Bible Strands
Matthew 22:6
The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the chief priests and Pharisees during His final week in Jerusalem, using a parable about a king preparing a wedding feast for his son.
The words — ὕβρισαν (hubrisan) means to treat with violent insolence, and κρατήσαντες (kratēsantes) means having seized or laid hold of, describing the guests’ physical assault on the king’s messengers.
The thread — The text records the guests’ rejection and violence, which the parable immediately links to Matthew 22:7 where the king sends troops to destroy the murderers and burn their city. This pattern of hostile rejection appears in John 15:19, where the world’s hatred targets those not of it, and Matthew 5:10, which notes persecution falls on those pursued for righteousness.
Why it lands — The passage states that dismissing divine envoys constitutes violent rebellion that triggers certain judgment. It requires the reader to treat God’s warnings as binding and to respond with immediate obedience rather than indifference.
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 remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
Cross-references
- John 15:19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
- Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 10:12 As you enter the home, greet its occupants.
- Matthew 10:22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- Matthew 21:35 But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
- Matthew 23:34 Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.
- John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
- Acts 4:1 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,
- Acts 5:40 At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.
- Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.