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Geneva Bible
Matthew 23:16
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“Woe to you, blind guides,
Woe vnto you, yee blind guides, which say, Whosoeuer shall sweare by the Temple, it is nothing: but whosoeuer shal sweare by the gold of the Temple, he is a debter.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.'
"How terrible for you! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If people swear by the Temple when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gold that is in the Temple, they must keep that promise.'
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, that is nothing (non-binding); but whoever swears [an oath] by the gold of the temple is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].'
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.'
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is obligated.'
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
You are in for trouble! You are supposed to lead others, but you are blind. You teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the temple. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gold in the temple.
"Woe to you, you blind guides! You say, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.'
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
"It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If anyone uses the name of the Temple to make a promise, that means nothing. But anyone who uses the gold that is in the Temple to make a promise must keep that promise.'
Woe to you, blind guides, for you say, Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold which is in the temple, he is guilty!
"How terrible for you, blind guides! You teach, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.'
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.'
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever swears by the Holy Place, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Holy Place is a debtor.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible.
"Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.'
"How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, 'Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused,is nothing">[fn] but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.'owes a debt">[fn]Matthew 5:33-34;">[xr]
Woe to you, ye blind guides, who say, That [fn] who sweareth by the temple, it is nothing; but if he swear by the gold which is in the temple, he is liable !
Woe to you, ye blind guides: for ye say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold that is in the temple, he is holden.
Wo be vnto you ye blynde guides: for ye say, whosoeuer doth sweare by the temple, it is nothyng: but whosoeuer sweareth by the golde of the temple, he is a detter.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.'
Wo to you, ye blind guides; who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is bound.
"Alas for you, you blind guides, who say, "`Whoever swears by the Sanctuary it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Sanctuary, is bound by the oath.'
Wo to you, blynde lederis, that seien, Who euer swerith bi the temple of God, it is `no thing; but he that swerith in the gold of the temple, is dettoure.
Woe to you, you blind guides, that say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
Woe to you, [ye] blind guides, who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.'
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'
"Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God's Temple,' but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.'
"It is bad for you, blind leaders! You say, ‘Whoever makes a promise by the house of God, his promise is worth nothing. But whoever makes a promise by the gold of the house of God, then his promise has to be kept.'
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.'
Alas for you, blind guides! that say - Whosoever shall swear by the Temple, it is, nothing, but, whosoever shall swear by the gold of the Temple, is bound:
Woe to you, blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he that shall swear by the gold of the temple is a debtor.
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
Wo be vnto you blynd gides which saye whosoever sweare by the teple it is no thinge: but whosoever sweare by the golde of the temple he offendeth.
`Wo to you, blind guides, who are saying, Whoever may swear by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever may swear by the gold of the sanctuary -- is debtor!
Wo vnto you blyndegydes, which saye: Who so euer sweareth by the temple, that is nothinge: but who so euer sweareth by the golde of the temple, he is giltie.
wo unto you, ye blind guides, who say, if any man swear by the temple he is under no obligation: but if he swear by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.
"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 blind trail guides have a day of reckonin' comin' to you too! You tell folks, 'If you give your word by the church building, it don't mean nothin'; but if you give your word by the gold in the church, you are obligated to keep it.'
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
ye blind: Matthew 23:17, Matthew 23:19, Matthew 23:24, Matthew 23:26, Matthew 15:14, Isaiah 56:10, Isaiah 56:11, John 9:39-41
Whosoever shall swear by the temple: Matthew 5:33, Matthew 5:34, James 5:12
it is: Matthew 15:5, Matthew 15:6, Mark 7:10-13
he is: Galatians 5:3
Reciprocal: Genesis 42:15 - By the life Exodus 20:7 - take Leviticus 21:18 - a blind man Numbers 30:2 - to bind Proverbs 16:22 - the instruction Isaiah 5:13 - because Isaiah 5:20 - them Isaiah 9:16 - the leaders Isaiah 42:19 - Who is blind Jeremiah 4:22 - For my Ezekiel 13:3 - foolish Hosea 4:6 - because Zechariah 5:3 - sweareth Zechariah 11:17 - Woe Malachi 2:9 - but Matthew 5:19 - shall teach Matthew 5:36 - shalt Matthew 6:23 - If Matthew 21:27 - We cannot tell Mark 1:22 - as the Mark 11:33 - We Luke 6:39 - Can John 9:40 - Are John 10:1 - He Romans 2:19 - art confident 1 Timothy 1:7 - understanding
Cross-References
My lord, hearken vnto me: ye land is worth foure hundreth shekels of siluer: what is that betweene me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
And as wee came to an ynne and opened our sackes, behold, euery mans money was in his sackes mouth, euen our money in full weight, but we haue brought it againe in our handes.
