Matius 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matius 5:20

5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ³  and the Pharisees, ⁴  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matius 9:11-12

9:11 When the Pharisees ⁵  saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ⁶  9:12 When ⁷  Jesus heard this he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. ⁸ 

Matius 9:14

The Superiority of the New

9:14 Then John’s ⁹  disciples came to Jesus ¹⁰  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ¹¹  fast often, ¹²  but your disciples don’t fast?”

Matius 9:34

9:34 But the Pharisees ¹³  said, “By the ruler ¹⁴  of demons he casts out demons.” ¹⁵ 

Matius 12:2

12:2 But when the Pharisees ¹⁶  saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.”

Matius 12:10

12:10 A ¹⁷  man was there who had a withered ¹⁸  hand. And they asked Jesus, ¹⁹  “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” ²⁰  so that they could accuse him.

Matius 12:14-15

12:14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate ²¹  him.

God’s Special Servant

12:15 Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great ²²  crowds ²³  followed him, and he healed them all.

Matius 12:24-25

12:24 But when the Pharisees ²⁴  heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, ²⁵  the ruler ²⁶  of demons!” 12:25 Now when Jesus ²⁷  realized what they were thinking, he said to them, ²⁸  “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, ²⁹  and no town or house divided against itself will stand.

Matius 12:38

The Sign of Jonah

12:38 Then some of the experts in the law ³⁰  along with some Pharisees ³¹  answered him, ³²  “Teacher, we want to see a sign ³³  from you.”

Matius 15:1

Breaking Human Traditions

15:1 Then Pharisees ³⁴  and experts in the law ³⁵  came from Jerusalem ³⁶  to Jesus and said, ³⁷ 

Matius 15:12

15:12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees ³⁸  heard this saying they were offended?”

Matius 15:14

15:14 Leave them! They are blind guides. ³⁹  If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, ⁴⁰  both will fall into a pit.”

Matius 16:1

The Demand for a Sign

16:1 Now when the Pharisees ⁴¹  and Sadducees ⁴²  came to test Jesus, ⁴³  they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ⁴⁴ 

Matius 16:6

16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees ⁴⁵  and Sadducees.” ⁴⁶ 

Matius 16:11-12

16:11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 16:12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matius 19:3

19:3 Then some Pharisees ⁴⁷  came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful ⁴⁸  to divorce a wife for any cause?” ⁴⁹ 

Matius 19:7

19:7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” ⁵⁰ 

Matius 21:45

21:45 When ⁵¹  the chief priests and the Pharisees ⁵²  heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.

Matius 22:15

Paying Taxes to Caesar

22:15 Then the Pharisees ⁵³  went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words. ⁵⁴ 

Matius 22:34-35

The Greatest Commandment

22:34 Now when the Pharisees ⁵⁵  heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, ⁵⁶  they assembled together. ⁵⁷  22:35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, ⁵⁸  asked him a question to test ⁵⁹  him:

Matius 22:41

The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord

22:41 While ⁶⁰  the Pharisees ⁶¹  were assembled, Jesus asked them a question: ⁶² 

Matius 23:2

23:2 “The ⁶³  experts in the law ⁶⁴  and the Pharisees ⁶⁵  sit on Moses’ seat.

Matius 23:13-15

23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law ⁶⁶  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! ⁶⁷  You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! ⁶⁸  For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

23:14 [[EMPTY]] ⁶⁹ 

23:15 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁷⁰  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, ⁷¹  and when you get one, ⁷²  you make him twice as much a child of hell ⁷³  as yourselves!

Matius 23:23

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁷⁴  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ⁷⁵  of mint, dill, and cumin, ⁷⁶  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ⁷⁷  should have done these things without neglecting the others.

Matius 23:25-27

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁷⁸  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, ⁷⁹  so that the outside may become clean too!

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁸⁰  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ⁸¹ 

Matius 23:29

23:29 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁸²  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You ⁸³  build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves ⁸⁴  of the righteous.

Matius 27:62

The Guard at the Tomb

27:62 The ⁸⁵  next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees ⁸⁶  assembled before Pilate

[3:7]  ¹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ² sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[5:20]  ³ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:11]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:11]  ⁶ sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.

