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.’
Parallel translations
- WEB “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 obligated.’
- KJV 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!
- NKJV “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. ’
- NASB “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.’
- NLT “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.’
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 calls them 'blind guides' for their hairsplitting rules about which oaths are binding. It exposes a corrupt system that evades honesty through technicalities.
Overview
The leaders had devised distinctions about oaths, treating some as binding and others as evasive loopholes. Such reasoning subverted the plain duty of truthfulness. Jesus condemns this as spiritual blindness, for it valued clever evasion over sincere integrity before God, who requires that our word simply be trustworthy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
- Matt 5:33–35Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
- Matt 23:17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
- Jas 5:12Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
- Matt 23:24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
- Matt 23:19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?
- Isa 56:10–11Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
- Matt 23:26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
- Matt 15:5–6But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
- John 9:39–41Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
- Gal 5:3Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
- Mark 7:10–13For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
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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 23:16 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.