Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the scribes and Pharisees during his public teaching, immediately following his rebuke of their legalistic focus on minor ritual details.
The words — ὑποκριταὶ (hupokritai) literally denotes "stage actors" or those who perform righteousness publicly while concealing their true condition. καθαρίζετε (katharizete) translates directly as "you cleanse," emphasizing the active but superficial maintenance of external purity.
The thread — The cup and dish metaphor recurs in Luke 11:39, where Jesus levels the identical accusation of internal greed against the Pharisees. This external-versus-internal contrast aligns with Matthew 15:19, which identifies the heart as the actual source of defilement.
Why it lands — The text demands that a reader verify whether religious practice addresses internal moral conditions rather than merely preserving outward respectability. It requires the immediate removal of personal greed and self-indulgence before any external spiritual maintenance holds value.
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
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Cross-references
- 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.
- Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
- Isaiah 28:7 These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
- Mark 7:4 And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.