WoeΟὐαὶto you,ὑμῖνscribesγραμματεῖςandκαὶPharisees,Φαρισαῖοιhypocrites,ὑποκριταίbecauseὅτιyou buildοἰκοδομεῖτεthe tombsτοὺς τάφουςof the prophetsτῶν προφητῶνandκαὶdecorateκοσμεῖτεthe monumentsτὰ μνημεῖαof the righteous,τῶν δικαίων
Matthew 23:29
Study it in the app“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,”
With the Greek beneath
Matthew 23:29, word by word
- WoeΟὐαὶOuai
woe
Woe!: a cry of grief or of warning.
Where else “Ouai” appears- scribesγραμματεῖςgrammateis
scribe
A teacher who copied and explained the law of Moses.
Where else “grammateis” appears- PhariseesΦαρισαῖοιPharisaioi
Pharisee
Pharisee: a member of a Jewish group that kept the law of Moses and the traditions of its teachers strictly.
Where else “Pharisaioi” appears- hypocritesὑποκριταίhypokritai
hypocrite
Hypocrite: originally an actor playing a part; one who puts on a show before others.
Where else “hypokritai” appears- you buildοἰκοδομεῖτεoikodomeite
build
To raise a house, a tower or another structure, stone upon stone.
Where else “oikodomeite” appears- the tombsτάφουςtaphous
tomb
Tomb, grave.
Where else “taphous” appears- of the prophetsπροφητῶνprophētōn
prophet
Someone who speaks for God.
Where else “prophētōn” appears- decorateκοσμεῖτεkosmeite
adorn
To embellish something, make it beautiful.
Where else “kosmeite” appears- the monumentsμνημεῖαmnēmeia
monument
A tomb built to honor someone's memory.
Where else “mnēmeia” appears- of the righteousδικαίωνdikaiōn
righteous
One who lives well, as God wants.
Where else “dikaiōn” appears
Parallel passages
Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.
Woes against scribes and Pharisees
Mark 12:38-40Luke 20:45-47Luke 11:37-54
Luke 11 has similar woes at a Pharisee's meal; it is discussed whether it is the same occasion.
See them side by side
Matthew 23:1-36
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2saying, “On Moses’ seat the scribes and the Pharisees have sat down. 3So everything that they tell you, do and keep; but do not do according to their works, for they say and do not do. 4And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5And they do all their works to be seen by people; for they make wide their phylacteries and make long the tassels, 6and they hold dear the place of honor at the dinners and the first seats in the synagogues, 7and the greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people. 8But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth your father, for one is your Father, the heavenly one. 10Nor be called instructors, because your instructor is one, the Messiah. 11But the greatest among you will be your servant. 12And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 13But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are going in to go in. 14Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour the houses of widows and for show make long prayers; for this you will receive a greater condemnation. 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him a son of Gehenna twice as much as you. 16Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound.’ 17Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? 18And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound.’ 19Blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20So the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it; 21and the one who swears by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; 22and the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it. 23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe the mint and the dill and the cumin, and you have left aside the weightier things of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without leaving aside those. 24Blind guides, who strain out the gnat but swallow the camel!
38And in his teaching he was saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and to receive greetings in the marketplaces 39and the first seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at the banquets, 40who devour the houses of widows and as a pretext pray long prayers. These will receive the greater condemnation.”
45And while all the people were listening, he said to the disciples, 46“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and hold dear greetings in the marketplaces and the first seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets, 47who devour the houses of widows and as a pretext pray long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
37Now as he was speaking, a Pharisee asks him to dine with him; so he went in and reclined at table. 38And the Pharisee, seeing this, was surprised that he did not first immerse himself before the meal. 39But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. 40Fools! Did not the one who made the outside also make the inside? 41But give as alms the things inside, and look, everything is clean for you. 42But woe to you Pharisees, because you tithe mint and rue and every garden herb, and you pass over justice and the love of God; but these you ought to have done, and not neglected those. 43Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the first seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44Woe to you, because you are like the unmarked tombs, and the people who walk over them do not know it.” 45And one of the experts in the law answered and says to him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46But he said, “Woe to you experts in the law also, because you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they on the one hand killed them, and you build their tombs. 49Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the house; yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and those who were entering you hindered.” 53And as he went out from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him terribly and to make him speak about many things, 54lying in wait for him to catch something from his mouth.
The context
28So you also on the outside appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 · This verse (above)
30and you say, ‘If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets.’
To study Matthew 23 in a group
1. What it says
What does Jesus criticize the scribes and Pharisees for regarding how they burden others and how they themselves live (vv. 3–4)?
2. What it means
Why does Jesus say “the greatest among you will be your servant” (vv. 11–12)?
3. How I live it
Jesus criticizes doing things to be seen (v. 5). What good thing could you do today without anyone noticing?