You therefore who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn’t steal, do you steal? You who say a man shouldn’t commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who glory in the law, do you dishonor God by disobeying the law?
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Romans 2:21-23 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Indeed you bear the name of a Jew, rest on the law, glory in God, know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babies, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth. You therefore who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn’t steal, do you steal? You who say a man shouldn’t commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who glory in the law, do you dishonor God by disobeying the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written. For circumcision indeed profits, if you are a doer of the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordinances of the law, won’t his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision? Won’t the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.
Parallel Translations
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You therefore who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn’t steal, do you steal?
You who say a man shouldn’t commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
You who glory in the law, do you dishonor God by disobeying the law?
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But thou which teachest another teachest not thy selfe. Thou preachest a man shuld not steale: and yet thou stealest.
Thou sayst a man shuld not commit advoutry: and thou breakest wedlocke. Thou abhorrest ymages and robbest God of his honoure.
Thou reioysest in the lawe and thorow breakinge the lawe dishonourest God.
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Thou therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thy selfe? thou that preachest, A man should not steale, doest thou steale?
Thou that saist, A man should not commit adulterie, doest thou commit adulterie? thou that abhorrest idoles, committest thou sacrilege?
Thou that gloriest in the Lawe, through breaking the Lawe, dishonourest thou God?
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (38)
- 1 Corinthians 9:27 (v21) but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.
- Matthew 23:3-28 (v21) All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. For they bind…
- James 4:16-17 (v23) But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
- Micah 3:11 (v21) Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh,…
- Luke 12:47 (v21) That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes,
Show all 38 cross-references
- Romans 2:17 (v23) Indeed you bear the name of a Jew, rest on the law, glory in God,
- Malachi 3:8 (v22) Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.
- Luke 11:46 (v21) He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger…
- John 5:45 (v23) “Don’t think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
- Romans 3:2 (v23) Much in every way! Because first of all, they were entrusted with the revelations of God.
- Romans 9:4 (v23) who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises;
- Titus 2:1-7 (v21) But say the things which fit sound doctrine, that older men should be temperate, sensible, sober minded, sound in faith, in love, and in…
- Psalms 50:16-21 (v21) But to the wicked God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips, since you hate…
- Matthew 12:39 (v22) But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the…
- Jeremiah 5:7 (v22) “How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me, and sworn by what are no gods. When I had fed them to the full, they committed…
- Jeremiah 7:9-10 (v22) Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come…
- Jeremiah 8:8-9 (v23) “ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie. The wise men…
- Jeremiah 9:2 (v22) Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all…
- Ezekiel 22:11 (v22) One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. Another in you has humbled his…
- Ezekiel 22:12-13 (v21) In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by…
- Ezekiel 22:27 (v21) Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
- Amos 8:4-6 (v21) Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail, Saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we…
- Malachi 1:8 (v22) When you offer the blind for sacrifice, isn’t that evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, isn’t that evil? Present it now to your…
- Malachi 1:14 (v22) “But the deceiver is cursed, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a defective thing; for I am a great King,”…
- Matthew 16:4 (v22) An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” He left…
- Matthew 19:17-20 (v23) He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”…
- Matthew 21:13 (v21) He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers!”
- Mark 11:17 (v22) He taught, saying to them, “Isn’t it written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den…
- Luke 4:23 (v21) He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also…
- Luke 10:26-29 (v23) He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with…
- Luke 18:11 (v23) The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous,…
- Luke 19:22 (v21) “He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I…
- John 9:28-29 (v23) They insulted him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this…
- Acts 19:37 (v22) For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
- James 1:22-27 (v23) But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like…
- James 4:4 (v22) You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a…
- Isaiah 56:11 (v21) Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each…
- Galatians 6:13 (v21) For even they who receive circumcision don’t keep the law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (21 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv21–23 21. Thou, who then teachest another, teachest not thyself,…
21. Thou, who then teachest another, teachest not thyself, etc. Though the excellencies (encomia — commendations) which he has hitherto stated respecting the Jews, were such as might have justly adorned them, provided the higher ornaments were not wanting; yet as they included qualifications of a neutral kind, which may be possessed even by the ungodly and corrupted by abuse, they are by no means sufficient to constitute true glory. And hence Paul, not satisfied with merely reproving and taunting their arrogance in trusting in these things alone, employs them for the purpose of enhancing their disgraceful conduct; for he exposes himself to no ordinary measure of reproach, who not only renders useless the gifts of God, which are otherwise valuable and excellent, but by his wickedness vitiates and contaminates them. And a strange counselor is he, who consults not for his own good, and is wise only for the benefit of others. He shows then that the praise which they appropriated to themselves, turned out to their own disgrace.
