Matthew 23:13

| Matt 23 |

13 “But woe n to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you o shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you p neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. [1]

Translation Notes

[1] 23:13 Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation

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Matt. 21:1–23:39 The Messiah Asserts His Authority over Jerusalem. Jesus' authority over Jerusalem is revealed in his triumphal entry (21:1–11), actions in the temple (21:12–17), cursing the fig tree (21:18–22), debates with religious leaders (21:23–22:46), and woes pronounced on the teachers of the law and the Pharisees (23:1–39).

Matt. 23:13–36 Woes of Judgment against the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees. Jesus now addresses the scribes and Pharisees directly, declaring a series of seven “woes” upon them that echoes the criticisms he has repeated throughout his ministry. These seven woes stand in contrast to the first seven “blessings” that introduce the Sermon on the Mount and describe Jesus' true disciples (5:3–9). (For a similar list of woes, see Luke 11:37–54.)

Matt. 23:13 First woe: the shut door. The woes are a mixture of condemnation, regret, and sorrow. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees are false leaders who have drawn the people away from the kingdom of heaven instead of toward it.