He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers!”
- KJV And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
- BSB And 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.’”
- NKJV And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
- NASB And He *said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”
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 declares that God's house should be a house of prayer but they have made it a den of robbers. He indicts the leaders for corrupting worship into exploitation.
Overview
Combining Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus condemns how the temple meant for prayer has become a place of greed and exploitation. The reference to Jeremiah recalls a warning of judgment on a corrupt temple. Jesus' words assert his authority over the temple and expose the spiritual bankruptcy of its leadership.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jer 7:11Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says Yahweh.
- Isa 56:7I will bring these to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
- Luke 19:46saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”
- Mark 11:17He taught, saying to them, “Isn’t it written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers!”
- Ps 93:5Your statutes stand firm. Holiness adorns your house, Yahweh, forever more.
- John 15:25But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’
- Matt 2:5They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 21:13 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
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