马太福音 23:6

Chinese NCV (Simplified)

他們喜歡筵席上的首位、會堂裡的高位；

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
喜 爱 筵 席 上 的 首 座 ， 会 堂 里 的 高 位 ，

Contextual Overview

¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his followers, ² "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says. ³ So you should obey and follow whatever they tell you, but their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they themselves don't do them. ⁴ They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them, but they are unwilling to help those who struggle under the weight of their rules. ⁵ "They do good things so that other people will see them. They enlarge the little boxes holding Scriptures that they wear, and they make their special prayer clothes very long. ⁶ Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the most important seats at feasts and in the synagogues. ⁷ They love people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces, and they love to have people call them ‘Teacher.' ⁸ "But you must not be called ‘Teacher,' because you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters together. ⁹ And don't call any person on earth ‘Father,' because you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And you should not be called ‘Master,' because you have only one Master, the Christ.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Matthew 20:21, Proverbs 25:6, Proverbs 25:7, Mark 12:38, Mark 12:39, Luke 11:43-54, Luke 14:7-11, Luke 20:46, Luke 20:47, Romans 12:10, James 2:1-4, 3 John 1:9

Reciprocal: Matthew 6:2 - in the synagogues Matthew 6:5 - for Luke 9:46 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 13:2
Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold.

Genesis 14:14
When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called out his 318 trained men who had been born in his camp. He led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan.

Genesis 18:12
she laughed to herself, "My husband and I are too old to have a baby."

Genesis 21:22
Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.

Genesis 23:1
Sarah lived to be one hundred twenty-seven years old.

Genesis 23:2
She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried because of her.

Genesis 23:4
"I am only a stranger and a foreigner here. Sell me some of your land so that I can bury my dead wife."

Genesis 23:5
The Hittites answered Abraham,

Genesis 24:18
Rebekah said, "Drink, sir." She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink.

Genesis 24:35
The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything, and he has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels, and horses.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And love the uppermost rooms at feasts,.... Or the first and chief places to sit, or lie down on, at ordinary meals, and especially at large entertainments, where the great ones sat, as in 1 Samuel 9:22 where Jarchi on the place observes, that by the manner of their sitting, it was known who was the greatest; and this the Scribes and Pharisees affected. With the Romans, the most honourable place was at the upper end of the table: some think it was more honourable to sit in the middle, but the master of the feast sat at the lower end; and to senior men, and who were venerable with age, or excelled in prudence and authority, the first sitting down, and the more honourable place, were given; and when the table was taken away, they used to rise first a: the middle place was the more honourable with the Numidians b, and so it seems to be with the Romans c, and also with the Jews; and this the Scribes and Pharisees loved, desired, sought for, and were pleased if they had not it. It is said d of Simeon ben Shetach, a noted Pharisee, about, or rather before the time of Christ, that having fled upon a certain account from king Jannai, he sent for him, and when he came,

"he sat himself between the king and the queen: the king said to him, why dost thou mock me? he replied to him, I do not mock thee, thou hast riches and I have learning, as it is written, "Wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence", Ecclesiastes 7:12. He said to him, but why dost thou "sit between the king and queen?" He replied, in the book of Ben Sira, it is written, "Exalt her and she shall promote thee, and cause thee to sit among princes." He ordered to give him a cup, that he might ask a blessing; he took the cup and said, blessed be the food that Jannai and his friends eat.''

Thus on account of their wisdom and learning, they thought they had a right to take the upper hand of kings themselves:

and the chief seats in the synagogues; for these were different; the seats of the senior men were turned towards the people, and the backs of them were towards the ark or chest, in which the holy books were put; and these seem to be what the Scribes and Pharisees coveted, that they might be in the full view of the people. And so says Maimonides e, "How do the people sit in the synagogues?"

"The elders sit, i.e. first, and their faces are towards the people, and their backs are to the temple, or holy place; and all the people sit in rows, and the faces of one row are to the backs of the row that is before them; so that the faces of all the people are to the holy place, and to the elders, and to the ark.''

a Alex. ab Alex. Genial Dier. l. 5. c. 21. b Sallust. Bell. Jugurth. p. 45. c Vid. Alstorph. de lect. vet. p. 117. Minut. Felix, p. 3, 4. d T. Hieros. Betacot, fol. 11. 2. Beresh. Rabba, sect. 91. fol. 78. 4. e Hilchot Tephilla, c. 11. sect. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The uppermost rooms at feasts - The word “rooms,” here, by no means expresses the meaning of the original. It would be correctly rendered the uppermost “places or couches” at feasts. To understand this, it is necessary to remark that the custom among the Jews was not to eat sitting, as we do, but reclining on couches. The table was made by “three” tables, raised like ours and placed so as to form a square, with a clear space in the midst, and one end quite open. Around these tables were placed cushions capable of containing three or more persons. On these the guests reclined, leaning on their left side, with their feet extended from the table, and so lying that the head of one naturally reclined on the bosom of another. To recline near to one in this manner denoted intimacy, and was what was meant by lying “in the bosom” of another, John 13:23; Luke 16:22-23. As the feet were extended “from” the table, and as they reclined instead of sitting, it was easy to approach the feet behind, and even unperceived. Thus, in Luke 7:37-38, while Jesus reclined in this manner, a woman that had been a sinner came to his feet “behind him,” and washed them with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. She stood on the outside of the couches. So our Saviour washed the feet of his disciples as they reclined on a couch in this manner, John 13:4-12. Whenever we read in the New Testament of “sitting” at meals, it always means reclining in this manner, and never sitting as we do. The chief seat, or the “uppermost” one, was the middle couch at the upper end of the table. This the Pharisees loved, as a post of honor or distinction.

Chief seats in the synagogues - The seats usually occupied by the elders of the synagogue, near the pulpit. The meaning is, they love a place of distinction. See the notes at Matthew 4:23.