Matthew 23:3

Matthew 23:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
• New International Version (NIV)So 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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
• New Living Translation (NLT)So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.

Context of Matthew 23:3

1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4For 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. 5But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

Matthew 23:3 word by word

πάντα οὖν ὅσα ἐὰν εἴπωσιν ὑμῖν ποιήσατε καὶ τηρεῖτε. κατὰ δὲ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν μὴ ποιεῖτε· λέγουσιν γὰρ καὶ οὐ ποιοῦσιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• whatsoeverὅσοςhosos · just as/how muchG3745
• ·ἄνan · ifG302
• they bidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• youσύsu · youG4771
• observeτηρέωtēreō · to keep: observeG5083
• observeτηρέωtēreō · to keep: observeG5083
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• butδέde · thenG1161
• notμήmē · notG3361
• afterκατάkata · according toG2596
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• worksὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• notοὐou · noG3756

Cross-references for Matthew 23:3

• Matthew 15:2“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
• Exodus 18:19Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.
• Deuteronomy 4:5“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
• Deuteronomy 5:27You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
• Deuteronomy 17:9And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment.
• 2 Chronicles 30:12Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the Lord.
• Acts 5:29But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
• Romans 13:1Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
• Matthew 21:30Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
• Psalms 50:16But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth,
• Romans 2:19and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
• 2 Timothy 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Commentaries on Matthew 23:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3All therefore whatsoever - That is, all those things which they read out of the law and prophets, and all things which they teach consistently with them. This must be our Lord's meaning: he could not have desired them to do every thing, without restriction, which the Jewish doctors taught; because himself warns his disciples against their false teaching, and testifies that they had made the word of God of none effect by their traditions. See Matthew 15:6…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3All, therefore, whatsoever … - That is, all that they teach that is consistent with the Law of Moses - all the commands of Moses which they read to you and properly explain. The word “all” could not be taken without such a restriction, for Christ himself accuses them of teaching many things contrary to that law, and of making it void by their traditions, Matthew 15:1-6. They say, and do not - The interpretation which they give to the law is in the main…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3practice and obey: This was not a full confirmation of everything the Pharisees taught (see Matthew 15:1–20; 16:5–12; 23:13–39). It might refer only to teachings that agreed with the law of Moses, or it could be bitter irony or sarcasm. Jesus might also have advised conforming to the Pharisees’ teachings to avoid causing offense (17:24–27).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. All therefore--that is, all which, as sitting in that seat and teaching out of that law. they bid you observe, that observe and do--The word "therefore" is thus, it will be seen, of great importance, as limiting those injunctions which He would have them obey to what they fetched from the law itself. In requiring implicit obedience to such injunctions, He would have them to recognize the authority with which they taught over and above the obligations…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 23:3

• Church
• Ecclesiasticism
• Example
• Hypocrisy
• Inconsistency
• Minister, Christian
• Oppression
• Pharisees
• Satire
• Scribe (S)
• Teachers

In the dictionaries

• Abase
• Bewray
• Devour
• Exalt
• Fill
• Gnat
• Ought
• Partaker
• Pharisees
• 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