[9:12]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:12]  ⁸ sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is healthy (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.

[9:14]  ⁹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[9:14]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:14]  ¹¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:14]  ¹² sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[9:34]  ¹³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:34]  ¹⁴ tn Or “prince.”

[9:34]  ¹⁵ tc Although codex Cantabrigiensis (D), along with a few other Western versional and patristic witnesses, lacks this verse, virtually all other witnesses have it. The Western text’s reputation for free alterations as well as the heightened climax if v. 33 concludes this pericope explains why these witnesses omitted the verse.

[12:2]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[12:10]  ¹⁸ sn Withered means the man’s hand was shrunken and paralyzed.

[12:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and they asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated. The referent of the pronoun (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:10]  ²⁰ sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).

[12:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “destroy.”

[12:15]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[12:15]  ²³ tc א B pc lat read only πολλοί (polloi, “many”) here, the first hand of N reads ὄχλοι (ocloi, “crowds”), while virtually all the rest of the witnesses have ὄχλοι πολλοί (ocloi polloi, “great crowds”). In spite of the good quality of both א and B (especially in combination), and the testimony of the Latin witnesses, the longer reading is most likely correct; the shorter readings were probably due to homoioteleuton.

[12:24]  ²⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “except by Beelzebul.”

[12:24]  sn Beelzebul is another name for Satan. So some people recognized Jesus’ work as supernatural, but called it diabolical.

[12:24]  ²⁶ tn Or “prince.”

[12:25]  ²⁷ tc The majority of mss read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”), which clarifies who is the subject of the sentence. Although the shorter text is attested in far fewer witnesses (̲¹ א B D 892* sy^s,c sa bo), both the pedigree of the mss and the strong internal evidence (viz., scribes were not prone to intentionally delete the name of Jesus) argue for the omission of Jesus’ name. The name has been included in the translation, however, for clarity.

[12:25]  ²⁸ sn Jesus here demonstrated the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. He first teaches (vv. 25-28) that if he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. He then teaches (v. 29) about tying up the strong man to prove that he does not need to align himself with the devil because he is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (4:1-11) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 12:31-32).

[12:25]  ²⁹ tn Or “is left in ruins.”

[12:38]  ³⁰ tn Or “Then some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[12:38]  ³¹ tn Grk “and Pharisees.” The word “some” before “Pharisees” has been supplied for clarification.

[12:38]  sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:38]  ³² tn Grk “answered him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant, but the syntax of the sentence was changed to conform to English style.

[12:38]  ³³ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[15:1]  ³⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[15:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[15:1]  ³⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:1]  ³⁷ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.

[15:12]  ³⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[15:14]  ³⁹ tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א¹ C L W Z Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). The shorter reading is read by א*^,2 B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tufloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuflwn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is original: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA²⁷ places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”

[16:1]  ⁴¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ⁴² sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ⁴³ tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.

[16:1]  ⁴⁴ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[16:6]  ⁴⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:6]  ⁴⁶ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[19:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “And Pharisees.”

[19:3]  sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[19:3]  ⁴⁸ tc ‡ Most mss have either ἀνθρώπῳ (anqrwpw, “for a man” [so א² C D W Θ 087 Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt]) or ἀνδρί (andri, “for a husband” [1424^c pc]) before the infinitive ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai, “to divorce”). The latter reading is an assimilation to the parallel in Mark; the former reading may have been motivated by the clarification needed (especially to give the following αὐτοῦ [autou, “his”] an antecedent). But a few significant mss (א* B L Γ 579 [700] 1424* pc) have neither noun. As the harder reading, it seems to best explain the rise of the others. NA²⁷, however, reads ἀνθρώπῳ here.

[19:3]  ⁴⁹ sn The question of the Pharisees was anything but sincere; they were asking it to test him. Jesus was now in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (i.e., Judea and beyond the Jordan) and it is likely that the Pharisees were hoping he might answer the question of divorce in a way similar to John the Baptist and so suffer the same fate as John, i.e., death at the hands of Herod (cf. 14:1-12). Jesus answered the question not on the basis of rabbinic custom and the debate over Deut 24:1, but rather from the account of creation and God’s original design.

