The gospel according to Matthew
Chapter 23
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14. ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και
φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι κατεσθιετε τας οικιας των χηρων και προφασει μακρα
προσευχομενοι δια τουτο ληψεσθε περισσοτερον κριμα “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. For this
reason, you will receive greater condemnation.[1] |
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13. ουαι δε υμιν γραμματεις
και φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι κλειετε την βασιλειαν των ουρανων εμπροσθεν των
ανθρωπων υμεις γαρ ουκ εισερχεσθε ουδε τους εισερχομενους αφιετε εισελθειν “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
Because you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. For you neither enter,
nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. |
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15. ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και
φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι περιαγετε την θαλασσαν και την ξηραν ποιησαι ενα
προσηλυτον και οταν γενηται ποιειτε αυτον υιον γεεννης διπλοτερον υμων Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you compass sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and when he is made,
you make him twice as much a son of hell[2] as yourselves. |
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16. ουαι υμιν οδηγοι τυφλοι
οι λεγοντες ος αν ομοση εν τω ναω ουδεν εστιν ος δ αν ομοση εν τω χρυσω του
ναου οφειλει “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears
by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple,
he is obligated.’ |
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17. μωροι και τυφλοι τις γαρ
μειζων εστιν ο χρυσος η ο ναος ο αγιαζων[3] τον
χρυσον Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or
the temple that sanctifies the gold? |
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18. και ος αν[4] ομοση
εν τω θυσιαστηριω ουδεν εστιν ος δ αν ομοση εν τω δωρω τω επανω αυτου οφειλει And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing;
but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated.’ |
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19. μωροι και τυφλοι τι γαρ
μειζον το δωρον η το θυσιαστηριον το αγιαζον το δωρον Fools and[5] blind! For which is
greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? |
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20. ο ουν ομοσας εν τω θυσιαστηριω ομνυει εν αυτω και εν πασι[13] τοις επανω αυτου Therefore, he who swears by the altar, swears by it
and by everything on it. |
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21. και ο ομοσας εν τω ναω
ομνυει εν αυτω και εν τω κατοικουντι[6] αυτον And he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by
him who dwells in it. |
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22. και ο ομοσας εν τω
ουρανω ομνυει εν τω θρονω του θεου και εν τω καθημενω επανω αυτου And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of
God and by him who sits on it. |
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23. ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι αποδεκατουτε το ηδυοσμον και το ανηθον και το κυμινον και αφηκατε τα βαρυτερα του νομου την κρισιν και τον ελεον[7] και την πιστιν ταυτα δε[8] εδει ποιησαι κακεινα μη αφιεναι “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have left undone the weightier matters of the
law: justice and mercy and faith. You ought to have done these and not to leave
the other undone. |
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24. οδηγοι τυφλοι οι
διυλιζοντες τον κωνωπα την δε καμηλον καταπινοντες You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow
a camel! |
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25. ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και
φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι καθαριζετε το εξωθεν του ποτηριου και της παροψιδος
εσωθεν δε γεμουσιν εξ αρπαγης και ακρασιας “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of
extortion and self-indulgence.[9] |
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26. φαρισαιε τυφλε καθαρισον
πρωτον το εντος του ποτηριου και της παροψιδος ινα γενηται και το εκτος αυτων[10]
καθαρον Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the dish[11] so that the outside of them may be clean also. |
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27. ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και
φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι παρομοιαζετε ταφοις κεκονιαμενοις οιτινες εξωθεν μεν
φαινονται ωραιοι εσωθεν δε γεμουσιν οστεων νεκρων και πασης ακαθαρσιας “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you are like whitewashed tombs that appear beautiful on the outside, but on
the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of all uncleanness. |
