Matthew 23:23

Bible in Basic English (1941)

A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Luke 11:42 : 42 But a curse is on you, Pharisees! for you make men give a tenth of every sort of plant, and give no thought to right and the love of God; but it is right for you to do these things, and not let the others be undone.
  • Mic 6:8 : 8 He has made clear to you, O man, what is good; and what is desired from you by the Lord; only doing what is right, and loving mercy, and walking without pride before your God.
  • Hos 6:6 : 6 Because my desire is for mercy and not offerings; for the knowledge of God more than for burned offerings.
  • Matt 9:13 : 13 But go and take to heart the sense of these words, My desire is for mercy, not offerings: for I have come not to get the upright, but sinners.
  • Lev 27:30 : 30 And every tenth part of the land, of the seed planted, or of the fruit of trees, is holy to the Lord.
  • 1 Sam 15:22 : 22 And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in offerings and burned offerings as in the doing of his orders? Truly, to do his pleasure is better than to make offerings, and to give ear to him than the fat of sheep.
  • Prov 21:3 : 3 To do what is right and true is more pleasing to the Lord than an offering.
  • Jer 22:15-16 : 15 Are you to be a king because you make more use of cedar than your father? did not your father take food and drink and do right, judging in righteousness, and then it was well for him? 16 He was judge in the cause of the poor and those in need; then it was well. Was not this to have knowledge of me? says the Lord.
  • Matt 12:7 : 7 But if these words had been in your minds, My desire is for mercy and not for offerings, you would not have been judging those who have done no wrong.
  • Matt 22:37-40 : 37 And he said to him, Have love for the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest rule. 39 And a second like it is this, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself. 40 On these two rules all the law and the prophets are based.
  • Matt 5:19-20 : 19 Whoever then goes against the smallest of these laws, teaching men to do the same, will be named least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who keeps the laws, teaching others to keep them, will be named great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, If your righteousness is not greater than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never go into the kingdom of heaven.
  • Gal 5:22-23 : 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith, 23 Gentle behaviour, control over desires: against such there is no law.
  • Luke 18:12 : 12 Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • 88%

    41 But if you give to the poor such things as you are able, then all things are clean to you.

    42 But a curse is on you, Pharisees! for you make men give a tenth of every sort of plant, and give no thought to right and the love of God; but it is right for you to do these things, and not let the others be undone.

    43 A curse is on you, Pharisees! for your desires are for the most important seats in the Synagogues and for words of respect said to you in the market-place.

    44 A curse is on you! for you are like the resting-places of dead men, which are not seen, and men go walking over them without knowledge of it.

  • 81%

    24 You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel.

    25 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of violent behaviour and uncontrolled desire.

    26 You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean.

    27 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things.

    28 Even so you seem to men to be full of righteousness, but inside you are all false and full of wrongdoing.

    29 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you put up buildings for housing the dead bodies of the prophets, and make fair the last resting-places of good men, and say,

  • 76%

    13 But a curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you are shutting the kingdom of heaven against men: for you do not go in yourselves, and those who are going in, you keep back.

    14 []

    15 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you go about land and sea to get one disciple and, having him, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

    16 A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible.

    17 You foolish ones and blind: which is greater, the gold, or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

  • Matt 23:1-6
    6 verses
    75%

    1 Then Jesus said to the people and to his disciples:

    2 The scribes and the Pharisees have the authority of Moses;

    3 All things, then, which they give you orders to do, these do and keep: but do not take their works as your example, for they say and do not.

    4 They make hard laws and put great weights on men's backs; but they themselves will not put a finger to them.

    5 But all their works they do so as to be seen by men: for they make wide their phylacteries, and the edges of their robes,

    6 And the things desired by them are the first places at feasts, and the chief seats in the Synagogues,

  • Matt 15:6-7
    2 verses
    71%

    6 There is no need for him to give honour to his father. And you have made the word of God without effect because of your teaching.

    7 You false ones, well did Isaiah say of you,

  • Mark 7:6-9
    4 verses
    70%

    6 And he said, Well did Isaiah say of you, you false ones: These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

    7 But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.

    8 For, turning away from the law of God, you keep the rules of men.

    9 And he said to them, Truly you put on one side the law of God, so that you may keep the rules which have been handed down to you.

  • 39 And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil.

  • 69%

    46 And he said, A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for while other men are crushed under the weight of the rules you make for them, you yourselves do not put so much as one finger to them.

    47 A curse is on you! for you make resting-places for the bodies of the prophets, but your fathers put them to death.

  • 69%

    14 And the Pharisees, who had a great love of money, hearing these things, were making sport of him.

    15 And he said, You take care to seem right in the eyes of men, but God sees your hearts: and those things which are important in the opinion of men, are evil in the eyes of God.

  • 18 But Jesus saw their trick and said, Oh false ones, why are you attempting to put me in the wrong?

  • 68%

    39 And to have the chief seats in the Synagogues and the first places at feasts;

    40 Who take away the property of widows, and before the eyes of men make long prayers; these will be judged more hardly.

  • 1 At that time, when thousands of the people had come together, in such numbers that they were crushing one another, he said first to his disciples, Have nothing to do with the leaven of the Pharisees, which is deceit.

  • 13 Making the word of God of no effect by your rule, which you have given: and a number of other such things you do.

  • 20 For I say to you, If your righteousness is not greater than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never go into the kingdom of heaven.

  • 12 Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have.

  • Matt 6:1-2
    2 verses
    68%

    1 Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

    2 When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward.

  • 56 O false ones! the face of the earth and the heaven is clear to you; how is it that the signs of these times are not as clear to you?

  • 67%

    46 Keep away from the scribes, whose pleasure it is to go about in long robes, and to have words of respect said to them in the market-places, and to take the chief seats in the Synagogues and the first places at feasts;

    47 Who take the property of widows and before the eyes of men make long prayers; they will get a greater punishment.

  • 52 A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.

  • 26 Truly I say to you, You will not come out from there till you have made payment of the very last farthing.

  • 22 And he who takes an oath by heaven, takes it by the seat of God, and by him who is seated on it.

  • 9 But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.

  • 8 Will a man keep back from God what is right? But you have kept back what is mine. But you say, What have we kept back from you? Tenths and offerings.

  • 8 But you are turned out of the way; you have made the law hard for numbers of people; you have made the agreement of Levi of no value, says the Lord of armies.