Matthew 9:13

Matthew 9:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
• New International Version (NIV)But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
• New King James Version (NKJV)But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Context of Matthew 9:13

11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why eateth your Master with tax collectors and sinners? 12But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, They that are well need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 14Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples fast not? 15And Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they shall fast.

Matthew 9:13 word by word

πορευθέντες δὲ μάθετε τί ἐστιν· ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ θυσίαν· οὐ γὰρ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλ᾽ ἁμαρτωλούςRead the interlinear

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• yeπορεύωporeuomai · to travelG4198
• learnμανθάνωmanthanō · to learnG3129
• whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• meanethἐστίesti · he isG2076
• willθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• mercyἔλεοςeleos · mercyG1656
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• sacrificeθυσίαthusia · sacrificeG2378
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• amἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• callκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
• righteousδίκαιοςdikaios · justG1342
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• sinnersἁμαρτωλόςhamartōlos · sinfulG268
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519
• repentanceμετάνοιαmetanoia · repentanceG3341

Cross-references for Matthew 9:13

• Matthew 12:3But he said to them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him;
• Matthew 19:4And he answered and said to them, Have ye not read, that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female,
• Matthew 21:42Jesus saith to them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
• Matthew 22:31But as concerning the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,
• Mark 12:26And concerning the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
• Luke 10:26He said to him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
• John 10:34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
• Proverbs 21:3To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
• Hosea 6:6For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
• Micah 6:6How shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
• Matthew 18:11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
• Mark 2:17When Jesus heard it, he saith to them, They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
• Luke 5:32I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
• Luke 15:3And he spoke this parable to them, saying,
• Luke 19:10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
• Romans 3:10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Commentaries on Matthew 9:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13I will have mercy, and not sacrifice - Quoted from 1 Samuel 15:22. These are remarkable words. We may understand them as implying, 1st. That God prefers an act of mercy, shown to the necessitous, to any act of religious worship to which the person might be called at that time. Both are good; but the former is the greater good, and should be done in preference to the other. 2dly. That the whole sacrificial system was intended only to point out the infinite…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13But go ye and learn … - To reprove them, and to vindicate his own conduct, he appealed to a passage of Scripture with which they ought to have been acquainted: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,” Hosea 6:6. This is not a declaration on the part of God that he was opposed to “sacrifices” or “offerings for sin;” for he had appointed and commanded many, and had therefore expressed his approbation of them. It is a Hebrew mode of speaking, and means, “I…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-13Verses 10-13 Some time after his call, Matthew sought to bring his old associates to hear Christ. He knew by experience what the grace of Christ could do, and would not despair concerning them. Those who are effectually brought to Christ, cannot but desire that others also may be brought to him. Those who suppose their souls to be without disease will not welcome the spiritual Physician. This was the case with the Pharisees; they despised Christ, because…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13I desire mercy, not sacrifice: Jesus applies this desire of God to eating with sinners. Jesus showed mercy by eating with them. This contrasted with the Pharisees who avoided sinners. They considered their avoidance to symbolize sacrifices. Jesus exposed the Pharisees' true spiritual state. The Pharisees considered themselves to be righteous. But they were actually unrighteous and needed the Messiah to save them (Matthew 7:1–5; 8:11–12; 19:30; 20:16…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. But go ye and learn what that meaneth--(Ho 6:6), I will have mercy, and not sacrifice--that is, the one rather than the other. "Sacrifice," the chief part of the ceremonial law, is here put for a religion of literal adherence to mere rules; while "mercy" expresses such compassion for the fallen as seeks to lift them up. The duty of keeping aloof from the polluted, in the sense of "having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness," is obvious…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 9:13

• Capernaum
• Ecclesiasticism
• Formalism
• Hypocrisy
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Pharisees
• Quotations and Allusions
• Repentance
• Self-Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Bridechamber
• Call
• Capernaum
• Cheer
• Comfort
• Daughter
• Eat
• Garment
• Harvest
• Hem

Commentaries on Matthew 9

• 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