Thou who preachest, steal not, etc. He seems to have alluded to a passage in Psalm 50:16, where God says to the wicked,
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“Why dost thou declare my statutes, and takest my covenant in thy mouth? And thou hatest reform, and hast cast my words behind thee: when thou seest a thief, thou joinest him, and with adulterers is thy portion.”
And as this reproof was suitable to the Jews in old time, who, relying on the mere knowledge of the law, lived in no way better than if they had no law; so we must take heed, lest it should be turned against us at this day: and indeed it may be well applied to many, who, boasting of some extraordinary knowledge of the gospel, abandon themselves to every kind of uncleanness, as though the gospel were not a rule of life. That we may not then so heedlessly trifle with the Lord, let us remember what sort of judgment impends over such prattlers, (logodœdalis — word-artificers,) who make a show of God’s word by mere garrulity.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–23 21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not…
21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Ver. 21. Teachest thou not thyself?] He that knows well and does worse is but as a whiner which carrieth a torch in his hand to show others his own deformities. I have read of a woman, who living in professed doubt of the Godhead, after better illumination and repentance, did often protest that the vicious life of a great scholar in that town did conjure up those damnable doubts in her soul. Neronis illud (quautus artifex pereo?) quadrabit in te peritum et periturum. That is the best sermon that is digged out of a man’s own breast. Origen’s teaching and living were said to be both one. Eusebius said that he preached not by his words only, but by his practice; and that thereby he had almost persuaded Alexander Severus the emperor to be a Christian; his mother Mammaea he fully persuaded. But Ferdinand I, emperor, complained of some divines that they were in sua ipsorum vitia fecundi satis, bitter against those vices in others which they too much favoured in themselves. {a}
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{a} Non verbis solum sed exemplis Grammatici de Ulisis erroribus disserentes suos non vident. Bern.
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 vv21–23 Teachest thou not thyself? q.d. Dost not thou thyself…
Teachest thou not thyself? q.d. Dost not thou thyself do what thou pressest upon others? see Mat 23:3.
Dost thou steal? the Jews were infamous of old for this sin, Psa 50:18; Mat 23:14.
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 v21 The apostle proceeds, to the end of this chapter,…
The apostle proceeds, to the end of this chapter, to convince the Jews, that they were equally in a sinful and wretched condition with the despised Gentiles, and therefore stood in need of Jesus Christ to justify them by his grace, as well as they: And because the Jews were so exceeding apt to dote upon, and rest in, their external privileges, he did in the foregoing verses, recount and reckon up the several privileges which they enjoyed: Thou art called a Jew, thou makest thy boast of God, &c.
But now, in the verses before us, he takes occasion to aggravate their sins committed, from their high privileges and prerogatives enjoyed, because they sinned against light and knowledge, against the convictions of their own consciences, and contradicted the dictates of their minds, as the Gentiles did: But besides all that, rebelled against the precepts of the written word, which was all in their hands. The law of Moses was near in their mouths, but far from their reins; for thus the apostle expostulates the case with them, Thou that teachest another teachest thou not thyself? Thou that undertakest to be a teahcer of, and a guide unto the ignorant and blind Gentiles, wilt thou not practice thine own instructions; but condemn thyself out of thine own mouth? "Wilt thou, Oh Jew! as if the apostle had said) be guilty of theft, adultery, sacrilege, rapine and murder, sins which the very Heathens condemn, and all this while, call yourselves the only people of God? Verily, The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you Jews, who pretend to be the favourites of heaven, whilst you do the works of hell."
