Matthew 23:34

Matthew 23:34 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
• New International Version (NIV)Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

Context of Matthew 23:34

32Now you must finish the work that your ancestors began to do! 33You are like a family of dangerous snakes! You will not be able to run away. God will surely punish you, and he will send you to hell. So listen to this. God says, “I will send prophets to you. I will also send to you people who know many things. And I will send people to teach you what is true. But you will kill some of these people. You will kill some of them on a cross. In the places where you meet to pray, you will hit some of them with whips. They will run from one town to another town, but you will follow them.” 35Because of all this, God will punish you for all the good people that you and your ancestors have killed. Long ago, Abel was the first of those good people. You also killed Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. He died in the yard of the temple near the altar. 36Yes, I tell you this: God will punish the people who are alive today for all those murders.

Matthew 23:34 word by word

διὰ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω πρὸς ὑμᾶς προφήτας καὶ σοφοὺς καὶ γραμματεῖς· ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀποκτενεῖτε καὶ σταυρώσετε καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν μαστιγώσετε ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς ὑμῶν καὶ διώξετε ἀπὸ πόλεως εἰς πόλιν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whereforeδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• ·οὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• beholdὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• sendἀποστέλλωapostellō · to sendG649
• untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• youσύsu · youG4771
• prophetsπροφήτηςprophētēs · prophetG4396
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• wise menσοφόςsophos · wiseG4680
• scribesγραμματεύςgrammateus · scribeG1122
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• ye shall killἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• crucifyσταυρόωstauroō · to crucifyG4717
• shall ye scourgeμαστιγόωmastigoō · to whipG3146
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• synagoguesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• synagoguesσυναγωγήsunagōgē · synagogueG4864
• persecuteδιώκωdiōkō · to pursueG1377
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• cityπόλιςpolis · cityG4172
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519

Cross-references for Matthew 23:34

• Matthew 10:16Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.
• Matthew 28:19So you must go to people in every country of the world. Teach them how to become my disciples. Baptize them by the authority of God the Father, his Son and the Holy Spirit.
• Luke 11:49God is wise. Because you do not obey what is true, he said, “I will send my prophets and apostles to go to them. But they will kill some of my servants. They will hurt others of them.”
• Luke 24:47People in every country of the world must hear God's message. They must stop doing wrong things and change how they live. When they do this, God will forgive them. He will forgive all the bad things that they have done. People need to tell this message about the Messiah in Jerusalem first, then tell people in other countries.
• John 20:21Jesus said again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, in the same way I am now sending you.’
• Acts 1:8But the Holy Spirit will come to you, and he will give you power. The Holy Spirit will make your spirit strong. Then you will tell other people everywhere in the world about me. You will do that in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and in places far away.’
• 1 Corinthians 12:3This is what I want you to understand now. God's Spirit will never lead anyone to say, ‘God has cursed Jesus.’ And it is only God's Spirit that will lead someone to say, ‘Jesus is Lord.’
• Ephesians 4:8This is what it says about him: ‘When he went up to the highest place, he led many prisoners with him. Then he gave gifts to his people.’
• Acts 11:27During this time, some prophets travelled from Jerusalem to Antioch.
• Acts 13:1There were some prophets among the group of believers in Antioch. They taught the other believers more about Jesus. Barnabas and Simeon were two of these men. (People also called Simeon ‘Niger’.) There was Lucius who had lived in Cyrene. There was also Manaen who had lived together with the ruler Herod when they were children. And there was Saul.
• Acts 15:32Judas and Silas were both prophets. They spoke a message from God to the believers there. They spoke for a long time to help the believers and to make them strong.
• Revelation 11:10The people who live on the earth will be very happy because the two servants of God are now dead. They will send gifts to each other because they are so happy. These two prophets of God had caused bad trouble for them, but now they have died.
• Proverbs 11:30The good things that a righteous person does bring life. A person who saves people's lives shows that he is wise.
• 1 Corinthians 2:6But we do speak about wise thoughts to those of you who know Christ very well. But those wise thoughts do not belong to this world. They are not the ideas that the rulers of this world think are important. Those rulers will not be powerful for long.
• 1 Corinthians 3:10I am like a good builder. God has given that job to me and he has helped me to do it well. I was the person who built the foundation. Now other people are building on that foundation. But each person must be careful how he builds.
• Colossians 1:28That is why we tell everyone the message about Christ. God helps us to be very wise as we warn people and we teach them. We want every person who belongs to Christ to become complete, as God sees them.

Commentaries on Matthew 23:34

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 34Wherefore - To show how my prediction, Ye will fill up the measure of your fathers, shall be verified, Behold, I send (I am just going to commission them) prophets, etc. and some ye will kill, (with legal process), and some ye will crucify, pretend to try and find guilty, and deliver them into the hands of the Romans, who shall, through you, thus put them to death. See on Luke 11:49; (note). By prophets, wise men, and scribes, our Lord intends the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 34I send unto you prophets … - Jesus doubtless refers here to the apostles, and other teachers of religion. Prophets, wise men, and scribes were the names by which the teachers of religion were known among the Jews, and he therefore used the same terms when speaking of the messengers which he would send. “I send” has the force of the future, I “will” send. Some of them ye shall kill - As in the case of Stephen Acts 7:59 and James Acts 12:1-2. Crucify…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 34-39Verses 34-39 Our Lord declares the miseries the inhabitants of Jerusalem were about to bring upon themselves, but he does not notice the sufferings he was to undergo. A hen gathering her chickens under her wings, is an apt emblem of the Saviour's tender love to those who trust in him, and his faithful care of them. He calls sinners to take refuge under his tender protection, keeps them safe, and nourishes them to eternal life. The present dispersion 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. 3434. Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes--The I here is emphatic: "I am sending," that is, "am about to send." In Lu 11:49 the variation is remarkable: "Therefore also, said the wisdom of God, I will send them," &c. What precisely is meant by "the wisdom of God" here, is somewhat difficult to determine. To us it appears to be simply an announcement of a purpose of the Divine Wisdom, in the high style of ancient prophecy…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 23:34

• Crucifixion
• Ecclesiasticism
• Jesus Continued
• Martyrdom
• Minister, Christian
• Opportunity
• Persecution
• Responsibility
• Synagogue

In the dictionaries

• Wise men
• Abase
• Bewray
• Devour
• Exalt
• Fill
• Gnat
• Ought
• Partaker
• Scribes

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