The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also? But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.”
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Luke 11:39-44 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner. The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also? But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.”
Parallel Translations
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The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.
You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also?
But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you.
But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.”
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And the Lorde sayde to him: Now do the Pharises make clene the out side of the cup and of the platter: but youre inwarde parties are full of raveninge and wickednes.
Ye foles dyd not he that made that which is without: make that which is within also?
Neverthelesse geve almose of that ye have and beholde all is clene to you.
But wo be to you Pharises for ye tithe the mynt and rewe and all manner erbes and passe over iudgment and the love of God. These ought ye to have done and yet not to have left the other vndone.
Wo be to you Pharises: for ye love the vppermost seates in the synagoges and gretinges in the markets.
Wo be to you scribes and pharises ypocrites for ye are as graves which appere not, and the men that walke over them, are not ware of them.
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And the Lord saide to him, In deede yee Pharises make cleane the outside of the cuppe, and of the platter: but the inwarde part is full of rauening and wickednesse.
Ye fooles, did not he that made that which is without, make that which is within also?
Therefore, giue almes of those thinges which you haue, and beholde, all thinges shall be cleane to you.
But wo be to you, Pharises: for ye tithe the mynt and the rewe, and all maner herbs, and passe ouer iudgement and the loue of God: these ought yee to haue done, and not to haue left the other vndone.
Wo be to you, Pharises: for ye loue the vppermost seats in the Synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
Wo be to you, Scribes and Pharises, hypocrites: for ye are as graues which appeare not, and the men that walke ouer them, perceiue not.
Cross-references (112)
- Matthew 23:23 (v42) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law:…
- Luke 12:33 (v41) Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that…
- Titus 1:15 (vv39, 41) To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience…
- Proverbs 21:3 (v42) To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.
- Luke 18:12 (v42) I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’
Show all 100 cross-references
- Luke 20:46 (v43) “Beware of those scribes who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the…
- James 1:27 (v41) Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself…
- Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (v42) Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve…
- Micah 6:8 (v42) He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Malachi 3:8 (v42) Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.
- Mark 12:38-39 (v43) In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces, and the…
- Luke 16:9 (v41) I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.
- Acts 10:15 (v41) A voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.”
- Hebrews 13:16 (v41) But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
- 1 John 4:20 (v42) If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God…
- Genesis 6:5 (v39) Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually…
- 1 Samuel 15:22 (v42) Samuel said, “Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying Yahweh’s voice? Behold, to obey is better than…
- Proverbs 14:31 (v41) He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.
- Proverbs 19:17 (v41) He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.
- Proverbs 30:12 (v39) There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness.
- Isaiah 58:7-11 (v41) Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that…
- Daniel 4:27 (v41) Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to…
- Matthew 6:1-4 (v41) “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in…
- Matthew 7:15 (v39) “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
- Matthew 23:27 (v42) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of…
- Matthew 23:27-28 (v44) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of…
- Luke 12:20 (v40) “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’
- Luke 16:15 (v39) He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men…
- 2 Corinthians 8:7-9 (v41) But as you abound in everything, in faith, utterance, knowledge, all earnestness, and in your love to us, see that you also abound in this…
- Deuteronomy 15:8-10 (v41) but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks. Beware that there not be a…
- Psalms 5:9 (v44) For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.
- Psalms 41:1 (v41) Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
- Psalms 112:9 (v41) He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor.
- Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 (v41) Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what…
- Matthew 5:42 (v41) Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
- Matthew 15:19 (v39) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
- Matthew 23:25-26 (v39) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of…
- Matthew 25:34-40 (v41) Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of…
- Luke 14:12-14 (v41) He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your…
- Luke 18:22 (v41) When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. Then you…
- Luke 19:8 (v41) Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone,…
- John 12:6 (v39) Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into…
- Acts 5:3 (v39) But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land?
- Acts 8:21-23 (v39) You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God. Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God…
- Acts 9:36-39 (v41) Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which when translated, means Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and acts of…
- 1 Corinthians 15:36 (v40) You foolish one, that which you yourself sow is not made alive unless it dies.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 (v41) For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (v41) Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each man give…
- Hebrews 6:10 (v41) For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the…
- James 2:14-16 (v41) What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in…
- James 4:8 (v39) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- 1 John 3:16-17 (v41) By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the…
- Leviticus 27:30-33 (v42) “ ‘All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh. If a man…
- Numbers 19:16 (v44) “Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven…
- 2 Chronicles 25:2 (v39) He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, but not with a perfect heart.
- 2 Chronicles 31:5-10 (v42) As soon as the commandment went out, the children of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all…
- 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 (v39) Hezekiah did so throughout all Judah; and he did that which was good, right, and faithful before Yahweh his God. In every work that he…
- Psalms 22:13 (v39) They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.
- Psalms 94:8-9 (v40) Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise? He who implanted the ear, won’t he hear? He who formed the eye,…
- Proverbs 1:22 (v40) “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?
- Proverbs 8:5 (v40) You simple, understand prudence! You fools, be of an understanding heart!