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Learn hence, 1. That it is much easier to instruct and teach others, than to be instructed and receive instruction ourselves.
Learn, 2. That it is both sinful and shameful to teach others the right way and to go in the wrong ourselves. It is a double fault in a private person, when his actions run cross to his profession; but it is an inexcusable, if not an unpardonable fault in the teacher, when the crimes which he condemns in others, may be justly charged upon himself: Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?
Learn, 3. That the name of God suffers much, very much; yea, by none so much as those who preach and press the duties of Christianity upon others, but practise them not themselves. The name of the Lord is blasphemed by such preachers, the wicked profane world taking occasion from thence to wound the name of God with the poisoned arrows and darts of reproach.
The sins of teachers are teaching sins. True, sin, strictly speaking, cannot injure the name and glory of God: He is above the reach of any mischief that sin can do to him: His essential glory is perfect, and can neither be increased nor diminished by the creatures: God can no more be hurt by our sins, than the sun can be hurt by throwing stones into the air, or the moon hurt by the barking of dogs. But his manifestative glory, or the present manifestations of his glory, these are clouded and elipsed by sin; and therefore God will deal with knowing sinners, especially such as undertake to be teacher of others, as with those that have blasphemed his name, wounded his glory, trampled upon his honour, and caused his holy ways to be evil spoken of, by reason of their wicked and unholy lives. Lord, let all that administer unto thee in holy things consider, that they have not only their own sins to account for, but also the sins of their people, if committed by their profligate example.
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 vv21–23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law,.... Of…
Thou that makest thy boast of the law,.... Of their having it, which other nations had not; of their knowledge of it, which many of their own people were without, or had but a small share of; and of their keeping of it even to perfection:
through breaking of the law dishonourest thou God? sin sometimes is expressed by a word which signifies a "fall"; sometimes by another, which signifies missing of the mark, or straying from it; sometimes by another, which signifies a "contrariety to the law" of God; and here, by one which signifies a "passing over it", and the bounds which it has set, as the rule of man's obedience; and hereby God, the lawgiver, is dishonoured: for as God is glorified by good works, when rightly performed, he is dishonoured by evil ones; for his authority, as a lawgiver, is trampled upon and despised. Now persons guilty of such iniquities as here mentioned, could not be justified before God, or accepted by him on account of any works of righteousness done by them.
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 v21 Thou dost not teach thyself - He does not…
Thou dost not teach thyself - He does not teach himself who does not practice what he teaches. Dost thou steal, commit adultery, commit sacrilege - Sin grievously against thy neighbour, thyself, God. St. Paul had shown the gentiles, first their sins against God, then against themselves, then against their neighbours. He now inverts the order: for sins against God are the most glaring in an heathen, but not in a Jew. Thou that abhorrest idols - Which all the Jews did, from the time of the Babylonish captivity. Thou committest sacrilege - Doest what is worse, robbing Him "who is God over all" of the glory which is due to him. None of these charges were rashly advanced against the Jews of that age; for, as their own historian relates, some even of the priests lived by rapine, and others in gross uncleanness. And as for sacrilegiously robbing God and his altar, it had been complained of ever since Malachi; so that the instances are given with great propriety and judgment.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v21 Verse 21. Thou therefore] Dr. Taylor has paraphrased this…
Verse 21. Thou therefore] Dr. Taylor has paraphrased this and the three following verses thus: "What signify your pretensions to knowledge, and the office of teaching others, if you have no regard to your own doctrine? What are you the better for preaching against theft, if you are a thief yourself? Or for declaring adultery unlawful, if you live in the practice of it? Or for representing idolatry abominable, if you are guilty of sacrilege? What honours or singular favours do you deserve, if, while you glory in the law and your religious privileges, you dishonour God, and discredit his religion, by transgressing his law, and living in open contradiction to your profession? And this is more than supposition; notorious instances might be produced of the forementioned crimes, whereby the Jews of the present age have brought a reproach upon religion among the Gentiles; as well as those Jews of former times, of whom the Prophet Ezekiel speaks, Eze 36:23: And I will sanctify my great name, which was PROFANED among the HEATHEN, which ye have PROFANED in the midst of them."