[19:7]  ⁵⁰ tc ‡ Although the majority of witnesses (B C W 078 087 ˹³ 33 Ï sy^p,h) have αὐτήν (authn, “her”) after the infinitive ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai, “to divorce”), a variant lacks the αὐτήν. This shorter reading may be due to assimilation to the Markan parallel, but since it is attested in early and diverse witnesses (א D L Z Θ Ë¹ 579 700 pc lat) and since the parallel verse (Mark 10:4) already departs at many points, the shorter reading seems more likely to be original. The pronoun has been included in the translation, however, for clarity. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations regarding its authenticity.

[19:7]  sn A quotation from Deut 24:1. The Pharisees were all in agreement that the OT permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce his wife (not vice-versa) and that remarriage was therefore sanctioned. But the two rabbinic schools of Shammai and Hillel differed on the grounds for divorce. Shammai was much stricter than Hillel and permitted divorce only in the case of sexual immorality. Hillel permitted divorce for almost any reason (cf. the Mishnah, m. Gittin 9.10).

[21:45]  ⁵¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[21:45]  ⁵² sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[22:15]  ⁵³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[22:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “trap him in word.”

[22:34]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[22:34]  ⁵⁶ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[22:34]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “for the same.” That is, for the same purpose that the Sadducees had of testing Jesus.

[22:35]  ⁵⁸ tn Traditionally, “a lawyer.” This was an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law.

[22:35]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “testing.” The participle, however, is telic in force.

[22:41]  ⁶⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[22:41]  ⁶¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[22:41]  ⁶² tn Grk “asked them a question, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is somewhat redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[23:2]  ⁶³ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[23:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:2]  ⁶⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[23:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:13]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so throughout this chapter).

[23:13]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”

[23:14]  ⁶⁹ tc The most important mss (א B D L Z Θ Ë¹ 33 892* pc and several versional witnesses) do not have 23:14 “Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ property, and as a show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive a more severe punishment.” Part or all of the verse is contained (either after v. 12 or after v. 13) in W 0102 0107 ˹³ Ï and several versions, but it is almost certainly not original. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. Note also that Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 are very similar in wording and are not disputed textually.

[23:15]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:15]  ⁷¹ tn Or “one proselyte.”

[23:15]  ⁷² tn Grk “when he becomes [one].”

[23:15]  ⁷³ tn Grk “a son of Gehenna.” Expressions constructed with υἱός (Juios) followed by a genitive of class or kind denote a person belonging to the class or kind specified by the following genitive (L&N 9.4). Thus the phrase here means “a person who belongs to hell.”

[23:15]  sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[23:23]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:23]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ⁷⁶ sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ⁷⁷ tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë^1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[23:25]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:26]  ⁷⁹ tc A very difficult textual problem is found here. The most important Alexandrian and Byzantine, as well as significant Western, witnesses (א B C L W 0102 0281 ˹³ 33 Ï lat co) have “and the dish” (καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, kai th" paroyido") after “cup,” while few important witnesses (D Θ Ë¹ 700 and some versional and patristic authorities) omit the phrase. On the one hand, scribes sometimes tended to eliminate redundancy; since “and the dish” is already present in v. 25, it may have been deleted in v. 26 by well-meaning scribes. On the other hand, as B. M. Metzger notes, the singular pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou, “its”) with τὸ ἐκτός (to ekto", “the outside”) in some of the same witnesses that have the longer reading (viz., B* ˹³ al) hints that their archetype lacked the words (TCGNT 50). Further, scribes would be motivated both to add the phrase from v. 25 and to change αὐτοῦ to the plural pronoun αὐτῶν (aujtwn, “their”). Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is not compelling in itself, combined with these two prongs of internal evidence, it is to be slightly preferred.

[23:27]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ⁸¹ sn This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (for discussion of a similar metaphor, see L&N 88.234; BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). See Deut 28:22; Ezek 13:10-16; Acts 23:3.

[23:29]  ⁸² tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:29]  ⁸³ tn Grk “Because you.” Here ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated.

[23:29]  ⁸⁴ tn Or perhaps “the monuments” (see L&N 7.75-76).

[27:62]  ⁸⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:62]  ⁸⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.