- Proverbs 26:25 (v39) When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.
- Jeremiah 4:14 (v39) Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?
- Ezekiel 22:25 (v39) There is a conspiracy of her prophets within it, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They take treasure and…
- Ezekiel 22:27 (v39) Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
- Zephaniah 3:3 (v39) Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day.
- Matthew 12:33-35 (v39) “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. You…
- Matthew 23:6-7 (v43) and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi,…
- Matthew 23:17 (v40) You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
- Matthew 23:26 (v40) You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.
- Luke 7:13 (v39) When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.”
- Luke 14:7-11 (v43) He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, “When you are invited by…
- Acts 23:3 (v44) Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck…
- Titus 2:11-12 (v42) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,…
- Genesis 1:26 (v40) God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky,…
- Genesis 2:7 (v40) Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- Numbers 16:22 (v40) They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the…
- Nehemiah 10:37 (v42) and that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, our wave offerings, the fruit of all kinds of trees, and the new wine and the oil,…
- Job 13:16-20 (v41) This also will be my salvation, that a godless man will not come before him. Listen carefully to my speech. Let my declaration be in your…
- Psalms 14:1 (v40) The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.
- Psalms 33:15 (v40) he who fashions all of their hearts; and he considers all of their works.
- Psalms 75:4-5 (v40) I said to the arrogant, “Don’t boast!” I said to the wicked, “Don’t lift up the horn. Don’t lift up your horn on high. Don’t speak with a…
- Proverbs 16:18 (v43) Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 (v42) It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also don’t withdraw your hand from that; for he who fears God will come out of them all.
- Isaiah 1:10-17 (v42) Hear Yahweh’s word, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “What are the multitude of your sacrifices…
- Isaiah 58:2-6 (v42) Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God,…
- Jeremiah 5:21 (v40) ‘Hear this now, foolish people without understanding, who have eyes, and don’t see, who have ears, and don’t hear:
- Jeremiah 7:2-10 (v42) “Stand in the gate of Yahweh’s house, and proclaim this word there, and say, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word, all you of Judah, who enter in at these…
- Jeremiah 7:21-22 (v42) Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I didn’t speak to your fathers or…
- Hosea 9:8 (v44) A prophet watches over Ephraim with my God. A fowler’s snare is on all of his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.
- Zechariah 12:1 (v40) A revelation, Yahweh’s word concerning Israel. Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the…
- Malachi 1:6 (v42) “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect…
- Malachi 2:17 (v42) You have wearied Yahweh with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in…
- Matthew 23:13 (v42) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will…
- Matthew 26:11 (v41) For you always have the poor with you; but you don’t always have me.
- Luke 24:25 (v40) He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
- John 5:42 (v42) But I know you, that you don’t have God’s love in yourselves.
- John 13:2 (v39) During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,
- Acts 10:31-32 (v41) and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your gifts to the needy are remembered in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and…
- Acts 11:29 (v41) As any of the disciples had plenty, each determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea;
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (112 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (21 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv41–44 That is, according to your abilities as who would…
That is, according to your abilities as who would say, instead of your extortions, which hindered you, that you could not eat cleanly, use charity, and accordingly as your ability shall serve you, be good to the poor, and so shall that, that is within the platter, be sanctified though the platter be unwashed.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv39–44 39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do…
39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
Ver. 39. See Mat 23:25.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv39, 41, 42, 43, 44 We have much the same, though delivered in another…
We have much the same, though delivered in another form, with a denunciation of a woe, See Poole on "Mat 23:25". We must not imagine that our Saviour here reflects upon the cleansing of vessels in which we put our meat and drink, for undoubtedly, as to them, the Pharisees washed both the inside and the outside. And the conceit of them is amiss who think that by the inward part, Luk 11:39, he means the meat in their dishes, which was gotten indeed by ravening, and wickedness, extortion, &c.; for it is a hard interpretation of the inward part of the platter, to say, by it is meant the meat in the platter; but neither doth our Saviour say, the inward part of the dish, but your inward part, by which he plainly means the soul. Our Saviour doth therefore certainly compare the Pharisees to dishes or platters washed or scoured only on the outside, and blames their hypocrisy in this, that they were mighty solicitous about an outside purity and cleanness, but for the inward purity of the heart and soul, they took no care at all about that; they were very scrupulous about undefiled hands, but nothing at all about having their souls and inward powers and affections undefiled. This he telleth them was most egregious folly, for God, that made the body, made the soul also, and therefore would exact a purity in the inward as well as the outward man, especially considering that he loveth truth in the inward parts.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv41–44 As if Christ had said, the way to purify…
As if Christ had said, the way to purify your meats, and drinks, and estates, from all pollution cleaving to them, and to have them sanctified blessings to you, is (in conjunction with other graces) by doing works of mercy, and by liberal alms-giving according to your ability.
Learn, that charity and alms-giving according to our ability and opportunity, is a special means to sanctify our estates to us, and to cause us wholly and comfortably to enjoy whatever we do possess: Give alms of such things as ye have; and behold, all things are clean unto you.
