actually true inside.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, "
"How terrible for you, hypocrites! You build monuments for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous."
I ask you to notice when honouring good people from history becomes a way of avoiding your own responsibility to actually live like them now.
"And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. "
"And you say, 'If we had lived in our ancestors' time, we would never have joined in killing the prophets.'"
I want you to be honest that anyone can claim they'd have acted rightly in the past - what matters is whether you act rightly now, when it actually costs you something.
"Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. "
"So you actually testify against yourselves - you admit you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets."
I see straight through self-justifying words to what they actually reveal - be careful, because the excuses you make can expose more about you than they hide.
"Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. "
"Go on, then - finish what your ancestors started."
I see the pattern you're part of clearly, and I name it honestly rather than pretending not to notice - sometimes the most loving thing is to say plainly where a path is leading.
"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? "
"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How do you think you're going to escape being condemned to hell?"
I speak this harshly because I love you enough to warn you plainly - some patterns of life lead somewhere genuinely destructive, and pretending otherwise helps no one.
"Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: "
"So look - I am sending you prophets, wise teachers and scholars. Some of them you will kill, even crucify; some you will whip in your synagogues and hunt from town to town."
I don't promise that standing for truth will be safe or easy - I tell you plainly, in advance, that it sometimes brings real cost, so you're not caught off guard when it comes.
"That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. "
"So that you will be held responsible for all the righteous blood ever shed on earth - from righteous Abel to Zechariah son of Barachias, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar."
I see history as connected - each generation's choices build on what came before, and I want you to recognise the patterns you're inheriting rather than pretending you start from nothing.
"Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. "
"I'm telling you the truth: all of this will come upon the people alive right now."
I don't speak idle threats - when I warn you something is coming, I mean it, and I'd rather you hear it plainly now than be blindsided later.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! "
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone the messengers sent to you - how often I have longed to gather your people together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you refused."
I have wanted, more than anything, to protect and gather you close - my anger at wrongdoing was always rooted in love, and it grieves me far more than it satisfies me when people choose to walk away from that offer.
"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. "
"Look - your house is being left to you, empty and abandoned."
I don't take pleasure in announcing loss - but I won't pretend that turning away from what's real and good has no consequences; I tell you honestly rather than letting you be surprised.
"For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. "
"I tell you, you won't see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
I don't close the door forever - even after the hardest words, I leave room for recognition and welcome to come later; it's never too late to say yes to what's true.