Matthew 23:2

New Century Version

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses.

King James Version (1611)
Saying, The Scribes and the Pharises sit in Moses seate:

King James Version
Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

English Standard Version
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,

New American Standard Bible
saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses.

Amplified Bible
saying: "The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses' chair [of authority as teachers of the Law];

New American Standard Bible (1995)
saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

Legacy Standard Bible
saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

Berean Standard Bible
"The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.

Contemporary English Version
The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are experts in the Law of Moses.

Complete Jewish Bible
"The Torah-teachers and the P'rushim," he said, "sit in the seat of Moshe.

Darby Translation
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees have set themselves down in Moses' seat:

Easy-to-Read Version
"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the Law of Moses says.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Saying, The Scribes and the Pharises sit in Moses seate.

George Lamsa Translation
And he said to them, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the chair of Moses.

Good News Translation
"The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law.

Lexham English Bible
saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses.

Literal Translation
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down on Moses' seat.

American Standard Version
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat:

Bible in Basic English
The scribes and the Pharisees have the authority of Moses;

Hebrew Names Version
saying, "The Sofrim and the Perushim sat on Moshe' seat.

International Standard Version
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.[fn]Nehemiah 8:4,8; Malachi 2:7; Mark 12:38; Luke 20:45;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
and said to them, Upon the chair of Musha sit the scribes and the Pharishee.

Murdock Translation
and said to them: The Scribes and Pharisees sit in the seat of Moses.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Saying: The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moyses seate.

English Revised Version
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat:

World English Bible
saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses' seat.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
All things therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, observe and do;

Weymouth's New Testament
"The Scribes," He said, "and the Pharisees sit in the chair of Moses.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and seide, On the chayere of Moises, scribis and Farisees han sete.

Update Bible Version
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat:

Webster's Bible Translation
Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses's seat.

New English Translation
"The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat.

New King James Version
saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.

New Living Translation
"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.

New Life Bible
He said, "The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers have put themselves in Moses' place as teachers.

New Revised Standard
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
saying - Upon Moses' seat, have sat down, the Scribes and the Pharisees:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses.

Revised Standard Version
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
sayinge. The Scribes and the Pharises sit in Moses seate.

Young's Literal Translation
saying, `On the seat of Moses sat down the scribes and the Pharisees;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde: The scrybes & Pharises are set downe vpon Moses seate.

Mace New Testament (1729)
said, the Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses's chair.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"The hypocritical preachers and the lawyers of the Code are experts in the law of Moses.

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

Nehemiah 8:4-8, Malachi 2:7, Mark 12:38, Luke 20:46

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:13 - General Deuteronomy 19:17 - General Deuteronomy 33:10 - They shall teach 1 Chronicles 24:6 - the scribe Ezra 7:11 - a scribe Ezra 7:25 - teach ye Nehemiah 8:1 - Ezra Song of Solomon 5:7 - the keepers Zechariah 11:16 - which Matthew 5:20 - exceed Matthew 7:29 - and not Matthew 15:1 - scribes Matthew 16:1 - Pharisees Matthew 21:33 - husbandmen Mark 1:44 - show Luke 11:46 - Woe John 7:19 - yet Titus 3:1 - to be subject

Cross-References

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at the city of Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord .

Genesis 23:14
Ephron answered Abraham,

Genesis 23:15
"Sir, the land is worth ten pounds of silver, but I won't argue with you over the price. Take the land, and bury your dead wife."

Genesis 23:16
Abraham agreed and paid Ephron in front of the Hittite witnesses. He weighed out the full price, ten pounds of silver, and they counted the weight as the traders normally did.

Genesis 23:19
After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. (Mamre was later called Hebron in the land of Canaan.)

Genesis 27:41
After that Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing from Isaac. He thought to himself, "My father will soon die, and I will be sad for him. Then I will kill Jacob."

Genesis 50:10
When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they cried loudly and bitterly for his father. Joseph's time of sorrow continued for seven days.

Numbers 13:22
They went through the southern area to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak lived. (The city of Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

Numbers 20:29
and when all the people learned that Aaron was dead, everyone in Israel cried for him for thirty days.

Deuteronomy 34:8
The Israelites cried for Moses for thirty days, staying in the plains of Moab until the time of sadness was over.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Saying, the Scribes and Pharisees,.... The Persic version adds, the priests: but Christ does not here speak of the sanhedrim, or grand council of the nation, and of their legislative power; but of those that were the teachers of the people, and the interpreters of the law; and of those, who, though they corrupted the word with their glosses and traditions, yet retained some truth, and at least came nearer truth, than the Sadducees; who therefore are omitted, and only Scribes and Pharisees mentioned, who gave the literal and traditional sense of the Scriptures; of whom he says, they

sit in Moses's seat: not that they were his successors in his office as a legislator and mediator; though the Persic version reads it, "sit in the place and chair of Moses"; but they read his law, and explained it to the people: this post and place, as yet, they kept in the office they were, and were to continue; and the people were to regard them so far as they spoke consistent with the law, until it had its full accomplishment in Christ. The allusion is not to the chairs in which the sanhedrim sat in trying and determining causes, but to those in which the doctors sat when they expounded the law; for though they stood up when they read the law, or the prophets, they sat down when they preached out of them: this custom of the synagogue was observed by our Lord; see Luke 4:16.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Scribes and Pharisees - See the notes at Matthew 3:7.

Moses’ seat - Moses was the great legislator of the Jews. By him the Law was given. The office of explaining that Law among the Jews devolved on the scribes and Pharisees. In the synagogues they sat while expounding the Law, and rose when they read it. By “sitting in the seat of Moses” we are to understand authority to teach the Law; or, as he taught the nation by giving the Law, so they taught it by explaining it.