Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, September 16th, 2025
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Chinese NCV (Simplified)

马太福音 23:8

然而你們不要被人稱為‘拉比’,因為只有一位是你們的老師,你們都是弟兄。

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Church;   Ecclesiasticism;   Fellowship;   Fraternity;   Hypocrisy;   Jesus Continued;   Man;   Master;   Minister, Christian;   Pharisees;   Pride;   Rabbi;   Satire;   Teachers;   Unity;   Thompson Chain Reference - Brethren;   Church;   Equality of Man;   Family;   Man;   Man's;   Names;   Spiritual;   Titles and Names;   The Topic Concordance - Calling;   God;   Greatness;   Jesus Christ;   Servants;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Call of God, the;   Pharisees, the;   Titles and Names of Saints;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Pharisees;   Rabbabbi;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Father;   Matthew, gospel of;   Synagogue;   Teacher;   Tradition;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Anger;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Church;   Supralapsarians;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Rabbi;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Judas of Galilee;   Rabbi;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Master;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Rabbi;   Salutation;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Brotherly Love;   Hypocrite;   Judas Iscariot;   Scribes;   Sin;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Ambition;   Authority in Religion;   Brethren;   Brotherhood (2);   Brotherly Love;   Children of God;   Courage;   Discourse;   Equality;   Error;   Example;   Humility;   Ideas (Leading);   Incarnation (2);   Law of God;   Man (2);   Meals;   Paradox;   Preaching Christ;   Pride (2);   Redemption (2);   Righteous, Righteousness;   Sanctify, Sanctification;   Teacher (2);   Winter ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Master;   Rabbi;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Christ;   Pharisee;   Rabbi;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Scribe;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Rabbi;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Philosophy;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Brother;   Law in the New Testament;   Master;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Peter, Simon;   Rabbi;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Brother;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Rabbi;  

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
但 你 们 不 要 受 拉 比 的 称 呼 , 因 为 只 有 一 位 是 你 们 的 夫 子 ; 你 们 都 是 弟 兄 。

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

be: Matthew 23:10, 2 Corinthians 1:24, 2 Corinthians 4:5, James 3:1, 1 Peter 5:3

one: Matthew 10:25, Matthew 17:5, Matthew 26:49, John 13:13, John 13:14, Romans 14:9, Romans 14:10, 1 Corinthians 1:12, 1 Corinthians 1:13, 1 Corinthians 3:3-5

all: Luke 22:32, Ephesians 3:15, Colossians 1:1, Colossians 1:2, Revelation 1:9, Revelation 19:10, Revelation 22:9

Reciprocal: Matthew 20:26 - it Matthew 26:18 - The Master Mark 10:43 - whosoever Mark 14:45 - Master Luke 22:26 - General John 1:38 - Rabbi John 20:16 - Rabboni Acts 6:3 - brethren 1 Corinthians 4:6 - that ye 1 Corinthians 7:23 - be Colossians 1:18 - in all Colossians 4:1 - ye 1 Timothy 5:1 - as brethren 1 Timothy 6:2 - because they are brethren Philemon 1:16 - a brother

Cross-References

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 23:3
After a while he got up from the side of his wife's body and went to talk to the Hittites. He said,
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 25:9
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. (Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite.)
1 Kings 2:17
"I know King Solomon will do anything you ask him," Adonijah continued. "Please ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite to be my wife."
Hebrews 7:26
Jesus is the kind of high priest we need. He is holy, sinless, pure, not influenced by sinners, and he is raised above the heavens.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But be not ye called Rabbi,.... Do not be ambitious of any such title, fond of it, or affect it, or be elated with it, should it be given you; nor look upon yourselves as men of power and authority over others; as having the dominion over men's faith, a power to make laws for others, impose them in a magisterial way, and bind and loose men's consciences at pleasure, as these men do:

for one is your master, even Christ; meaning himself, the true Messiah, the head of the church, King of saints, and Lord of all; who had all power in heaven and in earth, to make laws, appoint ordinances, and oblige men to receive his doctrines, and obey his commands: the word "Christ", is left out in the Vulgate Latin, the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; but is in the Arabic version, and Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and in all the ancient Greek copies Beza consulted, excepting two: no other indeed can be meant; he is the great Rabbi, and doctor, that is to be hearkened to, and the master we are all to obey:

and all ye are brethren; not merely as the descendants of Adam, but as being in a spiritual relation, the children of God, and disciples of Christ, and so have no superiority one over another: this may regard the disciples, both as believers and Christians, partakers of the same grace, and standing in the same relation to God, Christ, and one another, and having an equal right to the same privileges: and as apostles and ministers, one as such, no, not Peter, having no pre-eminence over the other, having the same commission, doctrine, and authority, one as the other.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Be not ye ... - Jesus forbade his disciples to seek such titles of distinction. The reason which he gave was that he was himself their Master and Teacher, They were on a level; they were to be equal in authority; they were brethren; and they should neither covet nor receive a title which implied either an elevation of one above another, or which appeared to infringe on the absolute right of the Saviour to be their only Teacher and Master. The direction here is an express command to his disciples not to receive such a title of distinction. They were not to covet it; they were not to seek it; they were not to do anything that implied a wish or a willingness that it should be appended to their names. Everything which would tend to make a distinction among them or destroy their parity - everything which would lead the world to suppose that there were ranks and grades among them as ministers, they were to avoid. It is to be observed that the command is that they were not to receive the title - “Be not ye called Rabbi.” The Saviour did not forbid them giving the title to others when it was customary or not regarded as improper (compare Acts 26:25), but they were not to receive it. It was to be unknown among them. This title corresponds with the title “Doctor of Divinity” as applied to ministers of the gospel; and, so far as I can see, the spirit of the Saviour’s command is violated by the reception of such a title, as really as it would have been by their being called “Rabbi.” It makes a distinction among ministers. It tends to engender pride and a sense of superiority in those who obtain it, and envy and a sense of inferiority in those who do not; and the whole spirit and tendency of it is contrary to the “simplicity that is in Christ.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 23:8. But be not ye called Rabbi — As our Lord probably spoke in Hebrew, the latter word rabbi, in this verse, must have been in the plural; but as the contracted form of the plural sounds almost exactly like the singular, the Greek writer would naturally express them both in the same letters.

None of the prophets had ever received this title, nor any of the Jewish doctors before the time of Hillel and Shammai, which was about the time of our Lord; and, as disputes on several subjects had run high between these two schools, the people were of course divided; some acknowledging Hillel as rabbi, - infallible teacher, and others giving this title to Shammai. The Pharisees, who always sought the honour that comes from men, assumed the title, and got their followers to address them by it. See on Matthew 19:3.

One is your Master — Instead of καθηγητης, guide or leader, (the common reading here, and which occurs in Matthew 23:10,) the famous Vatican MS., upwards of fifty others, and most of the ancient versions, read διδασκαλος, master. The most eminent critics approve of this reading and, independently of the very respectable authority by which it is supported, it is evident that this reading is more consistent with the context than the other,- Be not ye called MASTERS, for one is your MASTER.

Even ChristGriesbach has left this out of the text, because it is wanting in many of the most excellent MSS., versions, and fathers. Mill and Bengel approve of the omission. It might have been brought into this verse from Matthew 23:10. Our Lord probably alludes to Isaiah 54:13, All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.

Ye are brethren. — No one among you is higher than another, or can possibly have from me any jurisdiction over the rest. Ye are, in this respect, perfectly equal.


 
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