That the Jewish priesthood was exceedingly corrupt in the time of the apostle, and that they were so long before, is fully evident from the sacred writings and from Josephus. The high-priesthood was a matter of commerce, and was bought and sold like other commodities. Of this Josephus gives many instances. The rapine of Eli's sons descended to several generations. Dr. Whitby well observes that of all these things mentioned by the apostle the Jewish doctors were notoriously guilty; and of most of them they were accused by our Lord.
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1. They said and did not; and laid heavy burdens upon others, which they would not touch with their own fingers, Mt 23:3, Mt 23:4.
2. They made the house of God a den of thieves, Mt 21:13; Joh 2:16.
3. They were guilty of adultery by unjust divorces, Mt 19:9.
4. Their polygamy was scandalous: even their rabbins, when they came to any place, would exclaim, Who will be my wife for a day?
As to idolatry, they were perfectly saved from it ever since the Babylonish captivity but to this succeeded sacrilege, as is most evident in the profanation of the temple, by their commerce transacted even within its courts; and their teaching the people that even their aged parents might be left to starve, provided the children made a present to the temple of that which should have gone for their support. According to Josephus, Bell. Jud. l. vi. c. 26, They were guilty of theft, treachery, adultery, sacrilege, rapine, and murder. And he adds, that new ways of wickedness were invented by them; and that of all their abominations the temple was the receptacle. In his Antiquities of the Jews, lib. xx. c. 8, he says: The servants of the high priests took away, by violence, the tithes of the priests, so that many of them perished for want of food. Even their own writers acknowledge that there were great irregularities and abominations among the rabbins.
So Bereshith rabba, sect. 55, fol. 54:
"Rabbi Abun proposed a parable concerning a master who taught his disciples not to pervert justice, and yet did it himself; not to show respect of persons, and yet did it himself; not to receive bribes, and yet received them himself; not to take usury, and yet took it himself. The disciple replied:-Rabbi, thou teachest me not to take usury, and yet thou takest it thyself! Can that be lawful to thee which is forbidden to me?"
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 v21 Rom 2:21-24. Thou therefore which teachest another — And…
Rom 2:21-24. Thou therefore which teachest another — And valuest thyself upon thy ability to do it, trusting therein for acceptance with God; teachest thou not thyself? — He does not teach himself, who does not practise what he teaches. This, and what follows, is mentioned, to show that the knowledge, which the scribes and doctors pretended to derive from the law, had had no manner of influence on their spirit and conduct; so that their boasting in the law, and their claim to be the teachers of the Gentiles, were very little to be regarded by the Gentiles. Dost thou steal — commit adultery — commit sacrilege — Sin grievously against thy neighbour, thyself, God. St. Paul had shown the Gentiles, first, their sins against God, then against themselves, then against their neighbours. He now inverts the order, for sins against God are the most glaring in a heathen; but not in a Jew. Thou that abhorrest idols — Which all the Jews did, from the time of the Babylonish captivity: thou committest sacrilege — Dost what is still worse, robbing him, who is God over all, of the glory which is due to him. None of these charges were rashly advanced against the Jews of that age. For (as their own historian relates) some even of the priests lived by rapine, and others in gross uncleanness. And as for sacrilegiously robbing God and his altar, it had been complained of ever since Malachi. So that the instances are given with great propriety and judgment. Thou that makest thy boast of the law — As so excellent, and thinkest it such an honour to be acquainted with it, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? — Dost thou act as if thou wert studying the declaration of his will, only to show him in a more presumptuous and contumacious manner, that thou dost not regard it? For the name of God is blasphemed — Spoken evil of, as if it countenanced and encouraged such wickedness as that in which you live, and his holy religion is brought into contempt thereby; as it is written, in your own Scriptures, concerning your fathers, whose evil deeds you so generally imitate. See the margin. We find Josephus frequently accusing the Jews of what is here laid to their charge by the apostle, saying, “What wickedness do you conceal, or hide, which is not known to your enemies? You triumph in your wickedness, strive daily who shall be most vile, making a show of your wickedness as if it were virtue.” “And thinkest thou this, O man, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God, who punishes the Gentiles, when thou art as guilty as they of acting against thy conscience, and doing that for which thine own mouth condemns thee, or, which is as bad as that which thou condemnest in them, and which also causes them to blaspheme that holy name by which thou art called! Surely after these things, so scandalously done, it will be of no advantage to thee that thou art called a Jew, or hast received the sign of circumcision.” — Whitby.
