Matthew 23:8

Matthew 23:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
• New International Version (NIV)“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.

Context of Matthew 23:8

6They like to sit in the important places at special meals. They also choose to sit in the best seats in the meeting places. 7They like people to praise them in the market place. They want people to call them “Teacher.” You all belong to God's family. You have only one Teacher. So nobody should call another person, “Teacher”. 9Also, do not call any other person in the world, “Father”. You have only one Father, and he is in heaven. 10And do not call each other “Leader”. You have only one Leader. He is the Messiah that God has chosen.

Matthew 23:8 word by word

ὑμεῖς δὲ μὴ κληθῆτε ῥαββί· εἷς γάρ ἐστιν ὑμῶν ὁ διδάσκαλος πάντες δὲ ὑμεῖς ἀδελφοί ἐστε.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• beκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
• notμήmē · notG3361
• yeσύsu · youG4771
• calledκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
• Rabbiῥαββίrhabbi · RabbiG4461
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• Masterὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Masterκαθηγητήςkathēgētēs · teacherG2519
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80

Cross-references for Matthew 23:8

• Matthew 23:10And do not call each other “Leader”. You have only one Leader. He is the Messiah that God has chosen.
• 2 Corinthians 1:24We are not trying to tell you what you must believe, like masters would do. You are already strong in your spirits because you trust God. So we want to help you to be really happy.
• 2 Corinthians 4:5We do not speak a message about ourselves. We tell people that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Because we belong to Jesus, we have become your servants, not your masters.
• James 3:1My Christian friends, not many of you should become teachers. We people who teach God's message must be very careful. When God judges everybody, he will demand more from us than from other people.
• 1 Peter 5:3God has given you a group of believers to take care of them. Do not try to rule over them with power. Instead, show them how to live in a good way, so that they can copy you.
• Matthew 10:25A student should be happy if he becomes like his teacher. A servant should be happy if he becomes like his master. People have called me, the master of the house, Beelzebul. You are like those people who live in my house. So do not be surprised when people call you even worse names than they call me.
• Matthew 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud appeared. It covered them all. A voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy. Listen to him.’
• Matthew 26:49Now Judas went immediately to Jesus. He said, ‘Hello, Teacher.’ Then he kissed Jesus in a friendly way.
• John 13:13You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right. That is what I am.
• Romans 14:9Christ died and then he became alive again. That happened so that he could be the Lord of all people, those who have died and those who are still alive.
• 1 Corinthians 1:12It happens like this: One of you says, ‘I belong to Paul's group.’ Another person says, ‘I belong to Apollos's group.’ Another person says, ‘I belong to Peter's group.’ And another person says, ‘I belong to Christ's group.’
• 1 Corinthians 3:3You still do what your human nature wants to do. You are jealous of each other, and you quarrel with each other. Yes! This shows that you do what your human nature wants to do. You live like people who do not know God.
• Luke 22:32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that you will continue to believe in me. And this is what you must do: When you have turned back to me, you must help your brothers to be strong again.’
• Ephesians 3:15Every family, those in heaven and those on earth, receives its true name from him.
• Colossians 1:1This letter is from me, Paul. God chose me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Our friend Timothy is here with me while I write.
• Revelation 1:9I am John. I am a believer, as you are. I am like your brother and your friend. Because we belong to Jesus' kingdom, we are having trouble and pain. So we all need to be strong and patient, as Jesus helps us. The Roman leaders punished me because I taught God's message. I told people the true message about Jesus. That is why they sent me to Patmos island.

Commentaries on Matthew 23:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8But be not ye called Rabbi - As our Lord probably spoke in Hebrew, the latter word rabbi, in this verse, must have been in the plural; but as the contracted form of the plural sounds almost exactly like the singular, the Greek writer would naturally express them both in the same letters. None of the prophets had ever received this title, nor any of the Jewish doctors before the time of Hillel and Shammai, which was about the time of our Lord; and, as…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Be not ye … - Jesus forbade his disciples to seek such titles of distinction. The reason which he gave was that he was himself their Master and Teacher, They were on a level; they were to be equal in authority; they were brethren; and they should neither covet nor receive a title which implied either an elevation of one above another, or which appeared to infringe on the absolute right of the Saviour to be their only Teacher and Master. The direction here…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Rabbi: In Judaism, these men were authoritative mediators for sharing knowledge about God (see Matthew 23:7). But under the new covenant, there is only one authoritative teacher, Jesus himself as the Messiah (see Jeremiah 31:31–34).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master--your Guide, your Teacher.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 23:8

• Church
• Ecclesiasticism
• Fellowship
• Fraternity
• Hypocrisy
• Jesus Continued
• Man
• Master
• Minister, Christian
• Pharisees
• Pride
• Rabbi
• Satire
• Teachers
• Unity

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Abase
• Bewray
• Devour
• Exalt
• Fill
• Gnat
• Ought
• Partaker

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