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As if Christ had said, your temporal enjoyments are unclean, that is, unlawful to be used by you, until you have sanctified them by some act of charity, which will procure a blessing upon your substance.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv39–44 But rather give alms of such things as ye…
But rather give alms of such things as ye have,.... The phrase , is variously rendered, and so furnishes out various senses: the Syriac version renders it, "give that which is", which is yours; or "which is given to you", as the Persic version, and agrees with ours, "such things as ye have"; and which carries in it but a very odd sense; for none can give of that which they have not. The Vulgate Latin version reads, "that which is over and above"; superfluous substance, and which may be easily spared without hurting a man, or his family: others, "as much as you can": according to a man's ability, and as God has prospered him in the world. The Ethiopic version renders it, "that which is necessary"; which the necessities of the poor call for, and is right and proper to give them: and the Arabic version, very foreign from the sense of the phrase, reads, "before every thing"; above all things give alms. But the true sense of it is contained in the literal version of it, "things that are within"; that is, that are within the cup and the platter; give meat and drink to the poor, your platters and cups are full of, gotten by injustice and oppression. Some read it not imperatively, "give", but indicatively, "ye do give": you oppress and defraud men, devour widows' houses, and fill your own with the spoils of others; and then give out of your cups and platters drink to the thirsty, and meat to the hungry, to make atonement for your avarice and extortion:
and behold all things are clean unto you; that is, according to their own opinion, who fancied that alms deeds justified them in the sight of God, cleansed them from their sins, delivered them from hell, and gave them a title to eternal life; See Gill on Mat 6:1 for it can never be thought to be our Lord's meaning in earnest, that either their persons, or what they had, should be pure and clean unto them, by giving a part of their ill-gotten goods to the poor; but he speaks their sense, in an ironic way. From this opinion of theirs it is, that the Hebrew word, which signifies "to be clean", is used by them for giving alms: so it is said (y), that
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"R. Jonathan and Resh Lekish went down to bathe themselves in the baths of Tiberias; and a certain poor man met them, and said unto them, , "give me alms"; they said unto him, when we come back we will , "give thee alms":''
and so the Mahometans call alms by the same name, because they imagine that they cleanse their other substance from pollution, and their souls from avarice.
(y) Vajikra Rabba, Sect. 34. fol. 174. 2. Vid. fol. 173. 3, 4. & 174. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv39, 41, 42, 44 Now ye Pharisees - Probably many of them were…
Now ye Pharisees - Probably many of them were present at the Pharisee's house. Matt. xxiii, 25.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv39–44 Verse 39. Ye - make clean the outside] See…
Verse 39. Ye - make clean the outside] See Clarke on Mt 23:25.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v43 Luk 11:43-44. Wo unto you, for ye love the…
Luk 11:43-44. Wo unto you, for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, &c. — Here he denounces the judgment of God against them for their pride, which was so excessive, that it appeared in their carriage in the streets, and at all public meetings. See on Mat 23:6-7. Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees — In this wo he joins the scribes with the Pharisees, and condemns the hypocrisy of both. For ye are as graves, &c. — Under a show of humility and contempt of the world, you are proud, voluptuous, and rapacious, and so resemble concealed graves, which are apt to pollute those who walk over them. Or, as graves appear not when overgrown with grass, so that men are not aware till they stumble upon them, and either hurt themselves, or, at least, are defiled by touching them, so your deceit, hypocrisy, and wickedness are not discovered, being hid under the appearance of strict sanctity which you put on; but, nevertheless, these your vices defile and injure many. On another occasion Christ compared them to whited sepulchres, fair without, but foul within. See on Mat 23:27-28.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv39–43 See Mat 23:25. “Ravening.” Robbery, plunder. Here the sense…
See Mat 23:25. “Ravening.” Robbery, plunder. Here the sense is that the cup and platter were filled with what had been unjustly taken from others. That is, they lived by their wickedness; their food was procured by dishonesty and extortion. This was a most terrible charge; and as it was applied, among others, to the man who had invited the Saviour to dine with him, it shows that nothing would prevent his dealing faithfully with the souls of people. Even in the Pharisee’s own house, and when expressly invited to partake of his hospitality, he loved his soul so much that he faithfully warned him of his crimes.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv41, 43, 44 But yet that which remaineth, give alms.[1] The sense…
But yet that which remaineth, give alms.[1] The sense seems not to be of what remaineth, give alms, as some expound it; but by the Greek, the sense is, give alms of what you have, i.e. of your goods, according to your abilities; and as Tobias said to his son, If thou hast much, give much; if little, give a little willingly. (Tobias iv. 9.) --- All things are clean unto you. Not that alms without other pious dispositions, will suffice to your salvation; but that other necessary virtues will be given you, by the mercies of God. (Witham) --- These are the means I propose to you to gain that interior purity I am speaking of. But will alms suffice to expiate all sorts of crimes? Is it enough for the murderer, the homicide, &c. to give alms? Undoubtedly not. Our Saviour only compares alms-deeds with the exterior washing which the Pharisees affected. As if he had said, "It is not by the washing in common water that you will take out the stains of your souls, by the works of charity. Charity will be more efficacious to cleanse you than all the waters of the rivers and of the sea." Or, according to Euthymius, if you wish to cleanse yourselves truly, bring forth worthy fruits of penance, give up ill acquired possessions; and as for the rest, redeem you sins by alms. Thus shall all things be made clean to you, as well within as without the vase. (Calmet)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Verumtamen quod superest, date eleemosynam Greek: plen ta enonta dote eleemosunen; quæ adsunt, quæ penes vos sunt. It is not Greek: to loipon, &c.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv39–44 cup and platter--remarkable example of our Lord's way of…
cup and platter--remarkable example of our Lord's way of drawing the most striking illustrations of great truths from the most familiar objects and incidents of life.
