Bible Strands
Matthew 23:35
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks this warning to the Jerusalem religious leaders immediately after declaring that he will send them prophets and scribes whom they will kill and persecute. The statement functions as a concluding indictment before his prophetic pronouncement of judgment on the current generation.
The words — ὅπως (hopōs) carries the sense "so that" and ἔλθῃ (elthē) means "may come," together framing the impending judgment as a direct consequence of the leaders' actions. αἷμα (haima) is rendered "blood" and ἐκχυννόμενον (ekchunnomenon) means "being poured out," emphasizing the violent, unceasing nature of the martyrdoms.
The thread — The reference to Abel and Zechariah brackets the Hebrew canon, pointing to 2 Chronicles 24:20 for the latter martyrdom and Hebrews 11:4 for the former. The geographical marker "between the temple and the altar" anchors the violence to the sacred center of Jewish worship.
Why it lands — The text declares that the accumulated guilt of killing God's messengers will fall upon the present generation. It demands an honest accounting of how religious authority responds to divine warning rather than offering comfort to those who reject it.
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
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 24:20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’”
- Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
- Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:
- Genesis 4:8 Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
- Revelation 18:24 And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.
- Jeremiah 26:15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.”
- 2 Kings 21:16 Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
- 2 Kings 24:4 and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.
- Hebrews 12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- Isaiah 26:21 For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.