Bible Strands
Romans 2:21
you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses a Jewish interlocutor who claims authority as a law-based instructor of others. He poses this challenge during a broader argument about divine judgment and hypocritical reliance on religious knowledge.
The words — διδασκων (didaskōn) means "teaching" and σεαυτόν (seauton) means "yourself." The text literally asks whether the one who instructs another actually instructs himself.
The thread — This tension between public instruction and private conduct appears in Matthew 23:3, where teachers are told to follow their own rules but not imitate their actions, and 1 Corinthians 9:27, where Paul describes disciplining himself after preaching to others.
Why it lands — The text demands direct self-examination of one's personal conduct against the standards one publicly teaches. It requires acknowledging whether one's actions align with the moral instructions one delivers.
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
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 9:27 No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
- Matthew 23:3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
- Luke 12:47 That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
- Micah 3:11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
- Titus 2:1 But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.
- Psalms 50:16 To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?
- Luke 11:46 “Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “For you weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.
- Isaiah 56:11 Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Ezekiel 22:12 In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.