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 vv21–23 Thou therefore ... - He who is a teacher…
Thou therefore ... - He who is a teacher of others may be expected to be learned himself. They ought to be found to be possessed of superior knowledge; and by this question the apostle impliedly reproves them for their ignorance. The form of a question is chosen because it conveys the truth with greater force. He puts the question as if it were undeniable that they were grossly ignorant; compare Mat 23:3, “They say, and do not,” etc.
That preachest - This word means to proclaim in any manner, whether in the synagogue, or in any place of public teaching.
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Dost thou steal? - It cannot be proved, perhaps, that the Jews were extensively guilty of this crime. It is introduced partly, no doubt, to make the inconsistency of their conduct mere apparent. We expect a man to set an example of what he means by his public instruction.
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 vv21–22 Thou, therefore, that teachest another, teachest not thyself, &c.…
Thou, therefore, that teachest another, teachest not thyself, &c. St. John Chrysostom (hom. vi.) takes these sentences as so many interrogations; dost thou teach thyself? dost thou not steal? dost thou not commit adultery? &c. (Witham)
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 v22 thou that abhorrest idols--as the Jews did ever after…
thou that abhorrest idols--as the Jews did ever after their captivity, though bent on them before.
dost thou commit sacrilege?--not, as some excellent interpreters, "dost thou rob idol temples?" but more generally, as we take it, "dost thou profane holy things?" (as in Mat 21:12-13, and in other ways).
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 vv21–23 21-23. As if the representatives of the Jewish race…
21-23. As if the representatives of the Jewish race were before him, the apostle questions them touching the conformity of their practice to their pretences. To sustain their case as needing no Saviour their conformity must be perfect. But is it so? Theft, adultery, and sacrilege are fearlessly imputed to their race.
21. Steal—Thefts, robberies, and murders were the order of the day at the time of Paul’s writing.
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 vv21–23 21. Thou therefore, &c.] In this and the following…
21. Thou therefore, &c.] In this and the following verses St Paul does not charge every individual Rabbinist with immorality. He exposes the spirit and principles of Rabbinism, as evinced and proved only too abundantly in multitudes of lives. Not every unconverted Rabbinist was a thief or adulterer; but in one aspect or another he did not “teach himself;” allowing in his own heart principles of self-righteousness and formalism which really cut at the root of his moral teaching of others. Meantime, the Jewish malpractices of that age were terribly real, frequent, and notorious.
preachest] Lit. proclaimest: e.g. in synagogue-discourses.
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 vv21–23 (21) Therefore.—See above on Rom_2:17.
(21) Therefore.—See above on Rom_2:17.
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 vv21–23 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?…
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? The oun here does not involve an anacoluthon after the reading ei de in ver. 17, though St. Paul would not have much cared if it had been so. It serves only to sum up the lengthened protasis, and introduce the apodosis: If... dost thou then," etc.? In what follows it is not, of course, implied that all Jews who relied on the Law were, in fact, thieves, adulterers, etc., but only that the Jews as a nation were no more exempt from such sins than others; and it may be that those specified were not selected by the apostle at random, but as being such as the Jews had a peculiar evil notoriety for at that time. Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
A sermon to teachers.
