Matthew 23 records Jesus's most sustained public denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. After warning the crowds and his disciples about their hypocrisy, Jesus delivers seven 'woe' pronouncements, each targeting a specific form of religious pretense: blocking others from the kingdom, exploiting converts, manipulating oaths, obsessing over minor rules while ignoring justice and mercy, maintaining outward purity while harboring inward corruption, and honoring dead prophets while persecuting living ones. The chapter closes with Jesus's lament over Jerusalem, expressing anguish at the city's refusal to receive God's messengers.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The seven woes form a carefully structured prophetic oracle in the tradition of Isaiah and Amos. Each 'woe' (ouai) is addressed directly to the scribes and Pharisees as 'hypocrites' (hypokritai), creating a relentless rhetorical rhythm. The chapter stands in sharp tension with Jesus's instruction in 23:2-3 to respect the teaching authority of the scribes — the critique is not of the Torah but of those who teach it without practicing it. The lament over Jerusalem (vv. 37-39) shifts from prophetic anger to maternal grief, using the image of a hen gathering her chicks. This is one of the most emotionally raw passages attributed to Jesus in the Gospels.
Translation Friction
This chapter has a difficult history in Jewish-Christian relations. The language of condemnation has been weaponized against Jewish people as a whole, which is a misreading — Jesus himself is Jewish, his audience is Jewish, and this is an intra-Jewish prophetic critique in the tradition of Jeremiah and Amos. We render the Greek faithfully while noting that 'scribes and Pharisees' designates specific religious leaders, not the Jewish people. The relationship between Matthew's community and the synagogue likely shaped the intensity of this rhetoric.
Connections
The woe oracles echo Isaiah 5:8-23 and Habakkuk 2:6-20. The imagery of whitewashed tombs recalls Ezekiel 13:10-16. Jesus's lament over Jerusalem draws on the maternal imagery of Isaiah 66:13 and the prophetic grief of Jeremiah 8-9. The reference to Abel and Zechariah (v. 35) spans the entire Hebrew Bible from Genesis 4 to 2 Chronicles 24. The closing quotation from Psalm 118:26 connects to the triumphal entry (21:9) and will be fulfilled at the Parousia.
Matthew 23:1
Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν τοῖς ὄχλοις καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples:
KJV Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The dual audience — crowds (ochlois) and disciples (mathētais) — is significant. The warnings that follow are not private instruction but public proclamation. This positions Jesus as a prophet addressing the entire people, not just his inner circle.
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses's seat.
KJV Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The 'seat of Moses' (Mōyseōs kathedras) refers to the teaching authority inherited from Moses — the right to interpret and apply the Torah. Archaeological evidence confirms that synagogues had a literal stone seat from which the Torah was taught. Jesus acknowledges the legitimacy of the office even as he critiques its occupants.
So do and observe everything they tell you, but do not follow their example, for they preach but do not practice.
KJV All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This verse is striking: Jesus validates the scribes' and Pharisees' teaching authority (panta hosa ean eipōsin, 'everything they say') while completely rejecting their behavior (kata ta erga autōn mē poieite, 'do not do according to their works'). The critique is hypocrisy — the gap between word and deed — not the content of their teaching itself.
They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The imagery of phortia barea ('heavy loads') contrasts sharply with Jesus's own invitation in 11:30 ('my burden is light'). The verb desmeuousin ('they bind') suggests legal obligations tied tightly. The phrase tō daktylō autōn ou thelousin kinēsai ('they are not willing to move with their finger') exposes the asymmetry: they impose rules they do not share the burden of keeping.
Everything they do is done to be seen by others. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
KJV But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Phylacteries (phylaktēria) are small leather boxes containing Scripture passages (Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:18), worn on the forehead and arm during prayer. Making them wider makes one's piety more visible. The tassels (kraspeda) are the fringed borders of the prayer shawl commanded in Numbers 15:38-39. Jesus does not condemn phylacteries or tassels — he himself wore tassels (9:20, 14:36) — but the ostentatious enlargement of them for public display.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Deuteronomy 6:8 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Numbers 15:38-39 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,
KJV And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The prōtoklisian ('first reclining place') at a banquet was the seat nearest the host, denoting highest status. The prōtokathedrias ('first seats') in the synagogue were those facing the congregation, reserved for distinguished persons. Both represent social capital — visible markers of religious rank.