ravening--rapacity.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv39–41 39-44. On words similar to these we have annotated…
39-44. On words similar to these we have annotated in Matthew 23. That our Lord under similar circumstances should use similar thoughts and expressions, and even quote the same Scripture passage, is perfectly natural. The lawyer who has essentially the same cause to plead, though with different parties, would of course go through the same argument, quote the same authorities, and even make the same impassioned appeal to the same emotions. The popular orator in a political canvass repeats the same speech to rouse the passions of successive audiences. The physician a hundred times finds the same symptoms grouped in the same disease, and applies the same medicines. The author, even a Strauss, publishes thousands of copies of the same book. The singer, when encored, goes through the same notes and strains to excite the same feelings. Why then should not he who has once gone through with an impressive and unsurpassable train of thought, employ it a second and a third time, under precisely similar demands? Our Saviour was perpetually meeting the same sort of men, who were suffering the same diseases, and needing the same truths and dealings. The same sort of facts and teachings would therefore occur not only twice but thrice and four times.
39. The Lord said unto him—In this verse our Lord depicts, by a very impressive image, the contrast between the external ritual purity and the internal moral impurity of the pharisaical classes.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv39–44 39. Now do ye Pharisees] Doubtless other circumstances besides…
39. Now do ye Pharisees] Doubtless other circumstances besides the mere supercilious astonishment of the Pharisee led to the vehement rebuke. The eightfold woe in Matthew 23 is fuller than here. Jesus denounces their frivolous scrupulosity (39), combined with gross insincerity (42), their pride (43), and their corruption (44).
make clean the outside of the cup and the platter] Mar_7:4, “washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables.” On one occasion the Sadducees seeing them busied in washing the great Golden Candelabrum sneeringly observed that they would wash the Sun itself if they could get the opportunity.
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your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness] i.e. of greed, and of the depravity which causes it. A slightly different turn of expression is given in Mat_23:25-26. See Excursus VI. on Sects of the Jews; and compare these denunciations with those delivered in the Temple on the last day (Tuesday in Passion Week) of the Lord’s public ministry, Mat_23:25-28. The early Christian heretics reflected the character of these Pharisees in their mixture of elaborate profession with real godlessness, Tit_1:15-16.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv39–44 (39) Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside…
(39) Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup.—See Note on Mat_23:25. The verses that follow stand in the relation to the great discourse against the Pharisees in that chapter, as the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6) does to the Sermon on the Mount. Here, too, we recognise another instance, not of a narrative misplaced, but of words actually repeated. All past experiences, all faults previously noted, were gathered at last into one great and terrible invective. We note, as an instance of independence, St. Luke’s use of a different Greek word for “platter,” viz., that which is elsewhere (Mat_14:8; Mat_14:11) better translated charger, the large central dish, as distinguished from the smaller “platter” or side-dish. For the “excess” of St. Matthew, St. Luke has the more generic “wickedness.” From one point of view the words are more startling here than in their context in St. Matthew. There they are spoken as in open conflict with a class, here they are addressed to an individual member of the class, and by One whom he had invited as a guest. It must be remembered, however, that there was a touch of supercilious scorn in all these invitations, still more, perhaps, in the looks and whispers in which the wonder in this instance showed itself; and the words point to secret sins which the Searcher of hearts knew, and which it was necessary to reprove.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv39, 41, 42, 43, 44 Vers. 39, 40. And the Lord said unto him,…
Vers. 39, 40. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? Many of the words spoken on this occasion had been uttered by the Master previously. The variations in them, slight though they be, necessitate often quite a different interpretation. This helps us to come to the conclusion that in these cases the Lord must have spoken such sayings on different occasions. In this place, for instance, in the report of a similar accusation levelled against the Pharisees reported by St. Matthew, (Mat_23:25) the second clause of the verse, which treats of the outside of the cup and the platter, reads thus: but within they are full of extortion and excess." The meaning of this is while every care had been taken to purify the cup and the dish, no pains whatever had been paid to the source whence came the contents of these. They were too often the proceeds of extortion, they were too frequently consumed with self-indulgence. But here, in St. Luke, the second clause reads, "your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness." The meaning of these words is, "In spite of your extreme care for the vessels of your table, your whole moral life is unclean and defiled. Are you not," argues the Master, "fools to lay down such strict rules to avoid outward defilement, while within, in the soul, you allow all manner of wickedness? Surely God, who created the things we see and touch, created the soul also!"
