Matthew 23:23

21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by ^aHim who dwells in it.

22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by ^athe throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^aFor you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and ^bhave neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^aFor you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and¹ self-indulgence.

26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^aFor you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 ^a“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and¹ adorn the monuments of the righteous,

30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that ^ayou are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 ^aFill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.

33 Serpents, ^abrood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

34 ^aTherefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: ^bsome of them you will kill and crucify, and ^csome of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

35 ^athat on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, ^bfrom the blood of righteous Abel to ^cthe blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Commentaries:

Adam Clarke

<< Matthew 23:22

Matthew 23:24 >>

Matthew 23:23

Ye pay tithe of mint, etc. - They were remarkably scrupulous in the performance of all the rites and ceremonies of religion, but totally neglected the soul, spirit, and practice of godliness.

Judgment - Acting according to justice and equity towards all mankind. Mercy - to the distressed and miserable. And faith in God as the fountain of all righteousness, mercy, and truth. The scribes and Pharisees neither began nor ended their works in God, nor had they any respect unto his name in doing them. They did them to be seen of men, and they had their reward - human applause.

These ought ye to have done, etc. - Our Lord did not object to their paying tithe even of common pot-herbs - this did not affect the spirit of religion; but while they did this and such like, to the utter neglect of justice, mercy, and faith, they showed that they had no religion, and knew nothing of its nature.

Other Adam Clarke entries containing Matthew 23:23:

Matthew 23:39
Luke 11:42

<< Matthew 23:22

Matthew 23:24 >>

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