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!
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.’
- BSB 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.’
- 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 15:14Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
- Matt 5:33–35Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
- Matt 23:17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
- Jas 5:12But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
- Matt 23:24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
- Matt 23:19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
- Isa 56:10–11His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Matt 23:26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
- Matt 15:5–6But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
- John 9:39–41And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
- Gal 5:3For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
- Mark 7:10–13For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.