To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”
Parallel translations
- WEB To those who sold the doves, he said, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!”
- KJV And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
- NKJV And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
- NASB and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away from here; stop making My Father’s house a place of business!”
- NLT Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus commands that the doves be removed and that His Father's house not be made a marketplace. He claims a unique relationship to God and zeal for true worship.
Overview
Calling the temple 'my Father's house,' Jesus implicitly asserts His divine sonship while rebuking the commercialization of worship. His concern is that the place set apart for God has become a market. The cleansing reveals both His authority and His passion that God be honored rightly, pointing ahead to the worship 'in spirit and truth' He will establish.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 21:13And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- Jer 7:11Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.
- Mark 11:17Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- Isa 56:5–11I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
- Luke 2:49“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
- 2 Pet 2:14–15Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.
- Hos 12:7–8A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
- John 5:17But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.”
- 2 Pet 2:3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
- John 20:17“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
- 1 Tim 6:5and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- Acts 19:24–27It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
- John 10:29My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
- John 8:49“I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 2:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.