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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Matthew 23:16 Context: "Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.'</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001a.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451a.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../vmenus/matthew/23-16.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/matthew/23-16.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="//biblehub.com/crossref/">Cross Refs</a> > Matthew 23:16</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../matthew/23-15.htm" title="Matthew 23:15">◄</a> Matthew 23:16 <a href="../matthew/23-17.htm" title="Matthew 23:17">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Context</div>      <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-16.htm" target="_top"><b>16</b></a></span>Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever swears by the temple, <i>that</i> is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-17.htm" target="_top"><b>17</b></a></span>You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-18.htm" target="_top"><b>18</b></a></span>And, Whoever swears by the altar, <i>that</i> is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-19.htm" target="_top"><b>19</b></a></span>You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-20.htm" target="_top"><b>20</b></a></span>Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears <i>both</i> by the altar and by everything on it. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-21.htm" target="_top"><b>21</b></a></span>And whoever swears by the temple, swears <i>both</i> by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-22.htm" target="_top"><b>22</b></a></span>And whoever swears by heaven, swears <i>both</i> by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. <p>      <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-23.htm" target="_top"><b>23</b></a></span>Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-24.htm" target="_top"><b>24</b></a></span>You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! <p>      <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-25.htm" target="_top"><b>25</b></a></span>Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-26.htm" target="_top"><b>26</b></a></span>You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. <p>      <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-27.htm" target="_top"><b>27</b></a></span>Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead mens bones and all uncleanness. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-28.htm" target="_top"><b>28</b></a></span>So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. <p>      <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-29.htm" target="_top"><b>29</b></a></span>Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-30.htm" target="_top"><b>30</b></a></span>and say, If we had been <i>living</i> in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in <i>shedding</i> the blood of the prophets. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-31.htm" target="_top"><b>31</b></a></span>So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-32.htm" target="_top"><b>32</b></a></span>Fill up, then, the measure <i>of the guilt</i> of your fathers. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-33.htm" target="_top"><b>33</b></a></span>You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? <p>      <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-34.htm" target="_top"><b>34</b></a></span>Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-35.htm" target="_top"><b>35</b></a></span>so that upon you may fall <i>the guilt of</i> all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-36.htm" target="_top"><b>36</b></a></span>Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. <p><font color="#000000"><b><i>Lament over Jerusalem</i></b></font><p>      <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-37.htm" target="_top"><b>37</b></a></span>Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-38.htm" target="_top"><b>38</b></a></span>Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! <span class="reftext"><a href="/matthew/23-39.htm" target="_top"><b>39</b></a></span>For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, B<font size="1">LESSED IS</font> H<font size="1">E WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE</font> L<font size="1">ORD</font>! <p><br /><br /><a href="//www.lockman.org" target="_top">NASB ©1995</a><div class="vheading2">Parallel Verses</div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/matthew/23.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/matthew/23.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Woe to you blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he that shall swear by the gold of the temple, is a debtor. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/dbt/matthew/23.htm">Darby Bible Translation</a></span><br />Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/matthew/23.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/matthew/23.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Woe to you, ye blind guides, who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wey/matthew/23.htm">Weymouth New Testament</a></span><br />"Alas for you, you blind guides, who say, "'Whoever swears by the Sanctuary it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Sanctuary, is bound by the oath.'<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/matthew/23.