Greetings in the markets, and to be known as of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
KJV And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The title Rabbi (Rhabbi, from the Hebrew rav, 'great one') means 'my master' or 'my teacher.' In the first century it was transitioning from a general honorific to a formal title for Torah scholars. The desire to be called Rabbi reflects the pursuit of status through religious authority.
But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.
KJV But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Greek adelphoi ('brothers') is rendered inclusively as 'brothers and sisters' since the audience includes the crowds (v. 1), not just male disciples. The SBLGNT reads ho didaskalos ('the teacher') without the addition 'even Christ' found in some manuscripts and reflected in the KJV. Jesus establishes a radically egalitarian community ethic — no hierarchy of religious titles.
And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father — the heavenly one.
KJV And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The prohibition against calling anyone 'father' (patera) as a religious title parallels the Rabbi prohibition. 'Father' (abba, pater) was used as a title of respect for esteemed teachers. Jesus does not prohibit the biological use of the word but the use of parental titles to establish religious hierarchy — all authority derives from the heavenly Father alone.
Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor — the Christ.
KJV Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Greek kathēgētai ('guides, instructors, leaders') is distinct from didaskalos ('teacher,' v. 8). Jesus covers three titles — Rabbi, Father, Instructor — to prohibit any title that creates a spiritual hierarchy between believers. The Christ (ho Christos) is identified as the sole legitimate instructor, a significant Christological claim.
Matthew 23:11
ὁ δὲ μείζων ὑμῶν ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος.
The greatest among you will be your servant.
KJV But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word diakonos ('servant, one who serves') is the root of 'deacon.' Jesus redefines greatness not as authority over others but as service to others — a consistent theme (20:26-27). This inverts the entire religious hierarchy just described.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
KJV And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The passive verbs tapeinōthēsetai ('will be humbled') and hypsōthēsetai ('will be exalted') are divine passives — God is the unspoken agent who brings down the proud and lifts up the humble. This saying echoes Proverbs 29:23, Ezekiel 21:26, and appears elsewhere in Jesus's teaching (Luke 14:11, 18:14).
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Proverbs 29:23. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Ezekiel 21:26. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those who are trying to enter to go in.
KJV 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 suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The first woe. The Greek ouai ('woe') is not a curse but a prophetic lament — it expresses grief as much as judgment (cf. Isaiah 5:8-23). The verb kleiete ('you shut, you lock') pictures the kingdom as a door being barred. The participle eiserchomonous ('those entering, those in the process of entering') suggests people who were on their way into the kingdom but were blocked by the religious leaders' obstruction.
[TCR Cross-Reference] References Isaiah 5:8-23 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.
Matthew 23:14
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Verse 14 is not present in the SBLGNT critical text. It appears in the KJV based on later manuscripts that likely imported it from Mark 12:40 or Luke 20:47. Modern critical editions omit it. The verse numbering jumps from 13 to 15 in the SBLGNT.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross sea and land to make a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The second woe. The Greek prosēluton ('proselyte, convert') refers to a Gentile who fully converts to Judaism, including circumcision and Torah observance. The verb periagete ('you go around, you traverse') with 'sea and land' conveys exhaustive effort. The phrase huion geennēs ('son of Gehenna') uses the Semitic idiom 'son of X' meaning 'one characterized by X.' Geenna refers to the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem, associated with child sacrifice (Jeremiah 7:31) and later with eschatological punishment.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Jeremiah 7:31 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it means nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.'
KJV 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!
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The third woe. The address shifts from 'hypocrites' to 'blind guides' (hodēgoi typhloi), emphasizing not just their insincerity but their inability to lead others. The casuistry Jesus describes — distinguishing binding from non-binding oaths based on what one swears by — is a form of oath manipulation that allows deception while maintaining technical innocence. The verb opheilei ('is obligated, is bound') is a financial term applied to moral obligation.
You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
KJV Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The epithet mōroi ('fools') is the same word Jesus warned against using in 5:22 — its use here, in prophetic denunciation from the one with authority to judge, is deliberate. The participle hagiasas ('having sanctified, having made holy') establishes the theological point: the temple consecrates the gold, not the reverse. Valuing the gold over the temple inverts the sacred order.
And you say, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever swears by the gift on it is bound by the oath.'
KJV And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The same casuistry is now applied to the altar (thysiastēriō) and the gift (dōrō) placed upon it. The parallel with verses 16-17 exposes the systematic nature of the deception — it is not a single error but an entire system of oath manipulation.
