Matius 6:23

6:23 But if your eye is diseased, ¹  your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Matius 15:3-6

15:3 He answered them, ²  “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 15:4 For God said, ³  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ⁴  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵  15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” ⁶  15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ⁷  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Matius 23:16-23

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ⁸  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 23:17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 23:18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. ⁹  But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 23:19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 23:20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 23:21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 23:22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁰  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ¹¹  of mint, dill, and cumin, ¹²  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ¹³  should have done these things without neglecting the others.

[6:23]  ¹ tn Or “if your eye is sick” (L&N 23.149).

[6:23]  sn There may be a slight wordplay here, as this term can also mean “evil,” so the figure uses a term that points to the real meaning of being careful as to what one pays attention to or looks at.

[15:3]  ² tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”

[15:4]  ³ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

[15:4]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[15:4]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[15:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

[15:6]  ⁷ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[15:6]  tn Grk “he will never honor his father.” Here Jesus is quoting the Pharisees, whose intent is to release the person who is giving his possessions to God from the family obligation of caring for his parents. The verb in this phrase is future tense, and it is negated with οὐ μή (ou mh), the strongest negation possible in Greek. A literal translation of the phrase does not capture the intended sense of the statement; it would actually make the Pharisees sound as if they agreed with Jesus. Instead, a more interpretive translation has been used to focus upon the release from family obligations that the Pharisees allowed in these circumstances.

[15:6]  sn Here Jesus refers to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner. According to contemporary Jewish tradition, the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 4).

[23:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[23:18]  ⁹ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

[23:23]  ¹⁰ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:23]  ¹¹ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ¹² sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ¹³ 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.