New International Version
Matthew 23:4
4They 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
Context of Matthew 23:4
2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 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. 5“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
Read all of Matthew 23Matthew 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- they bindδεσμεύωdesmeuō · to bindG1195
- heavyβαρύςbarus · weightyG926
- burdensφορτίονphortion · burdenG5413
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- grievous to be borneδυσβάστακτοςdusbastaktos · ponderousG1419
- layἐπιτίθημιepitithēmi · to put/lay onG2007
- onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- men’sἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- shouldersὦμοςōmos · shoulderG5606
- butδέde · thenG1161
- theyθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
- notοὐou · noG3756
- moveκινέωkineō · to moveG2795
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- with one ofδάκτυλοςdaktulos · fingerG1147
Cross-references for Matthew 23:4
- Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
- Matthew 11:28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Luke 11:46Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
- Acts 15:10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?
- Galatians 6:13Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
- Revelation 2:24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any 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
In the dictionaries
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
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