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />"Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.'<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/matthew/23.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> 'Woe to you, blind guides, who are saying, Whoever may swear by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever may swear by the gold of the sanctuary -- is debtor!<div class="vheading2">Library</div><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/paley/evidences_of_christianity/chapter_ii_the_morality_of.htm">The Morality of the Gospel. </a><br></span><span class="snippet">Is stating the morality of the Gospel as an argument of its truth, I am willing to admit two points; first, that the teaching of morality was not the primary design of the mission; secondly, that morality, neither in the Gospel, nor in any other book, can be a subject, properly speaking, of discovery. If I were to describe in a very few words the scope of Christianity as a revelation, [49] I should say that it was to influence the conduct of human life, by establishing the proof of a future state <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/paley/evidences_of_christianity/chapter_ii_the_morality_of.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">William Paley—</span><span class="citation2">Evidences of Christianity</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/mcgarvey/the_four-fold_gospel/cx_jesus_last_public_discourse.htm">Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees. </a><br></span><span class="snippet">(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/mcgarvey/the_four-fold_gospel/cx_jesus_last_public_discourse.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">J. W. McGarvey—</span><span class="citation2">The Four-Fold Gospel</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/tolstoy/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you/chapter_iii_christianity_misunderstood_by.htm">Christianity Misunderstood by Believers. </a><br></span><span class="snippet">Meaning of Christian Doctrine, Understood by a Minority, has Become Completely Incomprehensible for the Majority of Men-- Reason of this to be Found in Misinterpretation of Christianity and Mistaken Conviction of Believers and Unbelievers Alike that they Understand it--The Meaning of Christianity Obscured for Believers by the Church--The First Appearance of Christ's Teaching--Its Essence and Difference from Heathen Religions-- Christianity not Fully Comprehended at the Beginning, Became More and <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/tolstoy/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you/chapter_iii_christianity_misunderstood_by.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">Leo Tolstoy—</span><span class="citation2">The Kingdom of God is within you</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/renan/the_life_of_jesus/chapter_xiii_first_attempts_on.htm">First Attempts on Jerusalem. </a><br></span><span class="snippet">Jesus, almost every year, went to Jerusalem for the feast of the passover. The details of these journeys are little known, for the synoptics do not speak of them,[1] and the notes of the fourth Gospel are very confused on this point.[2] It was, it appears, in the year 31, and certainly after the death of John, that the most important of the visits of Jesus to Jerusalem took place. Many of the disciples followed him. Although Jesus attached from that time little value to the pilgrimage, he conformed <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/renan/the_life_of_jesus/chapter_xiii_first_attempts_on.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">Ernest Renan—</span><span class="citation2">The Life of Jesus</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/on_continence/section_4_for_which_cause.htm">For which Cause Our Lord Himself Also with his Own Mouth Saith...</a><br></span><span class="snippet">4. For which cause our Lord Himself also with His own mouth saith, "Cleanse what are within, and what are without will be clean." [1813] And, also, in another place, when He was refuting the foolish speeches of the Jews, in that they spake evil against His disciples, eating with unwashen hands; "Not what entereth into the mouth," said He, "defileth the man: but what cometh forth out of the mouth, that defileth the man." [1814] Which sentence, if the whole of it be taken of the mouth of the body, <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/on_continence/section_4_for_which_cause.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">St. Augustine—</span><span class="citation2">On Continence</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/edersheim/sketches_of_jewish_social_life/chapter_15_relation_of_the.htm">Relation of the Pharisees to the Sadducees and Essenes, and to the Gospel of Christ</a><br></span><span class="snippet">On taking a retrospective view of Pharisaism, as we have described it, there is a saying of our Lord which at first sight seems almost unaccountable. Yet it is clear and emphatic. "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do" (Matt 23:3). But if the early disciples were not to break at once and for ever with the Jewish community, such a direction was absolutely needful. For, though the Pharisees were only "an order," Pharisaism, like modern Ultramontanism, had not only become <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/edersheim/sketches_of_jewish_social_life/chapter_15_relation_of_the.