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv41–42 Give alms of such things as ye have
Luk_11:41
Give alms of such things as ye have
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Christian charity
In the Revised Version the translation is--Give for alms those things that are within, and this preserves the point of the saying, which is obscured in the rendering of the Authorized Version.
Our Lord had been invited to dinner by a certain Pharisee, and had sat down to meat without the customary ritual ablutions. In the eyes of His host He sat there defiled by His refusal of the outward cleansing; and it was to teach the lesson that purity must be born within the soul and cannot come to it from without, that He spoke these words.
I. In ONE SENSE THIS PRECEPT MAKES CHARITY EASIER RATHER THAN MORE DIFFICULT. We do not all possess the things which are without--money, influence, rank, and the patronage they bring with them; and if Christ had made charity to consist in the bestowal of such things He would have made charity an impossible virtue to a large number of His disciples. But when Christ enlarges His definition of charity, when He says almsgiving does not only consist in giving money or giving anything that is external, but in giving the things that are within, He certainly seems to open this royal road to all who choose to enter it, for lives there the man so poor as to be unable to give a tear, a look, a kindly word, a touch of brotherly sympathy to his fellow-man?
II. Yet it needs hut a moments thought to discover that INSTEAD OF THIS COMMAND MAKING ALMSGIVING EASIER, IT REALLY MAKES IT MORE
DIFFICULT. For which is the easier, to give what you may have in your purse to the poor, or to give yourself; to bestow the coin that is hardly missed, or to bestow your thought, sympathy, personal interest on some sad case of misfortune and suffering?
1. Among the things that are within, we may certainly count the manner in which charity is bestowed. As John Morley remarks, It is not enough to do good; one must do it in a good way. There is more real value, both to God and man, in a little gift given in a good way, given with willingness, with cheerfulness, with gratitude for the privilege of giving, than in a great gift flung out from a stony heart, like honey out of the rock.
2. But manner is not everything. Sympathy is more than manner; and of all the inner sources of wealth which confer value on our alms, sympathy is the chief. It is one thing to give a sovereign to a a poor widow overwhelmed with trouble; it is another thing to give ourselves, our time, our sympathy, to help to lift her to a happier life, and to make her feel there is one heart that cares for her. A little while ago a poor lost girl lay dying on some filthy straw in a London slum. I know not whether any relief had been sent from the great houses near by, but if it had been given it had not touched her heart or brought hope to that darkened life. One day a Christian lady heard of the dying girl, heard the sad story of her life, and mounting the rickety stairs that led to her miserable room, found her out. She went to her side. Her first act was to stoop down and kiss her. That womanly act--that Christlike act, rather let me say, the pure touching and loving the impure--brought a flood of cleansing tears to that girls face; that act saved a lost soul. It was giving for alms of the things that were within.
3. Once again, in illustration of the inner wealth which we are to bestow on others, there is our personal service in the relief of suffering, or the increase of human joy, or the saving of the lost. Neither the manner of almsgiving nor the sympathy of the heart is enough. We must do good as well as be good. From the service of God, as expressed in the service of man, there is no exemption. You may pay a substitute to take your place in the conscriptions of earth; in the war of God against sin and suffering and ignorance, there is no vicarious service. Christ gave Himself for us; and He asks us to give ourselves to Him and to His service on earth. The Church of Christ will never save the world until, following its Divine Lord, it goes out into the dark places of the earth to seek and to save that which is lost. There is no Christian charity worth the name without sacrifice. Its lowest form is the sacrifice of money; its highest is the sacrifice of ourselves--the giving without murmuring or grudging our best for the service of God in the service of man.
4. I cannot omit from the things that are within, the inner life of Christ which He has imparted to the soul, the gospel of His redeeming love, which has made us what we are. Christ expects you to speak for Him, to be a gospel to those who know Him not. There is a preaching more eloquent than any sermon from the pulpit, and that is the message spoken, not by the minister, but by each individual Christian in his own life in the fitting season. (G. S. Barrett, B. A.)
The value of alms-giving
Instead of such things as ye have, the words ought rather to be rendered, give alms of that which is within the cup and platter, i.e., of their contents: give food and refreshment to those who need it, and behold all things are clean unto you. This is one of those very many places which assign to alms-giving (of course if practised for the approval of God, and not for vainglory) an almost expiatory value (see Luk_16:9; Act_10:4; Mat_25:34-35; 1Ti_6:17-18). Godet paraphrases it well: Do you wish, then, that these meats and these wines should not be defiled, and should not defile you? Do not think that it is enough for you carefully to wash your hands before eating; there is a surer means: let some poor man partake of them. (M. F. Sadler.)
