American Standard Version
Matthew 23:13
13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter.
Matthew 23:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
- New International Version (NIV)“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Context of Matthew 23:13
11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. 15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.
Read all of Matthew 23Matthew 23:13 word by word
Οὐαὶ δὲ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί, ὅτι κλείετε τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ὑμεῖς γὰρ οὐκ εἰσέρχεσθε οὐδὲ τοὺς εἰσερχομένους ἀφίετε εἰσελθεῖν.¶Read the interlinear
- woeοὐαίouai · woe!G3759
- scribesγραμματεύςgrammateus · scribeG1122
- PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
- hypocritesὑποκριτήςhupokritēs · hypocriteG5273
- shutκλείωkleiō · to shutG2808
- kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- enterεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
- yourselvesσύsu · youG4771
Cross-references for Matthew 23:13
- Isaiah 9:14Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day.
- Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath seized the godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?
- Zechariah 11:17Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
- Luke 11:43Woe unto you Pharisees! for ye love the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the marketplaces.
- Matthew 21:31Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
- Luke 11:52Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
- John 7:46The officers answered, Never man so spake.
- John 9:22These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
- Acts 4:17But that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
- Acts 5:28saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
- Acts 8:1And Saul was consenting unto his death. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles.
- Acts 13:8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men;
- 2 Timothy 3:8And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith.
- 2 Timothy 4:15of whom do thou also beware; for he greatly withstood our words.
Commentaries on Matthew 23:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Ye shut up the kingdom - As a key by opening a lock gives entrance into a house, etc., so knowledge of the sacred testimonies, manifested in expounding them to the people, may be said to open the way into the kingdom of heaven. But where men who are termed teachers are destitute of this knowledge themselves, they may be said to shut this kingdom; because they occupy the place of those who should teach, and thus prevent the people from acquiring heavenly…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Woe unto you - You are guilty, and punishment will come upon you. Jesus proceeds to state wherein they were guilty. This most eloquent, most appalling, and most terrible of all discourses ever delivered to mortals was pronounced in the temple, in the presence of multitudes. Never was there more faithful dealing, more terrible reproof, more profound knowledge of the workings of hypocrisy, or more skill in detecting the concealments of sin. This was the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-33Verses 13-33 The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloak to the greatest enormities. But dissembled piety will be reckoned double iniquity. They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party. Not for the glory of God and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13Woe to you: This is a distinct warning about God's judgment. hypocrites!: In English, hypocrisy means a contradiction between what is real and what seems to be real. In the Bible, it means misunderstanding God's will, misleading others, and facing God's judgment. This often includes: desire for fame and power (Matthew 23:5–12), misuse of teaching authority, false teachings (23:13–22), and focusing on minor ethical details (23:23–28). A suitable English…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men--Here they are charged with shutting heaven against men: in Lu 11:52 they are charged with what was worse, taking away the key--"the key of knowledge"--which means, not the key to open knowledge, but knowledge as the only key to open heaven. A right knowledge of God's revealed word is eternal life, as our Lord says (Joh 17:3; 5:39); but this they took…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 23:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 23
- 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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries