Matthew 23:13

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

“But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Luke 11:52 : 52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.”
  • Matt 23:27 : 27 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.
  • Matt 23:29 : 29 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
  • Zech 11:17 : 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither completely away, and his right eye become completely blind!”
  • Acts 8:1 : 1 And Saul agreed completely with killing him. Saul Begins to Persecute the ChurchNow on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.
  • Matt 23:23 : 23 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law– justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.
  • Matt 23:25 : 25 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
  • Luke 11:43-44 : 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces! 44 Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it!”
  • Matt 21:31-32 : 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said,“The first.” Jesus said to them,“I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.
  • Matt 23:13-15 : 13 “But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in. 15 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!
  • Isa 9:14-15 : 14 So the LORD cut off Israel’s head and tail, both the shoots and stalk in one day. 15 The leaders and the highly respected people are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
  • Isa 33:14 : 14 Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say,‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?’
  • John 7:46-52 : 46 The officers replied,“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 Then the Pharisees answered,“You haven’t been deceived too, have you? 48 None of the members of the ruling council or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? 49 But this rabble who do not know the law are accursed!” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of the rulers, said, 51 “Our law doesn’t condemn a man unless it first hears from him and learns what he is doing, does it?” 52 They replied,“You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet comes from Galilee!”
  • John 9:22 : 22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
  • John 9:24 : 24 Then they summoned the man who used to be blind a second time and said to him,“Promise before God to tell the truth. We know that this man is a sinner.”
  • John 9:34 : 34 They replied,“You were born completely in sinfulness, and yet you presume to teach us?” So they threw him out.
  • Acts 4:17-18 : 17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 And they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
  • Acts 5:28 : 28 saying,“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name. Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood on us!”
  • Acts 5:40 : 40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.
  • Acts 13:8 : 8 But the magician Elymas(for that is the way his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
  • 1 Thess 2:15-16 : 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely.
  • 2 Tim 3:8 : 8 And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people– who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith– also oppose the truth.
  • 2 Tim 4:15 : 15 You be on guard against him too, because he vehemently opposed our words.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Matt 23:23-29
    7 verses
    79%

    23“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law– justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.

    24Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!

    25“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

    26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!

    27“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.

    28In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

    29“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.

  • Matt 23:15-16
    2 verses
    78%

    15“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!

    16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’

  • Luke 11:42-44
    3 verses
    78%

    42“But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.

    43Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces!

    44Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it!”

  • Luke 11:52-53
    2 verses
    77%

    52Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.”

    53When he went out from there, the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, and to ask him hostile questions about many things,

  • Matt 5:20
    75%

    20For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!

  • Luke 13:24-25
    2 verses
    73%

    24“Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

    25Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him,‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you,‘I don’t know where you come from.’

  • Matt 7:13
    72%

    13The Narrow Gate“Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

  • Matt 15:7
    71%

    7Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

  • Luke 16:15
    71%

    15But Jesus said to them,“You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight.

  • Matt 23:33-34
    2 verses
    71%

    33You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

    34“For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,

  • Luke 13:27-28
    2 verses
    71%

    27But he will reply,‘I don’t know where you come from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’

    28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out.

  • Matt 23:3-5
    3 verses
    70%

    3Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.

    4They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.

    5They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.

  • Luke 20:46-47
    2 verses
    70%

    46“Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

    47They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”

  • Mark 12:40
    69%

    40They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. These men will receive a more severe punishment.”

  • Luke 12:1
    69%

    1Fear God, Not People Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples,“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

  • Matt 23:12
    69%

    12And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

  • Matt 19:23-24
    2 verses
    69%

    23Then Jesus said to his disciples,“I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!

    24Again I say, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”

  • Luke 12:56
    69%

    56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?

  • Luke 11:39
    69%

    39But the Lord said to him,“Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

  • Matt 21:31-32
    2 verses
    68%

    31Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said,“The first.” Jesus said to them,“I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

    32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

  • Luke 11:47
    68%

    47Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.

  • Matt 8:12
    68%

    12but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

  • Mark 10:15
    68%

    15I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

  • Matt 22:18
    68%

    18But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said,“Hypocrites! Why are you testing me?

  • Luke 18:17
    68%

    17I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

  • John 10:1
    68%

    1Jesus as the Good Shepherd“I tell you the solemn truth, the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

  • Matt 6:1-2
    2 verses
    68%

    1Pure-hearted Giving“Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

    2Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward!

  • Mark 10:23
    67%

    23Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

  • Matt 18:3
    67%

    3and said,“I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!

  • Mark 7:6
    67%

    6He said to them,“Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.