Offertorial gifts
When we read this verse in connection with those that immediately precede it, the meaning of it appears to become clear and unquestionable. The Pharisees, in whose company our blessed Lord was sitting at meat, had remarked upon His not first washing before the dinner; for they themselves, and all the Jews, by their example, except they washed their hands often (or to the elbow) ate not, holding the tradition of the elders (Mar_7:3). Ye fools, do ye then hope to deceive God by cleansing the outside, while your reward hearts are thus full of all extortion and greediness? Nay, rather purify the inside; change ravening into mercy, and stinginess and grudging into almsgiving; and, behold, every part, both the inside and the outside, will become clean unto you. The praise of almsgiving, then, which is contained in this passage, seems to be that when it is duly done, it is better in the sight of God than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices; that it has a more cleansing efficacy than any ceremonial worship; that it is an inward cleanness, and as such is acceptable to God beyond any outward punctiliousness or exactness of service. I am led to select this topic of Christian instruction, my brethren, in addressing you today, in order to make a few observations on the benefits of the sacred offertory of the Holy Communion.
1. Let it be observed then, first, that the holy offertorial gift is a gift of peace. If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy Mat_5:23-24). How shall any one, then, who is unkind, or quarrelsome, or unforgiving, be able to offer the sacramental gift? Be it ever so small, it is the token and symbol of peace. Think, then, my brethren, whether, even in this respect only, the offertorial gift have not a very strong and important reference to your own lives and habits. Think whether there be not many ways in which you are tempted to infringe the law of Christian charity and courtesy towards one another; whether mutual kindness and considerateness, in great and small things, in matters of all sorts, in deeds, in words, in nicknames, in insults, in injury of feelings or property; whether such minute considerateness and kindly courtesy, be not a duty of which you greatly need to be sometimes reminded. And think again whether you are not apt sometimes, in treating those whom God has placed in a lower rank than yourselves in life, to offend against the same law.
2. Secondly, the offertorial gift is to be regarded as the first-fruit of alms. Whatever a man may give in alms between communion and communion is to be considered as all offered to God in the offering of this the first-fruits. Thus the little gift of the communion is, in fact, greater, even in amount, than it seems; for it represents all that a man Christianly gives for similar pious and charitable uses till his next communion. It is as the libation, sanctifying all the feast. As Christian alms then, the offertorial gift may be of most various and unconceived effects. Who knows what sorrows it may alleviate, what pains it may soothe, what wants it may supply? Who knows again how many thanksgivings it may awaken, how many prayers for blessings on the giver, what hearts it may touch to repentance? Who knows what consequences, never to be known on earth, but surely to be declared in the Judgment, a little gift with Gods good blessing on it may produce beyond our power to trace or think? how it may bring glory to God from men on earth and from rejoicing angels in the highest heavens? Thus then, in the second place, I would urge you to prize the offertorial gift as opening to you the privilege of sacred alms-giving. But I have hitherto spoken only of the outward aspects of the offertorial gift. It is to the inward ones, if I may so express myself, that the text of St. Luke particularly refers, and to which I rather desire to direct your attention. Consider, then, how many ways there are in which men need that money, in its various uses, should be sanctified to them. You know in what remarkable terms the Holy Scriptures constantly speak of money: how they seem to identify it in a very particular way with evil and the powers of evil; how our Lord calls it by the name of the unrighteous mammon, and telling His disciples that they cannot serve God and mammon, seems to put the false god of money for the evil spirit; and to say that he and his dominion are so separate and distinct from God and His kingdom, that whosoever is subject to the one cannot possibly be subject to the other also. What, then, I desire to set before you is this: that you, too, in your present state of life are beginning to be tried in respect of money; that the false god of money, the unholy mammon, solicits you in various ways, as well as those whose pecuniary trials are larger and more notorious; that you have many such dangers even now, which you must learn to escape in these early days of springing Christian strength, and that the secret of your strength and safety is to be found in your communion offerings. There, while you dedicate the little first-fruits, you must intend to sanctify the whole. There, while you directly consecrate a little, you must resolve that there shall be none unconsecrated; that Christian devotion and duty shall accompany you even in the most distant and secular uses to which the rest may be applied; that the manner of spending the rest shall be appropriate to this beginning.
3. Consider, then, how entirely inconsistent with the offering of communion gifts is all incurring of debt. How can any person venture to approach the altar of God with what he pretends to be a gift, while, in fact, the very piece of money which he offers belongs of right to another, and is not his own? Let no one, then, think that he shall honour God by making an offering at the altar of that which he owes. It is, according to the expressive idiom of the Latin, another mans money; and little indeed can we think that God will be glorified, or that blessing will follow on the gift, which is rather an additional sin than a manner of sanctifying our other actions. And let all remember that to offer at the Holy Communion is, in fact, to forswear and abandon the practice of incurring debts.
2. Think, again, of wastefulness and luxury, and consider whether you are not commonly tempted to spend money, often very hardly spared by those who supply it to you, in self-indulgence of the most wanton and needless kinds.
