New Living Translation
Matthew 21:13
13He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
Matthew 21:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
- New International Version (NIV)“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- English Standard Version (ESV)He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
Context of Matthew 21:13
11And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” 12Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” 14The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant.
Read all of Matthew 21Matthew 21:13 word by word
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· γέγραπται· ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται, ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ποιεῖτε σπήλαιον λῃστῶν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- It is writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- Myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- houseὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- houseοἶκοςoikos · house: homeG3624
- shall be calledκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
- of prayerπροσευχήproseuchē · prayerG4335
- butδέde · thenG1161
- yeσύsu · youG4771
- have madeποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
- a denσπήλαιονspēlaion · caveG4693
- of thievesλῃστήςlēstēs · robber/rebelG3027
Cross-references for Matthew 21:13
- Matthew 2:5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
- John 15:25This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’
- Psalms 93:5Your royal laws cannot be changed. Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.
- Isaiah 56:7I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
- Jeremiah 7:11Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!
- Mark 11:17He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
- Luke 19:46He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
Commentaries on Matthew 21:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13My house shall be called the house of prayer - This is taken from Isaiah 56:7. But ye have made it a den of thieves - This is taken from Jeremiah 7:11. Our Lord alludes here to those dens and caves in Judea, in which the public robbers either hid or kept themselves fortified. They who are placed in the Church of Christ to serve souls, and do it not, and they who enjoy the revenues of the Church, and neglect the service of it, are thieves and robbers in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 This paragraph contains the account of the barren fig-tree, and of the cleansing of the temple. See also Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48. Matthew 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God - From Mark 11:11-15, it is probable that this cleansing of the temple did not take place on the day that he entered Jerusalem in triumph, but on the day following. He came and looked round upon all things, Mark says, and went out to Bethany with the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 Christ found some of the courts of the temple turned into a market for cattle and things used in the sacrifices, and partly occupied by the money-changers. Our Lord drove them from the place, as he had done at his entering upon his ministry, Joh 2:13-17. His works testified of him more than the hosannas; and his healing in the temple was the fulfilling the promise, that the glory of the latter house should be greater than the glory of the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13What Jesus did was right because people were using money in a way that desecrated God's glory.Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 21:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 21
- 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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