Matthew 23:17
Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
Additional Resources
Referenced Verses
- Matt 23:19 : 19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
- Exod 30:26-29 : 26 “With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 28 the altar for the burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 So you are to sanctify them, and they will be most holy; anything that touches them will be holy.
- Num 16:38-39 : 38 As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives, they must be made into hammered sheets for covering the altar, because they presented them before the LORD and sanctified them. They will become a sign to the Israelites.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers presented by those who had been burned up, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar.
- Ps 94:8 : 8 Take notice of this, you ignorant people! You fools, when will you ever understand?
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
- Matt 23:18-2710 verses89%
18 And,‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’
19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it.
22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
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.
24 Blind 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.
26 Blind 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.
- Matt 23:15-162 verses86%
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 11:39-402 verses73%
39 But 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.
40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well?
- 1 Cor 3:17-182 verses71%
17 If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.
18 Guard against self-deception, each of you. If someone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he can become wise.
- Matt 12:5-62 verses71%
5 Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?
6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
- 70%
5 The Signs of the End of the Age Now while some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and offerings, Jesus said,
- 69%
5 For you took my silver and my gold and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces.
- 69%
17 Then he began to teach them and said,“Is it not written:‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have turned it into a den of robbers!”
- 69%
22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag, saying to them,“Get out!”
- 68%
4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says,“We are safe! The temple of the LORD is here! The temple of the LORD is here! The temple of the LORD is here!”
- 68%
14 Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”
- 68%
13 And he said to them,“It is written,‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are turning it into a den of robbers!”
- 68%
22 the pure gold trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary(the most holy place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
- 68%
18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said,“Hypocrites! Why are you testing me?
- 67%
39 He also told them a parable:“Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit?
- 67%
1 Rash Vows(4:17) Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.
- 67%
6 Those who empty out gold from a purse and weigh out silver on the scale hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god. They then bow down and worship it.
- 67%
19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the LORD’s fury. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth was the obstacle leading to their iniquity.
- 67%
16 What’s the point of a fool having money in hand to buy wisdom, when his head is empty?
- 67%
46 saying to them,“It is written,‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of robbers!”
- 67%
1 א(Alef)The Prophet Speaks: Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner.
- 67%
6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.
- 67%
22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
- 67%
5 But you say,‘If someone tells his father or mother,“Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,”
- 67%
23 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?”
- 67%
15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made.
- 66%
21 Tell them:‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive:
- 66%
23 But Jesus perceived their deceit and said to them,
- 66%
25 So he said to them,“You foolish people– how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
- 66%
23 You must not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves.
- 66%
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.
- 66%
20 Jesus said to them,“Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”
- 66%
35 not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.
- 66%
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own opinion.
- 66%
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold– they are man-made.
- 66%
24 Wisdom is directly in front of the discerning person, but the eyes of a fool run to the ends of the earth.