You blind ones! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
KJV Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The SBLGNT reads typhloi ('blind ones') without mōroi ('fools'), differing from some manuscripts reflected in the KJV. The argument parallels verse 17 exactly: the altar consecrates the offering, not the reverse.
So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
KJV Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Jesus dismantles the casuistry: swearing by a sacred object includes everything associated with it. You cannot separate the container from the contents. This verse begins the logical conclusion (vv. 20-22) that makes all oaths equally binding.
And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.
KJV And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The participle katoikounti ('the one dwelling') refers to God's presence in the temple. The argument escalates: swearing by the temple invokes not just a building but God himself, who inhabits it. This connects to the Shekhinah tradition — God's dwelling presence in the sanctuary.
And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.
KJV And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The argument reaches its pinnacle: heaven is God's throne (cf. 5:34, Isaiah 66:1), so every oath invoking heaven invokes God. The conclusion is inescapable — no oath can be made 'non-binding' because all sacred things ultimately point to God, before whom all oaths are binding.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Isaiah 66:1. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint, dill, and cumin, but you have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These you should have practiced without neglecting the others.
KJV 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.
The Septuagint frequently uses eleos to translate the Hebrew chesed. Here it stands alongside justice and faithfulness as the core of the law's intent — the triad that outweighs ritual precision.
Translator Notes
The fourth woe. Mint (hēdyosmon), dill (anēthon), and cumin (kyminon) are small garden herbs — tithing them represents extreme scrupulousness about minor regulations. The 'weightier matters' (ta barytera) — justice (krisin), mercy (eleos), and faithfulness (pistin) — echo Micah 6:8. Crucially, Jesus does not say they should stop tithing herbs; he says they should do both (tauta edei poiēsai kakeina mē afienai). The issue is proportion and priority, not abolition of the lesser commands.
[TCR Cross-Reference] References Micah 6:8 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.
Blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
KJV Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This vivid hyperbole may contain a wordplay in Aramaic: qalma ('gnat') and gamla ('camel') are near-homophones. The image of straining wine to remove a tiny insect (for ritual purity) while somehow ingesting an entire camel (the largest animal in Palestine, also unclean per Leviticus 11:4) is deliberately absurd. It captures the inverted priorities of verse 23 in a single memorable image.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Leviticus 11:4. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
KJV Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The fifth woe. The cup and dish metaphor addresses ritual purity laws about vessels (cf. Mark 7:1-4). The Greek harpagēs ('robbery, plunder, greed') and akrasias ('lack of self-control, self-indulgence') describe the moral contents behind the ritually clean exterior. The contrast between exōthen ('outside') and esōthen ('inside') is the essence of hypocrisy.
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean as well.
KJV Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The singular address Pharisaie typhle ('Blind Pharisee') suddenly personalizes the critique. The logic is simple: if you clean the inside, the outside will follow naturally. Internal transformation produces external purity, not the reverse. This principle underlies Jesus's entire ethical teaching.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that appear beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The sixth woe. Tombs were whitewashed before Passover so that pilgrims could avoid accidental contact with them, which would cause ritual defilement (Numbers 19:16). The irony is devastating: the whitewash exists to warn people away from contamination, but here it becomes a metaphor for deliberate concealment. The word akatharsias ('impurity, uncleanness') is the ritual opposite of the purity the Pharisees obsessively cultivate.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Numbers 19:16. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
In the same way, you appear righteous to people on the outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
KJV Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The application makes the metaphor explicit. The word anomias ('lawlessness') is striking — these are the very people who claim to be the Torah's guardians, yet Jesus accuses them of anomia, the negation of law (a-nomia, 'without law'). Their meticulous rule-keeping paradoxically constitutes a deeper form of lawlessness because it violates the law's true intent.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
KJV Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The seventh woe. Archaeological evidence confirms that elaborate tomb monuments were being built around Jerusalem in this period. The verb oikodomeite ('you build') and kosmeite ('you adorn, you decorate') describe acts of memorial piety — honoring prophets of the past. The hypocrisy lies in what follows.
Say, If we had been in the period of our fathers, we would not possess been partakers with them in the lifeblood of the God's spokespersons.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Greek koinōnoi ('partners, participants, sharers') implies active complicity, not just passive agreement. The claim to moral superiority over their ancestors is the setup for Jesus's devastating reversal in the next verse — by identifying their ancestors as prophet-killers, they unwittingly confess the family lineage.
