Matthew 23:4

Matthew 23:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
• New International Version (NIV)They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

Context of Matthew 23:4

2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,

Matthew 23:4 word by word

δεσμεύουσιν δὲ φορτία βαρέα καὶ δυσβάστακτα καὶ ἐπιτιθέασιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους τῶν ἀνθρώπων· αὐτοὶ δὲ τῷ δακτύλῳ αὐτῶν οὐ θέλουσιν κινῆσαι αὐτά.Read the interlinear

• They tieδεσμεύωdesmeuō · to bindG1195
• up heavyβαρύςbarus · weightyG926
• burdensφορτίονphortion · burdenG5413
• and layἐπιτίθημιepitithēmi · to put/lay onG2007
• them on men’sἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• shouldersὦμοςōmos · shoulderG5606
• but they themselvesαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• are unwillingοὐou · noG3756
• are unwillingθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• to moveκινέωkineō · to moveG2795
• a fingerδάκτυλοςdaktulos · fingerG1147

Cross-references for Matthew 23:4

• Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
• Matthew 11:28“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
• Luke 11:46But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
• Acts 15:10Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
• Galatians 6:13For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.
• Revelation 2:24But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them--I place no other burden on you.

Commentaries on Matthew 23:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They bind heavy burdens - They are now so corrupt that they have added to the ceremonies of the law others of their own invention, which are not only burdensome and oppressive, but have neither reason, expediency, nor revelation, to countenance them. In a word, like all their successors in spirit to the present day, they were severe to others, but very indulgent to themselves.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4They bind heavy burdens … - This phrase is derived from the custom of loading animals. The load or burden is bound up and then laid on the beast. So the Pharisees appointed weighty burdens, or grievous and heavy precepts, and insisted that the people should obey them, though they lent no assistance. The “heavy burdens” refer not here to the traditions and foolish customs of the Pharisees, for Jesus would not command the people to observe them; but they…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4heavy, burdensome loads: According to the rabbis, there were 613 laws with commands and prohibitions (see 11:28–30; Acts 15:10, 28). not willing to lift a finger: The religious leaders were not willing to ease or change these traditional laws.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them--"touch them not" (Lu 11:46). with one of their fingers--referring not so much to the irksomeness of the legal rites, though they were irksome enough (Ac 15:10), as to the heartless rigor with which they were enforced, and by men of shameless inconsistency.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 23:4

• Burden
• Church
• Ecclesiasticism
• Hypocrisy
• Inconsistency
• Minister, Christian
• Oppression
• Pharisees
• Satire
• Teachers

In the dictionaries

• Abase
• Bewray
• Devour
• Exalt
• Fill
• Gnat
• Ought
• Partaker
• Scribes
• Self

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