Luke 11:39

Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses a Pharisee while reclining at the table during a meal, immediately after the host expresses surprise that Jesus did not wash first.

The words — The text foregrounds νῦν (nun), meaning "now," to signal the present moment of confrontation, and ὑμεῖς (humeis), a plural pronoun directly addressing the Pharisees as a group.

The thread — The contrast between external ritual and internal corruption runs through Proverbs 30:12 on self-declared purity, Genesis 6:5 on the earth's wickedness, and Titus 1:15 where nothing is pure to the defiled and unbelieving because their minds and consciences are defiled.

Why it lands — The passage requires readers to verify that their outward religious observances do not merely mask inward greed and wickedness.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

Cross-references

Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
Proverbs 30:12 There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Luke 16:15 So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
Matthew 23:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
John 12:6 Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.
Acts 5:3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?
Acts 8:21 You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.