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28. ουτως και υμεις εξωθεν
μεν φαινεσθε τοις ανθρωποις δικαιοι εσωθεν δε μεστοι εστε υποκρισεως και
ανομιας Likewise, you also on the outside appear righteous
to men, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. |
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29. ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και
φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι οικοδομειτε τους ταφους των προφητων και κοσμειτε τα
μνημεια των δικαιων “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, |
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30. και λεγετε ει ημεν[12] εν
ταις ημεραις των πατερων ημων ουκ αν ημεν κοινωνοι αυτων εν τω αιματι των
προφητων and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our
fathers, we would not have participated with them in the blood of the
prophets.’ |
[1] NA-Text and VgSt omit verse
13 altogether. The Clementine vulgate included it. The omission of this verse
is supported by codices א, B, D, L, Z, Θ, family of manuscripts ƒ1, minuscules 33, 205, 892*,
1344, 6 old Latin codices (ita, itaur, itd, ite,
itff1 and itg1), the Syriac Sinaiticus, the Sahidic
Coptic, the middle Ӕgyptian Coptic, the Armenian,
the Georgian versions and some manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic and the
Palestinian Syriac version, Origen, Eusebius and Cyril of Alexandria. The
inclusion of the verse is supported by codices E, F, G, H, K, O, W, Y, Δgr,
Π, Σ, 0102, 0104, 0107, 0133, 0233, family of manuscripts ƒ13, minuscules 28, 157, 180,
565, 579, 597, 700, 892c, 1006, 1009, 1010, 1071, 1079, 1195, 1216,
1230, 1241, 1242, 1243, 1253, 1292, 1342, 1365, 1424, 1505, 1546, 1646, 2148,
2174, the Byzantine minuscules, 7 old Latin codices (itb, itc,
itf, itff2, ith, itl and itr1),
the Peshitta, the Harklean Syriac and the Curetonian Syriac versions, the Ethiopic and the
Slavic version, some manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic and the Palestinian
Syriac versions, the Diatessaron, Origen, Jerome, Hilary, Chrysostom, John of Damascus
and Theophylact. Jerome is cited in the apparatus as a witness for the omission,
but this is incorrect because verse 13 is found in the Latin text he used for his
commentary on Matthew. This is nothing less than the opening verse in
Chrysostom’s homily 73 on the gospel of Matthew. The idea that this verse was
imported from the parallel passages in Mark 12:40 or Luke 20:47 is highly unlikely
because the wording is different in Matthew, which is a sign of originality.
The form of the verb “κατεσθιετε” and the “δια τουτο ληψεσθε” are unique to Matthew with no parallel in Mark or
Luke. In all likelihood, this verse was accidentally lost due to a parableptic
error (ουαι υμιν γραμματεις και φαρισαιοι υποκριται οτι κατεσθιετε τας
οικιας των χηρων και προφασει μακρα προσευχομενοι δια τουτο ληψεσθε
περισσοτερον κριμα ουαι, thus missing verse 13). The Greek majuscules, Hilary, Chrysostom and Jerome
had these verses in a transposed order with verse 14 coming first and then
verse 13, which was the original sequence in Erasmus’ first and fifth editions
of the TR. Therefore, those verses have been renumbered to be more in line with
the evidence.
[2] Greek: Gehenna
[3] NA-Text reads “αγιασας” (aorist instead of present)
[4] NA-Text and P-Text read “αν”, which is supported by codices א, B, D, Θ and Theophylact. The spelling has been adjusted to conform to the NA-text.
[5] NA-Text and VgSt omit “fools
and”. The omission is supported by codices א, D, L,
Z, Θ, family of manuscripts ƒ1, minuscules 205 and 892, 9 old Latin codices, the
Curetonian Syriac, the Syriac Sinaiticus and some manuscripts of the Bohairic
Coptic version and Jerome. The inclusion is supported by codices B, C, E, F, G,
H, K, O, W, Δ, Π, Σ, 0102, 0133, 0233, family of manuscripts ƒ13, minuscules 22, 28, 33, 157,
180, 565, 579, 597, 700, 1006, 1009, 1010, 1071, 1079, 1195, 1216, 1230, 1241,
1242, 1243, 1253, 1292, 1342, 1344, 1365, 1424, 1505, 1546, 1646, 2148, 2174, the
Byzantine minuscules, 2 old Latin codices, the Peshitta, the Harklean Syriac*, the
Palestinian Syriac, the Sahidic Coptic, the middle Ӕgyptian Coptic, the Bohairic Coptic, the Armenian, the Ethiopic, the Georgian
and the Slavic version, the Arabic Diatessaron, Origen and Theophylact. The
widespread nature of the inclusion of “fools and” leaves little or no room for
positing addition of “fools and” by means of harmonization with verse 17. In
this scenario, the omission by homoeoteleuton is much more probable (μωροι και
τυφλοι, thus missing “fools and”).
[6] M-Text reads “κατοικησαντι” (aorist instead of present), which is supported by
codices C, D, E, F, G, K, L, W, Y, Z, Γ, Δ, Π, 0102, 0104, 0133, minuscules 33,
565, 579, 700, 892, 1010 and 1241. The present is supported by codices א, B, H,
S, Θ, Φ, Ω, both family of manuscripts ƒ1 and ƒ13, minuscules 28 and 1424, Coptic,
Jerome and Theophylact. Both are well supported.
[7] NA-Text reads “το ελεος” (neuter instead of
masculine)
[8] NA-Text and P-Text add “δε”, which is supported by codices B, C, K, L, M, O, W, Y, Δ, Π, Σ, Φ, 0102, minuscules 33, 157, 565, 892, 1010, the old Latin codices ita, itd and ith, the Harklean Syriac. The Sahidic Coptic version is divided. The omission is supported by codices א, D, E, F, G, Γ, Θ, 0133, both families of manuscripts ƒ1 and ƒ13, minuscules 28, 579, 700, 1241 and 1424, the middle Ӕgyptian Coptic, the Bohairic Coptic version and Theophylact. Both are well supported, but as the conjunction may have been missed by a scribal error caused by visual homoieoarcton (δε εδει, thus missing “and”) or removed for being considered superfluous, it has been put back to the Greek text and kept silent in the translation.
[9] M-Text reads “unrighteousness”
(Gr.: “αδικιας”), which is supported by
codices C, E, F, G, H, K, Γ, minuscules 28, 157, 579, 597, 700, 1006, 1071,
1292, 1342, 1505, the Byzantine minuscules, the Peshitta, Chrysostom and
Theophylact. Self-indulgence (Gr.: “ακρασιας”) is supported by codices א, B, D,
L, Δ, Θ, 0102, both family of manuscripts ƒ1 and ƒ13, minuscules 33, 205, 565,
892, 1010, 1241, 1243, 1424, 7 old Latin codices, the Armenian, the Georgian,
the Slavic version, Origen and Basil. The word “ακρασιας” literally means “lack of
power” or “powerlessness” and occurs only here and in 1 Corinthians 7:5. There
is no occurrence of this word in the Septuagint. It seems that there was some
difficulty as to how this word was to be interpreted in this context, hence
several more specific alternatives arose possibly for the sake of a public
lesson. The vulgate of Stuttgart reads “inmunditia” (Greek equivalent: “ακαθαρσιας”), which is supported by
codices O and Σ, whose meaning is
straightforward and might have been the result of scribes looking for a similar
word in context, thinking that “lack of power” was not original. Then they
would have found “ακαθαρσιας” in verse 27 whose spelling is close. Codex W
has a conflation of “ακρασιας” with “αδικιας”, which is indicative of a
marginal note showing to scribes how to interpret the word “ακρασιας” in this context. Minuscule
180 reads “πονηριας”, which means wickedness. Codex M reads “πλεονεξιας”,
which means covetousness. All these alternatives are possible clarifications of
the meaning of “lack of power”, referring to behaviors deriving from the
inability of being strong on the side of virtue. They are good illustrations of
how the church has interpreted the original “lack of power” in the context of
the Pharisees. If “αδικιας” were original, the meaning
would have been straightforward and would not have given rise to all those
variant words in the manuscript tradition.
[10] NA-Text reads “αυτου” (neuter instead of masculine)
[11] NA-Text omits “and of the dish”.
Apart from codex D and the Caesarean
text, which are
both of secondary importance and should be used only in cumulative cases in
combination with the Alexandrian and/or the Byzantine text-types, the collective
witness of the majuscules, including codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, the minuscules
and the versions is unmistakenly against this omission, which may have come
about by visual homoeoarcton (ποτηριου και της παροψιδος, thus missing “and of the
dish”) or a scribe trying to avoid too much repetition in the text for the sake
of a public lesson by emphasizing the first element previously mentioned in
context and leaving the rest implied of a content of secondary importance in
the text.
[12] NA-Text reads “ημεθα” twice in the verse. Same verbal tense spelled differently.
[13] NA-Text and P-Text read “πασι”, which is supported by codices א and B and Theophylact. Codices D and Θ read “πασει”. “πασι” has been adopted in the Greek text.
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Notes:
1. Text in red letters are places where the original reading in the Textus Receptus has been revised and corrected;
2. The English translation used as a reference is the WEB brought to conformity as literal as possible to the Textus Receptus. The end product though is not the WEB or a revised WEB and it should not be called WEB. The content of this post is freely available to everyone and it is not supposed to be copyrighted;
3. TR: Textus Receptus. This text is not copyrighted;
4. NA-Text: Nestle-Aland text commonly known as critical text;
5. M-Text: Majority Text;
6. VgSt: Vulgate of Stuttgart;
7. WPF35: Wilbur Pickering-family 35;
8. P-Text: Patriarchal Text, also known as Patriarchal Greek New Testament, published by the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
9. The creator of the variant apparatus available in the VarApp kindly gave me permission to freely use the information contained in the material he put together.
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To God all the glory for the preservation of the scriptures! He reigns!
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