So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
KJV Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb martyreite ('you testify, you bear witness') is legal language — they have given testimony that convicts them. The word huioi ('sons') means both biological descendants and spiritual heirs. Jesus's logic: by acknowledging that your fathers killed the prophets, you admit kinship with prophet-killers — and your current actions prove the family resemblance.
Matthew 23:32
καὶ ὑμεῖς πληρώσατε τὸ μέτρον τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν.
Then fill up the measure of your ancestors!
KJV Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The imperative plērōsate ('fill up!') is darkly ironic — possibly a command, possibly a sarcastic permission, possibly a prophetic declaration of inevitability. The 'measure' (metron) of sin is an image from Genesis 15:16, where God tells Abraham that the iniquity of the Amorites 'is not yet complete.' Jesus implies that his generation will bring the accumulated guilt to its fullness.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Genesis 15:16. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
You snakes, you brood of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?
KJV Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The epithets opheis ('snakes') and gennēmata echidnōn ('offspring of vipers') echo John the Baptist's language in 3:7. The rhetorical question pōs phygēte ('how will you flee?') implies no escape is possible. The word geennēs ('Gehenna/hell') refers to the Valley of Hinnom, the image of final divine judgment (cf. 5:22, 29-30, 10:28).
Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from city to city,
KJV 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:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The remarkable claim egō apostellō ('I am sending') places Jesus in the role of God himself, who in the Old Testament sends prophets. Jesus predicts the persecution of his own future messengers using four escalating verbs: kill (apokteneite), crucify (staurōsete), flog (mastigōsete), and pursue (diōxete). The prediction of crucifixion is specifically Roman punishment, suggesting Jesus foresees the Roman context of early Christian persecution.
Indeed, that upon you may come every one of the righteous blood shed upon the world, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Abel (Genesis 4) is the first murder victim in the Hebrew Bible; Zechariah son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20-22) is the last, since Chronicles is the final book in the Hebrew canon. Together they span the entire scriptural record of innocent blood. The identification 'son of Barachiah' creates a difficulty — the Zechariah killed in the temple was the son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20), not Barachiah. This may reflect confusion with the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah (Zechariah 1:1), or it may represent a tradition otherwise lost to us. We render the Greek as given.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Genesis 4 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Zechariah 1:1 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
Matthew 23:36
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἥξει ταῦτα πάντα ἐπὶ τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην.
Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
KJV Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The solemn amēn legō hymin ('truly I say to you') marks this as an authoritative prophetic declaration. The phrase tēn genean tautēn ('this generation') most naturally refers to Jesus's contemporaries, placing the prophesied judgment within a generation — a timeframe consistent with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you — how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
KJV 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!
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The tone shifts dramatically from prophetic denunciation to lament. The double vocative Ierousalēm Ierousalēm expresses deep grief (cf. 'Absalom, Absalom!' in 2 Samuel 19:4). The maternal image of a hen (ornis) gathering chicks (nossia) under her wings (pterygas) is extraordinary — Jesus uses a feminine, nurturing metaphor for his own desire to protect Jerusalem. The divine wing as shelter echoes Psalm 91:4 and Ruth 2:12. The verb ēthelēsate ('you were willing') places the blame squarely on Jerusalem's refusal.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on 2 Samuel 19:4. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Psalm 91:4. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Ruth 2:12. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
Matthew 23:38
ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος.
Look, your house is left to you desolate.
KJV Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word oikos ('house') likely refers to the temple, though it could mean Jerusalem or the nation. The adjective erēmos ('deserted, desolate') echoes Jeremiah 22:5 ('this house will become a desolation'). The verb aphietai ('is left, is abandoned') suggests divine departure — God is vacating the premises. The passive voice is a divine passive: God is the one leaving.
[TCR Cross-Reference] References Jeremiah 22:5 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.
For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Jesus quotes Psalm 118:26, the same psalm the crowds sang at his triumphal entry (21:9). The phrase ap' arti ('from now') marks a turning point — Jesus's public ministry in Jerusalem is ending. The 'until' (heōs an) implies a future moment of recognition, whether at the Parousia or at a future national repentance. The quotation frames Jesus's departure as a withdrawal of divine presence that will end only when Jerusalem welcomes him as the one coming in the LORD's name.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Psalms 118:26. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.