3. Again, how impossible it should be for one who offers a gift at Gods holy altar to be dishonest, whether that dishonesty be shown in the coarser and more unquestionable ways of theft or cheating, or in the less obvious, but not less guilty devices, whereby advantage is often unfairly taken, and some enriched to their neighbours loss!
4. And again, as connected with the last topic, consider whether it be possible for those who desire to make their offertorial gift in true earnestness and devotion, to endeavour to gain money in gambling or betting of any kind. And who that ever saw the gambling passion strongly exhibited in any person can doubt of what manner of spirit such a man is while the passion is on him--the Spirit of God, or the spirit of mammon?
5. And, lastly, let me ask you whether it be possible for one who brings his offering to the altar, and desires thereby to make all his other pecuniary dealings clean unto him, to purchase any things that are themselves unlawful, whether they be unlawful by the universal law of God, or unlawful by the laws to which they are now subject, and which they must obey, as they hope to please God in the state of life to which He has called them? Plainly, it is not possible. It would be an attempt to give God a little and Satan much. These, then, are some of the ways in which the Holy Communion offering ought to be of benefit to you in these years: so true is it that if we would act up to all the precepts and directions of the Church we should find that they bear in many unexpected ways upon our lives, and cannot be neglected without much and heavy loss. The offertory gives the sacred Church rule of spending money; and there is no part of the subject, however remote or secular, to which the rule thence derived will not apply. (Bishop Moberly.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v39 39–52. The Lord said unto him. The denunciation of…
39–52. The Lord said unto him. The denunciation of the Pharisees and lawyers contained in these verses is found in similar language in Matthew, chapter 23. That address was spoken in the temple. There is no improbability about the Lord speaking the same discourse twice to the same class of opposers. See the notes on Matt. 23:1–36. Verse 41 is peculiar to Luke. Give for alms, etc. The Pharisees were careful for the outside; careless for what was within; but the Lord says: “Give for alms the within;” i. e., let your hearts and lives be full of compassion, and it will make you clean.
Ye tithe mint. See note on Matt. 23:23.
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Ye love the uppermost seats. See note on Matt. 23:6.
Ye build the sepulchres. See notes on Matt. 23:29, 30.
Taken away the key of knowledge. Matt. 23:13, in different words, gives the thought. See note there.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v42 Luk 11:42-54. “But woe unto you Pharisees, because you…
WOES PRONOUNCED ON THE PHARISEES & THEOLOGIANS
Luk 11:42-54. “But woe unto you Pharisees, because you tithe mint, anise, and every herb, and you pass by judgment and the love of God; it behooveth you to do these things, and not to leave the others undone.” Here our Savior raised no objection against the payment of tithes on everything indiscriminately, but commends it, while He utters these withering woes against them because they neglect judgment, which includes their own conviction and justification, as well as all their dealings with others, involving the whole problem of not only personal pardon, but an upright life; then the agape i.e., the Divine love of God, which the Holy Ghost pours out in the heart (Rom 5:5), imparting the Divine nature, adoption. and sonship, involving a glorious regeneration--climaxed in the perfection of that love by entire sanctification. “Woe unto you Pharisees, because you love the front seat in the synagogues and salutations in the forums.” While Jesus condemns the brazen effrontery of these unsaved Church officers, I hope you will take no argument from it in favor of that false modesty which so often takes a back seat. “Woe unto you, because you are like tombs, unseen, and people walking over them do not know.” The tombs in that country are excavations in the rocks, or chambers built of stone, cavernous within, so that people walking over them would fall down among the dead men’s bones--a very withering illustration of the traps and pitfalls superinduced by those hypocritical Church members. “And a certain one of the theologians, responding, says to Him, Teacher, speaking these things, You indeed reproach us.” Jesus was so personal, clear, and incisive, that He made His audience feel the force of His truth. “And He said, Woe unto you theologians, because you bind intolerable burdens on the people, and you yourselves do not touch those burdens with one of your fingers.” We need not go back to the Jewish Church to find this withering accusation lamentably verified. To our sorrow, we see it all around us--clergymen living like kings; home luxuries and worldly pleasures sending their families to perdition, and they laying burdens of heavy assessments on all their members, while they themselves can not even say, with the Pharisee, “I give tithes of all that I possess.” Good Lord, deliver us from the clerical oppression here specified!
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“Woe unto you, because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers slew them. Then are ye witnesses, and consent unto the works of your fathers, because they indeed slew them, and you build their tombs.” Our Savior here turns the keen edge of His logic for the conviction of these guilty theologians and Pharisees, availing Himself of the homogeneity between the work of their fathers, who martyred the prophets, and that of themselves in building their beautiful, ornamental tombs as monuments of their love and admiration for them. History is still repeating itself. If Wesley, Knox, and Bunyan, honored as the founders of three great Protestant Churches respectively, were now on the earth, the very people who honor and eulogize them would close them out of their houses. The holiness evangelists, whose thunder and lightning the popular Churches can not stand, will all be honored by the same as soon as they die. “Therefore the wisdom of God said, I will send you prophets and apostles, and some of them they will slay and persecute, in order that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the house; yea, I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.” Zechariah here was the son of Jehoiada the priest, who had led the way in the coronation of Joash when only seven years old. So long as Jehoiada lived, Joash reigned in the fear of God, and led the people in the way of righteousness. But after the death of the holy priest, the king departed from God, and even committed the awful wickedness of slaying the son of his great benefactor. Here, Jesus affirms that the blood of all the martyrs slain from Abel down to that day will be required of that generation, illustrating the fact that God holds us responsible for our volition, and our attitude toward His cause, involving the conclusion that, if the heart is not right toward God, and in harmony with His administration, pursuant to our unholy sympathies, we actually participate in the condemnation of all our predecessors.