This shall euery man giue, that goeth into the nomber, halfe a shekel, after the shekel of the Sanctuarie: ( a shekel is twentie gerahs) the halfe shekel shalbe an offring to the Lord.
Golde shall not be giuen for it, neyther shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof.
And I bought the field of Hanameel, mine vncles sonne, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the siluer, euen seuen shekels, and tenne pieces of siluer.
And the shekel shalbe twentie gerahs, and twentie shekels, and fiue and twentie shekels and fifteene shekels shalbe your Maneh.
And I said vnto them, If ye thinke it good, giue me my wages: and if no, leaue off: so they weighed for my wages thirtie pieces of siluer.
Therefore whatsoeuer ye woulde that men should doe to you, euen so doe ye to them: for this is the Lawe and the Prophets.
Owe nothing to any man, but to loue one another: for he that loueth another, hath fulfilled the Lawe.
Furthermore, brethre, whatsoeuer things are true, whatsoeuer things are honest, whatsoeuer thinges are iust, whatsoeuer thinges are pure, whatsoeuer thinges are worthie loue, whatsoeuer things are of good report, if there be any vertue, or if there be any praise, thinke on these things,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Woe unto you, you blind guides,.... Meaning the same persons, the Scribes and Pharisees, as before, though not named, who pretended to be "guides of the blind", Romans 2:19 but were them selves blind, and so very unfit to be guides of others; they were as they were born, ignorant of divine things, of God in Christ, of the true Messiah, of the true meaning of the Scriptures, of the spirituality of the law, and of the Gospel of Christ; and the way of salvation by him; and their minds were blinded by the God of this world, and with a greedy, and insatiable covetousness after the things of it, of which Christ here gives an instance:
which say, whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; meaning either that it was no sin to use such an oath, or it was not binding upon a man: he might choose whether he would abide by what he swore by the temple he would do; and thus they ignorantly, and wickedly encouraged vain swearing and perjury. It was usual with them to swear by the temple: take an instance or two.
"Says R. Jochanan p, ×××××, "by the temple", it is in our hands; but what shall I do?''
The gloss upon it is;
"it is an oath by the temple of God, that it is in our power to reveal the illegitimacy of the families of the land of Israel.''
"Says R. Zechariah ben Hakatzab q, ×××¢×× ×××, "by this habitation" (meaning the temple), her hand was not removed from my hand from the time the Gentiles entered into Jerusalem, to the time they went out.''
Jarchi and Bartenora's note on it is, this is an oath. Again,
"says R. Simeon ben Gamaliel r, ×××¢×× ×××, "by this habitation"; I will not rest this night until they (doves) are sold for pence apiece.''
The gloss on it is, "he swore by the sanctuary."
But whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is guilty; or is bound, or is a debtor, to make good his oath; he cannot be excused, but must be obliged to fulfil it; or if he does not, he is guilty of perjury. This is to be understood not of the gold that covered any part of the temple; nor of the golden vessels in it; but of the gold, or money, or gifts which were offered for the service of the temple: and the sense is, that whosoever swore by "Korban", and that this, or that should be as "Korban", he should not go back from it; he was obliged to give it. This showed the covetous disposition of these men, who made nothing of oaths that were swore by the temple; but those that were made by the "Korban", or the gifts of it, were binding, because their interest was in it; it was for their gain.
p T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 71. 1. q Misn. Cetubot, c. 2. sect. 9. Juchasin, fol. 56. 1. r T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol 166. 1. Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 7. Vid. c. 6. sect. 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Whosoever shall swear ... - See the notes at Matthew 5:33-37.
The temple - See the notes at Matthew 21:12.
It is nothing - It amounts to nothing - it is not binding.
The gold of the temple - Either the golden vessels in the temple - the candlestick, etc.; or the gold with which the doors and other parts of the temple were covered; or the gold in the treasury. This, it seems, they considered far more sacred than any other part of the temple, but it is not known why.
He is a debtor - He is bound to keep his oath. He is guilty if he violates it.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 23:16. Whosoever shall swear by the gold — The covetous man, says one, still gives preference to the object of his lust; gold has still the first place in his heart. A man is to be suspected when he recommends those good works most from which he receives most advantage.
Is bound thereby, i.e. to fulfil his oath.
