Matthew 23:17

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

King James Version (1611)
Ye fooles and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the Temple that sanctifieth the gold?

King James Version
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

English Standard Version
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?

New American Standard Bible
"You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

New Century Version
You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold or the Temple that makes that gold holy?

Amplified Bible
"You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

Legacy Standard Bible
You fools and blind men! For which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold?

Berean Standard Bible
You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

Contemporary English Version
You blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

Complete Jewish Bible
You blind fools! Which is more important? the gold? or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

Darby Translation
Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold?

Easy-to-Read Version
You are blind fools! Can't you see that the Temple is greater than the gold on it? It's the Temple that makes the gold holy!

Geneva Bible (1587)
Ye fooles and blinde, whether is greater, the golde, or the Temple that sanctifieth the golde?

George Lamsa Translation
O you fools and blind! for which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

Good News Translation
Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

Lexham English Bible
Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy?

Literal Translation
Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold, or the Holy Place that sanctifies the gold?

American Standard Version
Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold?

Bible in Basic English
You foolish ones and blind: which is greater, the gold, or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

Hebrew Names Version
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

International Standard Version
You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy?Exodus 30:29;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
You senseless and blind ! for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

Murdock Translation
Ye fools, and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Ye fooles and blynde. For whether is greater, the golde, or the temple that sanctifieth the golde?

English Revised Version
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold?

World English Bible
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Ye fools and blind: for which is greater? The gold? Or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

Weymouth's New Testament
"Blind fools! Why, which is greater? --the gold, or the Sanctuary which has made the gold holy?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ye foolis and blynde, for what is grettere, the gold, or the temple that halewith the gold?

Update Bible Version
You fools and blind men: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that has sanctified the gold?

Webster's Bible Translation
[Ye] fools, and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

New English Translation
Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

New King James Version
Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies [fn] the gold?

New Living Translation
Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?

New Life Bible
You fools and blind men! Which is greater, the gold or the house of God that makes the gold holy?

New Revised Standard
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Foolish and blind! for which is, greater, The gold, or the Temple that hath hallowed the gold?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Ye foolish and blind: for whether is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

Revised Standard Version
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Ye foles and blinde? whether is greater the golde or the teple that sanctifieth ye golde.

Young's Literal Translation
Fools and blind! for which [is] greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that is sanctifying the gold?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye fooles and blynde, whether is greater? the golde, or the teple that sanctifieth the golde?

Mace New Testament (1729)
ye blind fools, which is most sacred, the treasure of the temple, or the temple that makes the treasure sacred?

Simplified Cowboy Version
You blind idiots! Which is more important: the gift, or the means by which the gift is made?

Contextual Overview

¹³ "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God's kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won't let anyone else in either. "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned. "You're hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that's nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that's serious.' What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that's nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that's serious'? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless. "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God's Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that's wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons? "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something. "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You're like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin you're total frauds. "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You build granite tombs for your prophets and marble monuments for your saints. And you say that if you had lived in the days of your ancestors, no blood would have been on your hands. You protest too much! You're cut from the same cloth as those murderers, and daily add to the death count. "Snakes! Reptilian sneaks! Do you think you can worm your way out of this? Never have to pay the piper? It's on account of people like you that I send prophets and wise guides and scholars generation after generation—and generation after generation you treat them like dirt, greeting them with lynch mobs, hounding them with abuse. "You can't squirm out of this: Every drop of righteous blood ever spilled on this earth, beginning with the blood of that good man Abel right down to the blood of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered at his prayers, is on your head. All this, I'm telling you, is coming down on you, on your generation. "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God's news! How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn't let me. And now you're so desolate, nothing but a ghost town. What is there left to say? Only this: I'm out of here soon. The next time you see me you'll say, ‘Oh, God has blessed him! He's come, bringing God's rule!'" ¹⁴Religious Fashion Shows Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit-and-polish veneer. "Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called ‘Doctor' and ‘Reverend.' "Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father'; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ. "Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God's kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won't let anyone else in either. ¹⁵ "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned. ¹⁶"You're hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that's nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that's serious.' What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that's nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that's serious'? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless. ²³"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God's Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that's wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons? ²⁵"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something. ²⁷"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You're like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin you're total frauds. ²⁹"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You build granite tombs for your prophets and marble monuments for your saints. And you say that if you had lived in the days of your ancestors, no blood would have been on your hands. You protest too much! You're cut from the same cloth as those murderers, and daily add to the death count. ³³"Snakes! Reptilian sneaks! Do you think you can worm your way out of this? Never have to pay the piper? It's on account of people like you that I send prophets and wise guides and scholars generation after generation—and generation after generation you treat them like dirt, greeting them with lynch mobs, hounding them with abuse.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ye fools: Psalms 94:8

