Matthew 23:27
New International Version
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

New Living Translation
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.

English Standard Version
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.

Berean Standard Bible
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

Berean Literal Bible
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like tombs having been whitewashed, which indeed outwardly appear beautiful, but inside they are full of bones of the dead, and of all impurity.

King James Bible
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

New King James Version
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

New American Standard Bible
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

NASB 1995
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

NASB 1977
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

Amplified Bible
“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

Christian Standard Bible
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity.

American Standard Version
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, pretenders, who are like white tombs, which from the outside appear lovely, but from within are full of the bones of the dead and all corruption!

Contemporary English Version
You Pharisees and teachers are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You're like tombs that have been whitewashed. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all filthiness.

English Revised Version
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed graves that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity.

Good News Translation
"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside.

International Standard Version
"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity.

Literal Standard Version
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you are like to whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful, and within are full of bones of dead men, and of all uncleanness;

Majority Standard Bible
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

New American Bible
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.

NET Bible
"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.

New Revised Standard Version
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth.

New Heart English Bible
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead people's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Webster's Bible Translation
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like whitened sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Weymouth New Testament
"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are just like whitewashed sepulchres, the outside of which pleases the eye, though inside they are full of dead men's bones and of all that is unclean.

World English Bible
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.

Young's Literal Translation
'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye are like to whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly indeed do appear beautiful, and within are full of bones of dead men, and of all uncleanness;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Woes to Scribes and Pharisees
26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. 27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.…

Cross References
Proverbs 26:23
Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.

Matthew 23:28
In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Luke 11:44
Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing."

Acts 23:3
Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck."

Galatians 6:12
Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.


Treasury of Scripture

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

like.

Isaiah 58:1,2
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins…

Luke 11:44
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

Acts 23:3
Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?

sepulchres.

Numbers 19:16
And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

Jump to Previous
Aces Alas Appear Beautiful Bones Curse Dead Eye False. Full Hypocrites Indeed Inside Inwardly Law Ones Outside Outward Outwardly Pharisees Pleases Resting-Places Scribes Sepulchers Sepulchres Teachers Tombs Unclean Uncleanness White Whited Whitewashed Within Woe
Jump to Next
Aces Alas Appear Beautiful Bones Curse Dead Eye False. Full Hypocrites Indeed Inside Inwardly Law Ones Outside Outward Outwardly Pharisees Pleases Resting-Places Scribes Sepulchers Sepulchres Teachers Tombs Unclean Uncleanness White Whited Whitewashed Within Woe
Matthew 23
1. Jesus admonishes the people to follow good doctrine, not bad examples
5. His disciples must beware of their ambition.
13. He denounces eight woes against their hypocrisy and blindness,
34. and prophesies of the destruction of Jerusalem.














(27) Ye are like unto whited sepulchres.--Contact with a sepulchre brought with it ceremonial uncleanness, and all burial-places were accordingly white-washed once a year, on the 15th day of the month Adar--i.e., about the beginning of March--that passers-by might be warned by them, as they were of the approach of a leper by his cry, "Unclean, unclean!" (Leviticus 13:45). The word translated "whited," means literally, "smeared with lime powder"--i.e., "whitewashed," in the modern technical sense of the word. It should be noticed that the similitude in Luke 11:44 is drawn from the graves that were not whitened, or from which the whitewash had been worn away, and over which men passed without knowing of their contact with corruption. Some have thought, indeed, that this passage also refers to graves which had lost the coat of whitewash, and were "beautiful with grass and flowers." It seems hardly likely, however, that the perfect participle would be used to describe such a state of things, and it is more probable, looking to the date above given, that our Lord pointed to some tombs that were shining in their new whiteness.

Verses 27, 28. - Seventh woe - against another form of the same hypocrisy (Luke 11:44). Whited (κεκονιαμένοις) sepulchres. Once a year, about the fifteenth of the month Adar, the Jews used to whitewash the tombs and the places where corpses were buried, partly out of respect for the dead, but chiefly in order to make them conspicuous, and thus to obviate the risk of persons incautiously contracting ceremonial defilement by touching or walking over them (Numbers 19:16). To such sepulchres our Lord compares these Pharisees, because their outwardly fair show concealed rottenness within (comp. Acts 23:3). Indeed, it might be said that their seeming exceptional purity was a warning of internal corruption, a sign post to point to hidden defilement. Obtrusive religiousness, emphatic scrupulosity, are marks of pride and self-righteousness, utterly alien from real devotion and holiness.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Woe
Οὐαὶ (Ouai)
Interjection
Strong's 3759: Woe!, alas!, uttered in grief or denunciation. A primary exclamation of grief; 'woe'.

to you,
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

scribes
γραμματεῖς (grammateis)
Noun - Vocative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1122: From gramma. A writer, i.e. scribe or secretary.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

Pharisees,
Φαρισαῖοι (Pharisaioi)
Noun - Vocative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5330: Of Hebrew origin; a separatist, i.e. Exclusively religious; a Pharisean, i.e. Jewish sectary.

you hypocrites!
ὑποκριταί (hypokritai)
Noun - Vocative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5273: From hupokrinomai; an actor under an assumed character, i.e. a dissembler

You are like
παρομοιάζετε (paromoiazete)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 3945: To resemble, be like. From paromoios; to resemble.

whitewashed
κεκονιαμένοις (kekoniamenois)
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2867: To whitewash, plaster over. From konia; to whitewash.

tombs,
τάφοις (taphois)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5028: A burial-place, sepulcher, tomb, grave. Masculine from thapto; a grave.

which
οἵτινες (hoitines)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3748: Whosoever, whichsoever, whatsoever.

look
φαίνονται (phainontai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 5316: Prolongation for the base of phos; to lighten, i.e. Show.

beautiful
ὡραῖοι (hōraioi)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5611: Fair, beautiful, blooming. From hora; belonging to the right hour or season, i.e. flourishing (figuratively).

on the outside,
ἔξωθεν (exōthen)
Adverb
Strong's 1855: (a) from outside, from without, (b) outside, both as adj. and prep; with article: the outside. From exo; external(-ly).

but
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

on the inside
ἔσωθεν (esōthen)
Adverb
Strong's 2081: From eso; from inside; also used as equivalent to eso.

are full
γέμουσιν (gemousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1073: To be full of. A primary verb; to swell out, i.e. Be full.

of dead [men’s]
νεκρῶν (nekrōn)
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3498: (a) adj: dead, lifeless, subject to death, mortal, (b) noun: a dead body, a corpse. From an apparently primary nekus; dead.

bones
ὀστέων (osteōn)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural
Strong's 3747: A bone. Or contracted ostoun of uncertain affinity; a bone.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

every
πάσης (pasēs)
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

impurity.
ἀκαθαρσίας (akatharsias)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 167: Uncleanness, impurity. From akathartos; impurity, physically or morally.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 23:27 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites! (Matt. Mat Mt)
Matthew 23:26
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