Matthew 21:23

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And when he had come into the Temple, the chief priests and those in authority over the people came to him while he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

¶Καὶ ἐλθόντι αὐτῷ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν, προσῆλθον αὐτῷ διδάσκοντι οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ, λέγοντες, Ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιεῖς; καὶ τίς σοι ἔδωκεν τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην;

Transliteration

And elthonti to him into the hieron, prosēlthon to him didaskonti the archiereis and the presbyteroi of the laou, legontes, In what exousia these things poieis? and who to you edōken the exousian this?

Grammar Details

• *elthonti*: aorist active participle, dative masculine singular - having come/when he came
• *hieron*: accusative neuter singular - temple
• *prosēlthon*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural - they came to
• *didaskonti*: present active participle, dative masculine singular - teaching
• *archiereis*: nominative masculine plural - chief priests
• *presbyteroi*: nominative masculine plural - elders
• *laou*: genitive masculine singular - people
• *legontes*: present active participle, nominative masculine plural - saying
• *exousia*: dative feminine singular - authority
• *poieis*: present active indicative, 2nd person singular - you do
• *edōken*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular - gave
• *exousian*: accusative feminine singular - authority

Word Meanings

• *elthonti*: having come/when he came/upon entering
• *hieron*: temple/sanctuary
• *prosēlthon*: came to/approached
• *didaskonti*: teaching/instructing
• *archiereis*: chief priests/high priests
• *presbyteroi*: elders/older men
• *laou*: people/nation/crowd
• *exousia*: authority/power/right
• *poieis*: do/perform/make
• *edōken*: gave/granted/bestowed

Referenced Verses

• Acts 4:7 : 7 Then sending for Peter and John, they said, By what power and in whose name have you done this?
• Acts 7:27 : 27 But the man who was doing wrong to his neighbour, pushing him away, said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
• Exod 2:14 : 14 And he said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? are you going to put me to death as you did the Egyptian? And Moses was in fear, and said, It is clear that the thing has come to light.
• 1 Chr 24:1-9 : 1 Now the divisions into which the sons of Aaron were grouped were these: the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 But Nadab and Abihu came to their end before their father, and had no children; so Eleazar and Ithamar did the work of priests. 3 And David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, made distribution of them into their positions for their work. 4 And there were more chiefs among the sons of Eleazar than among the sons of Ithamar; and this is how they were grouped: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, all heads of families; and of the sons of Ithamar, heads of families, there were eight. 5 So they were put into groups, by the Lord's decision, one with another; for there were rulers of the holy place and rulers of the house of God among the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar. 6 And Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was a Levite, put down their names in writing, the king being present with the rulers, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites; one family being taken for Eleazar and then one for Ithamar, and so on. 7 Now the first name to come out was that of Jehoiarib; the second Jedaiah, 8 The third Harim, the fourth Seorim, 9 The fifth Malchijah, the sixth Mijamin, 10 The seventh Hakkoz, the eighth Abijah, 11 The ninth Jeshua, the tenth Shecaniah, 12 The eleventh Eliashib, the twelfth Jakim, 13 The thirteenth Huppah, the fourteenth Jeshebeab, 14 The fifteenth Bilgah, the sixteenth Immer, 15 The seventeenth Hezir, the eighteenth Happizzez, 16 The nineteenth Pethahiah, the twentieth Jehezkel, 17 The twenty-first Jachin, the twenty-second Gamul, 18 The twenty-third Delaiah, the twenty-fourth Maaziah. 19 So they were put into their different groups, to take their places in the house of the Lord, in agreement with the rules made by Aaron their father, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had given him orders.
• Matt 26:55 : 55 In that hour Jesus said to the people, Have you come out as against a thief with swords and sticks to take me? I was teaching every day in the Temple and you took me not.
• Luke 19:47-20:8 : 47 And every day he was teaching in the Temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people were attempting to put him to death; 48 But they were not able to do anything, because the people all kept near him, being greatly interested in his words. 1 And it came about on one of those days, when he was teaching the people in the Temple and preaching the good news, 2 That the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people came to him and said, Make clear to us by what authority you do these things and who gave you this authority. 3 And in answer he said to them, I will put a question to you, and do you give me an answer: 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? 5 And they said among themselves, If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why did you not have faith in him? 6 But if we say, Of men; we will be stoned by the people, for they are certain that John was a prophet. 7 And they made answer that they had no idea where it came from. 8 And Jesus said, And I will not make clear to you by what authority I do these things.
• Mark 11:27-33 : 27 And they came again to Jerusalem: and while he was walking in the Temple, there came to him the chief priests and the scribes and those in authority: 28 And they said to him, By what authority do you do these things? or who gave you authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus said to them, I will put to you one question; give me an answer, and I will say by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? give me an answer. 31 And they gave thought to it among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not have faith in him? 32 But if we say, From men--they were in fear of the people, because all took John to be truly a prophet. 33 And they said in answer to Jesus, We have no idea. And Jesus said to them, And I will not say to you by what authority I do these things.