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE
Luk 11:52. “Woe unto you theologians, because you have taken away the key of knowledge.” What is this key of knowledge? It is the light shining on Divine truth, which enables people to understand it. “You yourselves did not enter in, and you prevented those who were entering in.” This is a grave charge, involving immeasurable responsibility. If these theologians, high priests, scribes, and Pharisees, standing at the head of the Church in the responsible capacity of popular leaders, had received Jesus, pursuant to the preaching of John the Baptist, the rank and the of the Jewish Church would have pressed into the kingdom in solid columns, the revival wave, rolling over Judea and Galilee, sweeping the whole country like a tornado, getting the whole nation ready for the sanctifying baptism of Pentecost, after which an army of evangelists would have moved out into the Gentile world like cyclones of fire, fulfilling the Commission during that generation, and actually bringing on the millennium. The same is true this day. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Jesus. If the preachers and ecclesiastical leaders would all receive Him, and His blood-washed and fire- baptized workers into the Churches, the people would follow them like sheep. Momentous is the responsibility of leadership, and terrible the havoc when the blind lead the blind. “He, going forth from thence, the scribes and Pharisees began to be exceedingly angry, and to question Him concerning many things, laying in wait to catch something from His mouth.” He had looked them in the face, and pronounced on them these withering woes, which should have convicted and brought them to repentance.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v42 A threefold woe:
A threefold woe:
v. 42. But woe unto you, Pharisees! If or ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
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v. 43. Woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets.
v. 44. Woe unto you. , scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
The Lord proceeds to characterize Pharisaism by bringing out its most objectionable features. The Pharisees were very careful and scrupulous about paying the tithe of even the smallest vegetable in their gardens, of mint, and rue, and every herb, Num 28:21; Deu 14:23. But this punctilious care did not extend to the really important virtues in life, to judgment and the love of God. Many Pharisees belonged to the Sanhedrin, the highest ecclesiastical court of the Jews; others to the local court of seven, which was found in every town. There their judgments were often unjust, partial, one-sided. And as they passed by and omitted love and faithfulness toward their neighbor, so they denied love toward God. That is the way of the Pharisees of all times, that they are painstakingly anxious in the smallest, most inconsequential things, but forget virtue and conscience in the great and important things. It is well enough to be conscientious in the little things, it was true enough that they owed that; but they most emphatically should not have left the other undone. Faithfulness in small things, but above all in the important matters of life, is required of all. And even as the Pharisees thus had a false idea of the relation of values, they possessed inordinate ambition. To occupy the seat of the elders, the place of honor in the synagogues; to receive the respectful salutations of the people in the market-places, that was the height of their ambition. And finally, they were characterized by hypocrisy and false sanctity. They were like graves without the distinguishing mark of whitewash, by which a person would be warned not to become unclean in touching them. Thus people came into daily contact with the Pharisees, not recognizing their falseness and hypocrisy, and were contaminated. Such pride, false ambition, and hypocrisy is found in all self-righteous people.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv39, 42, 43 General Information:
General Information:
Jesus begins to speak to the Pharisee using a metaphor. He compares the way they clean cups and bowls to how they clean themselves. (See: Metaphor)
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the outside of cups and bowls
Washing of the outside of containers was a part of the ritual practices of the Pharisees. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
but the inside of you is filled with greed and evil
This part of the metaphor contrasts the careful way they clean the outside of the dishes with the way they ignore their own internal condition. (See: Metaphor)
You senseless men
This expression can refer to men or women, even though all of the Pharisees to whom Jesus was speaking to here were men.
Did not the one who made the outside also make the inside?
Jesus uses a question to rebuke the Pharisees for not understanding that what is in their hearts matters to God. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "The one who made the outside also made the inside!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Give to the poor what is inside
This refers to what they should be doing with their cups and bowls. AT: "Give to the poor what is inside your cups and bowls" or "Be generous to the poor" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
all things will be clean for you
"you will be completely clean" or "you will be clean both inside and outside"
translationWords
lord
Pharisee
evil
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv39, 41, 42, 43, 44 11:39 The Pharisees had meticulous rules for ceremonially cleaning…
11:39 The Pharisees had meticulous rules for ceremonially cleaning cups and utensils for religious purity. Jesus accused them of cleaning only the outside of the cup (following external rules) but leaving the inside . . . filthy (keeping unrighteousness in their hearts).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.