or: Matthew 23:19, Exodus 30:26-29, Numbers 16:38, Numbers 16:39

Reciprocal: Exodus 29:37 - it shall be an Exodus 30:29 - whatsoever Leviticus 21:18 - a blind man Psalms 53:4 - Have Ezekiel 44:19 - sanctify Zechariah 11:15 - a foolish Matthew 12:6 - General Matthew 23:16 - ye blind Luke 11:40 - fools

Cross-References

Genesis 23:7
Then Abraham got up, bowed respectfully to the people of the land, the Hittites, and said, "If you're serious about helping me give my wife a proper burial, intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar. Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns, the one at the end of his land. Ask him to sell it to me at its full price for a burial plot, with you as witnesses."

Genesis 23:10
Ephron was part of the local Hittite community. Then Ephron the Hittite spoke up, answering Abraham with all the Hittites who were part of the town council listening: "Oh no, my master! I couldn't do that. The field is yours—a gift. I'll give it and the cave to you. With my people as witnesses, I give it to you. Bury your deceased wife."

Genesis 23:14
Then Ephron answered Abraham, "If you insist, master. What's four hundred silver shekels between us? Now go ahead and bury your wife."

Matthew 10:16
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.

Acts 7:16
Stephen, Full of the Holy Spirit Then the Chief Priest said, "What do you have to say for yourself?" Stephen replied, "Friends, fathers, and brothers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia, before the move to Haran, and told him, ‘Leave your country and family and go to the land I'll show you.' "So he left the country of the Chaldees and moved to Haran. After the death of his father, he immigrated to this country where you now live, but God gave him nothing, not so much as a foothold. He did promise to give the country to him and his son later on, even though Abraham had no son at the time. God let him know that his offspring would move to an alien country where they would be enslaved and brutalized for four hundred years. ‘But,' God said, ‘I will step in and take care of those slaveholders and bring my people out so they can worship me in this place.' "Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham's flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign. "But then those ‘fathers,' burning up with jealousy, sent Joseph off to Egypt as a slave. God was right there with him, though—he not only rescued him from all his troubles but brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He was so impressed with Joseph that he put him in charge of the whole country, including his own personal affairs. "Later a famine descended on that entire region, stretching from Egypt to Canaan, bringing terrific hardship. Our hungry fathers looked high and low for food, but the cupboard was bare. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and sent our fathers to scout it out. Having confirmed the report, they went back to Egypt a second time to get food. On that visit, Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers and introduced the Jacob family to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and everyone else in the family, seventy-five in all. That's how the Jacob family got to Egypt. "Jacob died, and our fathers after him. They were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb for which Abraham paid a good price to the sons of Hamor.

Colossians 4:5
Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ye fools, and blind,.... That argue after so ridiculous a manner, that make use of such thin sophistry, that everybody may see through it; who must be stupid and sottish to the last degree, and their minds foolishly blinded with avarice; as to please and satisfy themselves: with so poor a distinction; that would by no means serve them, but make against them:

for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? The temple, to be sure: for that was the seat of the divine majesty; built for him to dwell in, and in which he took up his residence; and was dedicated to his service, and in it was divine worship performed unto him. The temple was sanctified by the presence of God in it; and the gold sanctified by the temple, being devoted to the service of it: whatever holiness it had, it had it from the temple, and therefore the temple must be greater than that; and consequently it must be most extravagantly ridiculous and foolish in them, to make oaths by the gold of the temple, and gifts dedicated to its service, and on that score sanctified by it, more binding and sacred than such as were by the temple itself.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The temple that sanctifieth the gold - To sanctify is to make holy. The gold had no holiness but what it derived from the temple. If in any other place, it would be no more holy than any other gold. It was foolish, then, to suppose that that was more holy than the temple, from which it received all the sanctity which it possessed.