Amplified Bible
Matthew 9:13
13Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].”
Matthew 9:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
- New International Version (NIV)But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
- New King James Version (NKJV)But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Context of Matthew 9:13
11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when Jesus heard this, He said, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but [only] those who are sick. Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].” 14Then the disciples of John [the Baptist] came to Jesus, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast [as a religious exercise], but Your disciples do not fast?” 15And Jesus replied to them, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Read all of Matthew 9Matthew 9:13 word by word
πορευθέντες δὲ μάθετε τί ἐστιν· ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ θυσίαν· οὐ γὰρ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλ᾽ ἁμαρτωλούςRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- go ye andπορεύωporeuomai · to travelG4198
- learnμανθάνωmanthanō · to learnG3129
- whatτίςtis · which?G5101
- meanethεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- I will haveθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
- mercyἔλεοςeleos · mercyG1656
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- notοὐou · noG3756
- sacrificeθυσίαthusia · sacrificeG2378
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- I amἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- to callκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
- the righteousδίκαιοςdikaios · justG1342
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- sinnersἁμαρτωλόςhamartōlos · sinfulG268
- toεἰςeis · towardG1519
- repentanceμετάνοιαmetanoia · repentanceG3341
Cross-references for Matthew 9:13
- Matthew 12:3He said to them, “Have you not read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was hungry, he and those who accompanied him—
- Matthew 19:4He replied, “Have you never read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
- Matthew 21:42Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The [very] Stone which the builders rejected and threw away, Has become the chief Cornerstone; This is the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’?
- Matthew 22:31But as to the resurrection of the dead—have you not read [in the Scripture] what God said to you:
- Mark 12:26But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
- Luke 10:26Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
- John 10:34Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods [human judges representing God, not divine beings]’?
- Proverbs 21:3To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice [for wrongs repeatedly committed].
- Hosea 6:6For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
- Micah 6:6With what shall I come before the Lord [to honor Him] And bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves?
- Matthew 18:11[For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
- Mark 2:17When Jesus heard this, He said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but [only] those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners [who recognize their sin and humbly seek forgiveness].”
- Luke 5:32I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”
- Luke 15:3So He told them this parable:
- Luke 19:10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- Romans 3:10As it is written and forever remains written, “There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.
Commentaries on Matthew 9:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13I will have mercy, and not sacrifice - Quoted from 1 Samuel 15:22. These are remarkable words. We may understand them as implying, 1st. That God prefers an act of mercy, shown to the necessitous, to any act of religious worship to which the person might be called at that time. Both are good; but the former is the greater good, and should be done in preference to the other. 2dly. That the whole sacrificial system was intended only to point out the infinite…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13But go ye and learn - To reprove them, and to vindicate his own conduct, he appealed to a passage of Scripture with which they ought to have been acquainted: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,” Hosea 6:6. This is not a declaration on the part of God that he was opposed to “sacrifices” or “offerings for sin;” for he had appointed and commanded many, and had therefore expressed his approbation of them. It is a Hebrew mode of speaking, and means, “I…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-13Verses 10-13 Some time after his call, Matthew sought to bring his old associates to hear Christ. He knew by experience what the grace of Christ could do, and would not despair concerning them. Those who are effectually brought to Christ, cannot but desire that others also may be brought to him. Those who suppose their souls to be without disease will not welcome the spiritual Physician. This was the case with the Pharisees; they despised Christ, because…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13I desire mercy, not sacrifice: Jesus applies this desire of God to eating with sinners. Jesus showed mercy by eating with them. This contrasted with the Pharisees who avoided sinners. They considered their avoidance to symbolize sacrifices. Jesus exposed the Pharisees' true spiritual state. The Pharisees considered themselves to be righteous. But they were actually unrighteous and needed the Messiah to save them (Matthew 7:1–5; 8:11–12; 19:30; 20:16…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. But go ye and learn what that meaneth--(Ho 6:6), I will have mercy, and not sacrifice--that is, the one rather than the other. "Sacrifice," the chief part of the ceremonial law, is here put for a religion of literal adherence to mere rules; while "mercy" expresses such compassion for the fallen as seeks to lift them up. The duty of keeping aloof from the polluted, in the sense of "having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness," is obvious…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 9:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries