Matius 23:1-3

Seven Woes

23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 23:2 “The ¹  experts in the law ²  and the Pharisees ³  sit on Moses’ seat. 23:3 Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴ 

Matius 23:27-28

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁵  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. ⁶  23:28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

[23:2]  ¹ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

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

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

[23:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “for they say and do not do.”

[23:27]  ⁵ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ⁶ 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.