Matthew 23
The full text of Matthew 23 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples:
2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
3 So practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 Everything they do is done for people to see: they make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.
6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues,
7 and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them 'Rabbi.'
8 "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.
9 And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah.
11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
13 "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 let those enter who are trying to.
15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by the oath.'
17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18 You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by the oath.'
19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.
22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of your 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.
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean.
27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,
30 and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Go ahead, then, and finish what your ancestors started!
33 "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.
37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
and you were not willing.
38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.
39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say,
'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Translation notes (10)
- Matthew 23:2a 'Moses' seat,' from the Greek word kathedra, is an idiom, a common expression, for the authoritative teaching office of those who interpret the Law of Moses.
- Matthew 23:5a Phylacteries, from the Greek word phylakteria, are small leather boxes holding Scripture texts, which were worn on the forehead and arm. The 'tassels,' from the Greek word kraspeda, are the fringes on the corners of a garment commanded in Numbers 15:38-39.
- Matthew 23:8a The Greek word adelphoi means 'brothers,' but it is used here inclusively, meaning it refers to the whole community of disciples, both men and women; it is therefore rendered 'brothers and sisters.'
- Matthew 23:10a The Greek word kathegetai means 'instructors / guides / leaders,' which is a different word from 'teacher' (didaskalos) used in verse 8. The Greek word christos means 'Messiah / the Anointed One.'
- Matthew 23:15a The Greek phrase huion geennes literally means 'a son of Gehenna.' This is a Semitic idiom, a common expression from the ancient Near East, for someone destined for hell, hence 'child of hell.' The Greek word proselyton refers to a Gentile convert to Judaism.
- Matthew 23:24a This is a vivid hyperbole, an exaggeration for emphasis, possibly playing on the similar Aramaic words for 'gnat' (qalma) and 'camel' (gamla), contrasting the smallest unclean creature with the largest.
- Matthew 23:32a The Greek phrase plerosate to metron literally means 'fill up the measure' of your ancestors. This is an idiom, a common expression, for bringing a course of guilt to its full extent. The command (imperative) is sharply ironic.
- Matthew 23:35a The identity of 'Zechariah son of Berekiah' is debated; the murder described in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21 is of Zechariah son of Jehoiada. Some manuscripts of Matthew lack the phrase 'son of Berekiah.' The reference frames the whole sweep of Scripture, from Abel in Genesis to Zechariah, who appears late in the Hebrew canon.
- Matthew 23:38a The Greek word eremos means 'desolate / abandoned.' Some early manuscripts omit this word, reading simply 'your house is left to you'; however, it is retained in the critical Greek text.
- Matthew 23:39a This verse is quoting Psalm 118:26, which is the same acclamation, or shout of welcome, as at the triumphal entry in Matthew 21:9.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Greek and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Matthew, is free to read here on the web.
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