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The apostle supposes a Jew to have listened complacently to the long catalogue of crimes of which the heathen world has been guilty crimes which blacken the lip to mention. And then the apostle turns strategically round upon the self-satisfied possessor of a Divine revelation to put the scathing inquiry, why he has not been freer from violations of the moral law. Advantage entails responsibility; it was inconsistent to eagerly proselytize to a religion which the preacher observed more by precept than by example. A lesson here for all teachers of the Word: let their instructions mould their own lives!
I THE WORK OF TEACHING.
1. Its possibility. It presumes that some are able and willing to teach, and that others are equally in a position to learn. Knowledge begets the desire of communication to others; truth by its dissemination enriches all, leaves none the poorer. The possession of the Scriptures constitutes a capacity in those who study to explain their meaning to others less happily situated for meditation. Besides the preachers of the gospel from the pulpit, we have a noble army of volunteers sacrificing their ease each Lord"s day to impart to the young what they themselves have learned of Christ. And the youthful mind is plastic, its heart easily impressed.
2. Its importance. Education is a work of beginnings, of seed-sowing, of filling the pockets with treasure in the shape of facts and principles to be afterwards used, applied, recognized, in fulness of meaning. The mind must be fed as well as the body, or we have dwarfed, stunted souls, miserable and corrupt. To neglect the garden is to fill it with weeds. We insufficiently value acquisitions whose worth cannot be tabulated in monetary figures. Of what priceless value is a new happy inspiring thought of God! To be led where we can get a better sight of Christ and his salvation, is surely a service for which we can in no wise adequately thank or pay our guide.
3. Its difficulty. Some hesitate to teach unless they can answer every objection which may be urged against the truth they enforce. And on religious subjects there is no end to the queries which may be started. There are many adverse influences preventing the ready reception of the facts and doctrines of Christianity, or checking the subsequent advance in learning. Recall our Lord"s parable of the sower, and its picture of the multiform ways in which sin works against the leaven of the truth. There is a roseate and there is a practical view of Sunday school work. Yet, whilst we would not forget the restlessness of the young, and the far aim of making them "wise unto salvation" so frequently hindered by unlovely homes, neither should any despair, but remember they are wielding the sword of the Spirit, and that to God all hearts are open. Let preachers think of the Lord and his apostles as failing to conquer the opposition and win the assent of all their hearers, and, instead of renouncing toil, remember that they are not responsible for success, but only for effort.
II THE REFLEX INFLUENCE OF TEACHING ON THE TEACHERS,
1. Incites to their own culture. There is the felt necessity of being in advance of the learners. The more we know and the more thoroughly and clearly we understand it, the greater the enjoyment and the success of the work. We often take pains for the sake of others which we should reject for ourselves. How can we teach if we do not instruct ourselves? There ought to be no sad hiatus between our declarations and our spiritual conduct. We must not only be finger-posts, but guides having preached to others, we ourselves become castaways." "The lore of Christ and his apostles twelve He taught, but first he followed it himself. If we are the channels of good to our fellows, it behoves us to clear away all that might impede the flowing, and defile the purity of the stream of truth from God.
2. Necessarily promotes their own improvement. Earnest sincere teaching not only demands self-culture and progress, but is certain to result therein. All Christian service is self-rewarding. "Thou shalt be served thyself, by every sense Of service which thou renderest.
Teaching clarifies our own views, enforces truth upon our own souls. Many a teacher has enjoyed prayer and realized the sweetness and significance of the Scriptures most when preparing the lesson for his scholars. The Divine plan for oblivion of our own sorrows is to become saviours to the helpless, physicians to the sick. The outrush of Christian benevolence protects against the inflow of corroding cares or pleasures. S.R.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv21–23 21. Thou therefore who teachest another. Having just described…
21. Thou therefore who teachest another. Having just described the proud claims of the Jews, he next inquires how their practice corresponds. He who teaches others how to live, does he teach himself how to live? Dost thou steal? Some of the essential principles of the law which the Jews supposed to teach to others. The decalogue forbade stealing, but the Jews were already proverbial for their tricky methods of trade.
