Matthew 23:13

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

11The person who is greatest among you will be your servant. 12Whoever honors himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be honored. “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don’t enter it yourselves, and you don’t permit others to enter when they try. 15“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You cross land and sea to recruit a single follower, and when you do, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.

Matthew 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• woeοὐαίouai · woe!G3759
• unto youσύsu · youG4771
• scribesγραμματεύςgrammateus · scribeG1122
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
• hypocritesὑποκριτήςhupokritēs · hypocriteG5273
• forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• ye shut upκλείωkleiō · to shutG2808
• the kingdomὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
• of heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• againstἔμπροσθενemprosthen · beforeG1715
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• neitherοὐou · noG3756
• go inεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
• neitherοὐδέoude · norG3761
• suffer yeἀφίημιaphiēmi · to release: permitG863

Cross-references for Matthew 23:13

• Isaiah 9:14So in one day the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branches and cattails.
• Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are terrified. Trembling seizes the ungodly. Can any of us live through a fire that destroys? Can any of us live through a fire that burns forever?
• Zechariah 11:17“How horrible it will be for the foolish shepherd who abandoned the sheep. A sword will strike his arm and his right eye. His arm will be completely withered. His right eye will be completely blind.”
• Luke 11:43“How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the front seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.
• Matthew 21:31“Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Tax collectors and prostitutes are going into God’s kingdom ahead of you.
• Luke 11:52“How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You have taken away the key that unlocks knowledge. You haven’t gained entrance into ⌞knowledge⌟ yourselves, and you’ve kept out those who wanted to enter.”
• John 7:46The temple guards answered, “No human has ever spoken like this man.”
• John 9:22(His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue.
• Acts 4:17So let’s threaten them. Let’s tell them that they must never speak to anyone about the one named Jesus. Then the news about the miracle that they have performed will not spread any further among the people.”
• Acts 5:28He said, “We gave you strict orders not to mention Jesus’ name when you teach. Yet, you’ve filled Jerusalem with your teachings. You want to take revenge on us for putting that man to death.”
• Acts 8:1Saul approved of putting Stephen to death. On that day widespread persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Most believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
• Acts 13:8Elymas, whose name means astrologer, opposed them and tried to distort the meaning of the faith so that the governor wouldn’t believe.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and who have persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God. They are enemies of the whole human race
• 2 Timothy 3:8As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. Their minds are corrupt, and the faith they teach is counterfeit.
• 2 Timothy 4:15Watch out for him. He violently opposed what we said.

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

• Church
• Ecclesiasticism
• Hypocrisy
• Minister, Christian
• Pharisees
• Satire
• Teachers

In the dictionaries

• Abase
• Bewray
• Devour
• Exalt
• Fill
• Gnat
• Key
• 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