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 King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Matthew 23:3

1Then Jesus spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in the seat of Moses: All therefore whatever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye according to their works: for they say, and do not. 4For 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. 5But all their works they do to be seen by men: they make broad their phylacteries, 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

• Allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• whateverἄνan · ifG302
• whateverὅσοςhosos · just as/how muchG3745
• bidεἶπονepō · to sayG2036
• youὑμῖνhumin · to youG5213
• observeτηρέωtēreō · to keep: observeG5083
• observeτηρέωtēreō · to keep: observeG5083
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• butδέde · thenG1161
• notμήmē · notG3361
• toκατάkata · according toG2596
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• notοὐou · noG3756

Cross-references for Matthew 23:3

• Matthew 15:2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
• Exodus 18:19Hearken now to my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people toward God, that thou mayest bring the causes to God:
• Deuteronomy 4:5Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land where ye go to possess it.
• Deuteronomy 5:27Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou to us all that the LORD our God shall speak to thee; and we will hear it, and do it .
• Deuteronomy 17:9And thou shalt come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment:
• 2 Chronicles 30:12Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD.
• Acts 5:29Then 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 higher powers. For there is no power but from God: the powers that are, are ordained by God.
• Matthew 21:30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
• Psalms 50:16But to the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
• Romans 2:19And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them who are in darkness,
• 2 Timothy 3:5Having a form of godliness, but denying its power: from such 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