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 vv21, 23 21. “Wherefore thou that teachest another, doest thou not…
21. “Wherefore thou that teachest another, doest thou not teach thyself?”
What a vivid picture of the preacher in the pulpit and the member in the pew, like the sign-boards, pointing out a road they never travel! “Thou who preachest not to steal, doest thou steal?” How significant this arraignment of the counterfeit professors. If you ever cheated a man out of a dollar, you stole a dollar. We send to the penitentiary the little rogues who steal a few dollars, while great thieves who have stolen their thousands serve as jurors, plead at the bar, or even encumber the judicial bench. Many serious people believe our public is now ruled by thieves who have stolen princely fortunes and risen to the dignity of mammon kings. “Thou that sayest not to commit adultery, doest thou commit adultery?” Aside from the consideration of the actual sin, in millions of cases secretly committed, when we hear Jesus say, “He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery in his heart,” what a multitude are guilty of this dark crime! “Man looks on the outside, but God looketh on the heart.”
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Glory to God for sanctification, whose consuming fires alone can exterminate heart adultery! Awful revelations and terrible ordeals await the guilty in the Judgment Day. “Thou that abominatest idolatry, doest thou rob temples?” Rome was full of costly heathen temples, adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones. The Jews were so avaricious, doubtless this accusation is not without foundation, especially if we consider the probability of their defrauding the heathens out of the offerings due their gods.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv21–23 thou therefore that teacheth another, teachest thou not thyself?…
thou therefore that teacheth another, teachest thou not thyself? [But if doers, and not hearers, are not justified, why do you put your confidence in mere hearing, and such things as are analogous to it? Since only the doers of the law are justified, why do you vainly trust that you will be acceptable because you bear the proud name of Jew ( Gal_2:15 ; Phi_3:5 ; Rev_2:9 ), rather than the humble one of Gentile? Why do you rest confidently merely because you possess a better law than the Gentiles, because you glory in the worship of the true God ( Deu_4:7 ), and in knowing his will ( Psa_147:19-20 ), and in being instructed so as to approve the more excellent things of the Jewish religion above the debauchery of idolatry? Of what avail are these things when God demands doing and not mere knowing? And of what profit is it to you if the law does give you such a correct knowledge of the truth that you are to the Gentiles, yea, even to their chief philosophers, as a guide to the blind, a light to the benighted, a wise man among fools, a skilled teacher among children? Of what avail or profit is it all if, with all this ability, you teach only others and fail to teach yourself? The apostle next shows, in detail, how truly the Jew had failed to profit by his knowledge, so as to become a doer of the law.] thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv22–23 commit sacrilege
commit sacrilege
Or, rob temples.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv21, 23 You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
Paul is using a question to scold his listeners. You can translate this as a strong statement. AT: "You teach others, but you do not teach yourself!" or "You teach others, but you do not do what you teach!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
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You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
Paul is using a question to scold his listeners. You can translate this as a strong statement. AT: "You tell people not to steal, but you steal!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?
Paul is using a question to scold his listeners. You can translate this as a strong statement. AT: "You tell people not to commit adultery, but you commit adultery!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
You who hate idols, do you rob temples?
Paul is using a question to scold his listener. You can translate this as a strong statement. AT: "You say you hate idols, but you rob temples!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
rob temples
Possible meanings are 1) "steal items from local pagan temples to sell and make a profit" or 2) "do not send to the Jerusalem temple all the money that is due to God."
translationWords
teacher
preach
adultery
false god
temple
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 vv21–22 2:21-22 Paul again uses the diatribe style to expose…
2:21-22 Paul again uses the diatribe style to expose the inconsistency of Jewish claims (see study note on 2:1-5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.