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

11But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

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

• But woeοὐαίouai · woe!G3759
• to you, scribesγραμματεύςgrammateus · scribeG1122
• and PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
• hypocritesὑποκριτήςhupokritēs · hypocriteG5273
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• you shutκλείωkleiō · to shutG2808
• the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
• of heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• inἔμπροσθενemprosthen · beforeG1715
• peopleἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• for you do not enterεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
• yourselvesσύsu · youG4771
• norοὐδέoude · norG3761
• do you allowἀφίημιaphiēmi · to release: permitG863
• thoseὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588

Cross-references for Matthew 23:13

• Isaiah 9:14So the Lord cuts off head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day.
• Isaiah 33:14Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”
• Zechariah 11:17Woe to the worthless shepherd Who abandons the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered, And his right eye will be blind.”
• Luke 11:43Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces.
• Matthew 21:31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
• Luke 11:52Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”
• John 7:46The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken in this way!”
• John 9:22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already reached the decision that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be excommunicated from the synagogue.
• Acts 4:17But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person in this name.”
• Acts 5:28saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.”
• Acts 8:1Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.
• Acts 13:8But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:15who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all people,
• 2 Timothy 3:8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith.
• 2 Timothy 4:15Be on guard against him yourself too, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

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