Matthew 23:33

Matthew 23:33 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
• New International Version (NIV)“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
• English Standard Version (ESV)You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

Context of Matthew 23:33

31So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? 34Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Matthew 23:33 word by word

ὄφεις γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, πῶς φύγητε ἀπὸ τῆς κρίσεως τῆς γεέννης;Read the interlinear

• You snakesὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• You broodγέννημαgennēma · offspringG1081
• of vipersἔχιδναechidna · snakeG2191
• Howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
• will you escapeφεύγωpheugō · to fleeG5343
• will you escapeἀπόapo · away fromG575
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• sentenceκρίσιςkrisis · judgmentG2920
• of hellγέενναgeenna · hell: GehennaG1067

Cross-references for Matthew 23:33

• Matthew 3:7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
• Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
• Matthew 21:34When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.
• Genesis 3:15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
• Psalms 58:3The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
• Isaiah 57:3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
• Luke 3:7Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
• John 8:44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
• 2 Corinthians 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
• Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
• Hebrews 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
• Hebrews 10:29How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
• Hebrews 12:25See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?

Commentaries on Matthew 23:33

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers - What a terrible stroke! - Ye are serpents, and the offspring of serpents. This refers to Matthew 23:31; : they confessed that they were the children of those who murdered the prophets; and they are now going to murder Christ and his followers, to show that they have not degenerated - an accursed seed, of an accursed breed. My old MS. translates this passage oddly - Gee serpentis, fruytis of burrownyngis of eddris…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 33Ye serpents - This name is given to them on account of their pretending to be pious, and very much devoted to God, but being secretly evil, At the heart, with all their pretensions, they were filled with evil designs, as the serpent was, Genesis 3:1-5 Generation of vipers - See the notes at Matthew 12:34. Damnation of hell - This refers, beyond all question, to future punishment. So great was their wickedness and hypocrisy, that, if they persevered in…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. 13-36Matthew gathered seven warnings of sorrow to come (literally woe to you) inspired by similar Old Testament lists (Isaiah 5:8–23; Habakkuk 2:6–20). Matthew arranged them to reach a climax with the killing of the prophets.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3333. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?--In thus, at the end of His ministry, recalling the words of the Baptist at the outset of his, our Lord would seem to intimate that the only difference between their condemnation now and then was, that now they were ripe for their doom, which they were not then.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 23:33

• Church
• Ecclesiasticism
• Escape
• Hell
• Hypocrisy
• Judgments
• Pharisees
• Punishment
• Responsibility
• Satire
• Sin
• Teachers
• Viper
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Abase
• Bewray
• Devour
• Exalt
• Fill
• Gehenna
• Gnat
• Hell
• Hinnom
• Ought

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