Matthew 21:23

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

The Authority of Jesus Now after Jesus entered the temple courts, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said,“By what authority are you doing 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 After making Peter and John stand in their midst, they began to inquire,“By what power or by what name did you do this?”
• Acts 7:27 : 27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying,‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?
• Exod 2:14 : 14 The man replied,“Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed that Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking,“Surely what I did has become known.”
• 1 Chr 24:1-9 : 1 David Organizes the Priests The divisions of Aaron’s descendants were as follows:The sons of Aaron:Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 Nadab and Abihu died before their father did; they had no sons. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. 3 David, Zadok(a descendant of Eleazar), and Ahimelech(a descendant of Ithamar) divided them into groups to carry out their assigned responsibilities. 4 The descendants of Eleazar had more leaders than the descendants of Ithamar, so they divided them up accordingly; the descendants of Eleazar had sixteen leaders, while the descendants of Ithamar had eight. 5 They divided them by lots, for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. 6 The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, wrote down their names before the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the leaders of the priestly and Levite families. One family was drawn by lot from Eleazar, and then the next from Ithamar. 7 The first lot went to Jehoiarib,the second to Jedaiah, 8 the third to Harim,the fourth to Seorim, 9 the fifth to Malkijah,the sixth to Mijamin, 10 the seventh to Hakkoz,the eighth to Abijah, 11 the ninth to Jeshua,the tenth to Shecaniah, 12 the eleventh to Eliashib,the twelfth to Jakim, 13 the thirteenth to Huppah,the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 14 the fifteenth to Bilgah,the sixteenth to Immer, 15 the seventeenth to Hezir,the eighteenth to Happizzez, 16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah,the twentieth to Jehezkel, 17 the twenty-first to Jakin,the twenty-second to Gamul, 18 the twenty-third to Delaiah,the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. 19 This was the order in which they carried out their assigned responsibilities when they entered the LORD’s temple, according to the regulations given them by their ancestor Aaron, just as the LORD God of Israel had instructed him.
• Matt 26:55 : 55 At that moment Jesus said to the crowd,“Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me like you would an outlaw? Day after day I sat teaching in the temple courts, yet you did not arrest me.
• Luke 19:47-20:8 : 47 Jesus was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, for all the people hung on his words. 1 The Authority of Jesus Now one day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law with the elders came up 2 and said to him,“Tell us: By what authority are you doing these things? Or who is it who gave you this authority?” 3 He answered them,“I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4 John’s baptism– was it from heaven or from people?” 5 So they discussed it with one another, saying,“If we say,‘From heaven,’ he will say,‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say,‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they replied that they did not know where it came from. 8 Then Jesus said to them,“Neither will I tell you by whose authority I do these things.”
• Mark 11:27-33 : 27 The Authority of Jesus They came again to Jerusalem. While Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the elders came up to him 28 and said,“By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?” 29 Jesus said to them,“I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 John’s baptism– was it from heaven or from people? Answer me.” 31 They discussed with one another, saying,“If we say,‘From heaven,’ he will say,‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say,‘From people–’”(they feared the crowd, for they all considered John to be truly a prophet). 33 So they answered Jesus,“We don’t know.” Then Jesus said to them,“Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”