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">Alfred Edersheim—</span><span class="citation2">Sketches of Jewish Social Life</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/edersheim/sketches_of_jewish_social_life/chapter_13_among_the_people.htm">Among the People, and with the Pharisees</a><br></span><span class="snippet">It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/edersheim/sketches_of_jewish_social_life/chapter_13_among_the_people.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">Alfred Edersheim—</span><span class="citation2">Sketches of Jewish Social Life</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/anonymous/the_general_menaion/chapter_vii_the_general_service.htm">The General Service to a Prophet. </a><br></span><span class="snippet">At the Vespers, for O Lord, I have cried, the Stichera, Tone 4. Similar to: Called from above... Thou that hast in the purity of thy mind received the reflex of the God-emitted light and wast the herald of the divine words and seer and divine prophet, thou appearedst as the God-moved mouth of the Spirit, conveying that which was shewn by Him unto thee, O all-honoured (mentioned by name), and declaring unto all the peoples the salvation that was being granted and the Kingdom of Christ; do entreat <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/anonymous/the_general_menaion/chapter_vii_the_general_service.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">Anonymous—</span><span class="citation2">The General Menaion</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/white/the_great_controversy/chapter_35_liberty_of_conscience.htm">Liberty of Conscience Threatened</a><br></span><span class="snippet">Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the ascendancy, and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in order to gain influence, there is an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a little concession on our part <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/white/the_great_controversy/chapter_35_liberty_of_conscience.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">Ellen Gould White—</span><span class="citation2">The Great Controversy</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/calvin/the_institutes_of_the_christian_religion/chapter_10_of_the_power.htm">Of the Power of Making Laws. The Cruelty of the Pope and his Adherents, in this Respect, in Tyrannically Oppressing and Destroying Souls. </a><br></span><span class="snippet">1. The power of the Church in enacting laws. This made a source of human traditions. Impiety of these traditions. 2. Many of the Papistical traditions not only difficult, but impossible to be observed. 3. That the question may be more conveniently explained, nature of conscience must be defined. 4. Definition of conscience explained. Examples in illustration of the definition. 5. Paul's doctrine of submission to magistrates for conscience sake, gives no countenance to the Popish doctrine of the obligation <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/calvin/the_institutes_of_the_christian_religion/chapter_10_of_the_power.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">John Calvin—</span><span class="citation2">The Institutes of the Christian Religion</span><p><span class="headingtext"><a href="//christianbookshelf.org/stalker/the_life_of_st_paul/hints_to_teachers_and_questions.htm">Hints to Teachers and Questions for Pupils</a><br></span><span class="snippet">Teacher's Apparatus.--English theology has no juster cause for pride than the books it has produced on the Life of Paul. Perhaps there is no other subject in which it has so outdistanced all rivals. Conybeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of St. Paul will probably always keep the foremost place; in many respects it is nearly perfect; and a teacher who has mastered it will be sufficiently equipped for his work and require no other help. The works of Lewin and Farrar are written on the same lines; <a href="//christianbookshelf.org/stalker/the_life_of_st_paul/hints_to_teachers_and_questions.htm" title="continued">…</a><br></span><span class="citation">James Stalker et al—</span><span class="citation2">The Life of St. Paul</span><p><div class="vheading2">Links</div><a href="/niv/matthew/23-16.htm">Matthew 23:16 NIV</a> • <a href="/nlt/matthew/23-16.htm">Matthew 23:16 NLT</a> • <a href="/esv/matthew/23-16.htm">Matthew 23:16 ESV</a> • <a href="/nasb/matthew/23-16.htm">Matthew 23:16 NASB</a> • <a href="/kjv/matthew/23-16.htm">Matthew 23:16 KJV</a> • <a href="//bibleapps.com/matthew/23-16.htm">Matthew 23:16 Bible Apps</a> • <a href="/matthew/23-16.htm">Matthew 23:16 Parallel</a> • <a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../matthew/23-15.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Matthew 23:15"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Matthew 23:15" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../matthew/23-17.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Matthew 23:17"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Matthew 23:17" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mp/matthew/23-16.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><br /><br /><iframe src="//biblemenus.com/adframebhbl.htm" width="122" height="250" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div> <div id="bot"><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><br /><br /></div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhparnew.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></body></html>